A/N: I know I should totally be working on my other story Hidden Truths, but I kinda needed a little break and then just randomly started writing this. It was originally going to be a one-shot, but I started having a lot of fun with it and now I really have no idea how long I'm going to make it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
If there was one thing that Toshiro Hitsugaya couldn't stand, it was being hot and being in the midst of an unusually prolonged summer hot flash that was to the young Hitsugaya's complete disdain exactly what he was facing. For about the past week, temperatures had skyrocketed and had yet to drop below the 100° mark. Toshiro had tried everything he could think of to stay cool, but nothing seemed to work and even if they gave him temporary relief and shelter from the heat, it always came back to bite him in the end.
"Guess I have no choice…" The boy muttered to himself, before walking out of the shade of a particularly large tree that he had been sheltering under for the past few hours. As he continued walking along the busy streets he could feel his body getting more and more sluggish. Heat was really not his forte… not at all. The young white-haired boy slowly but surely made his way to the one place where he knew he would be able to get salvation at last.
Street after street passed by and Toshiro was counting down and almost dragging himself along hoping against hope he would be able to escape the day that had seemed to want to do nothing more than to drive him to his utmost limits. He seemed to have just today sweat out his entire body weight and he knew that he should be replenishing the fluids in his body with copious amounts of water, but just being as lucky as he was, all the money that he currently had was being spent on paying his rent on a little run-down apartment right smack in the middle of the city. Toshiro was living on two paychecks that he received every month from the two jobs that he was currently working just so that he could keep his apartment. Today was one of the young boy's very unusual days where he wasn't expected to be at either of his jobs, so he had the entire day to himself.
Toshiro was sporting a simple t-shirt and a pair of very worn shorts that happened to be just a little bit too large in the waist, so they tended to rest precariously on his small hips. He turned the corner and let a huge sigh of relief when he spotted the very building he had been looking for. There was nothing particular that stood out for the young boy, or really anyone else for a matter of fact. The small building was squashed in between two larger stone buildings composed of nothing but corporate offices for one of the largest law firms in the city. Toshiro approached the building and knocked as hard as he could on the door, which due to the fatigue of being out in the blazing sun all day wasn't nearly as hard as he would've wished.
"Toshiro!" A woman exclaimed as she burst through the door, quickly enveloping the boy in a large hug. A muffled cry could be heard as the white-haired boy tried to yell at said woman hugging him to let go.
"Get off…!" Toshiro finally managed to grunt as he was able to free his head that had been unfortunately sandwiched between the older woman's large breasts. Finally, the boy was released and even when he continued to glare up at the woman her smile refused to falter as she pulled her unexpected guest inside.
"What brings you to my neck of the woods, Toshiro?" the woman asked curiously as she made her way into the kitchen.
"I needed to escape the heat for a little while… you know my rocky relationship with being hot and humid." The male responded in a bored tone while staring hungrily or in this case thirstily at the fridge that his host was currently standing next to.
The woman merely smiled as she opened the fridge, knowing exactly what her small friend was looking for. "Sorry to say though, my air conditioner broke yesterday and when I called my usual repair guy, he said they weren't going to be able to make it out here until sometime at the end of the week…" She frowned when she noticed the disappointed look in her younger companion's eyes, yet she couldn't help but giggle when she pulled out a cold bottle of water from her fridge and Toshiro's face instantly lit up. Toshirou practically inhaled the water, chugging the entire bottle in a matter of seconds.
The woman was sure to grab another two water bottles from her fridge before ushering her guest into the small living room in her house. "Here ya go Toshiro, drink up!"
"Thanks, Rangiku…" The boy muttered quietly as he gratefully accepted the bottle offered to him.
"No problem!" Rangiku squealed happily as she opened the second bottle that she had brought into the living room and took a rather large gulp of it herself before breaking the tender silence that had descended between the two friends. "So seriously… not that I don't appreciate your company, but what are you doing in this part of town? You've been so busy with that second job you started that I never see you anymore." The strawberry blonde woman giggled again after scratching her head before finishing, "Why, I don't think I've seen you in… in probably three weeks!"
"Yea, well… neither of my jobs happened to schedule me for today, so I got the day off. Though I'm not really sure I'm all that thrilled about it… at least when I go to my one job it has some air conditioning… allows me to escape this damn heat…" Toshiro muttered, clearly annoyed and frustrated at the same time.
"Don't worry, things will start to look up soon… promise." Rangiku said firmly, trying to cheer up her young friend. She wished that she could do more to help out Toshiro, but the truth was that she wasn't all that better off than him. The only reason that Rangiku was able to support herself was from the help of her parent's that had set up a fund for her before they decided to go off exploring the world for who knew how many years. She heard from them every once in awhile when they managed to send out a letter or happened to be somewhere that they could find a phone.
"Mhmm… It would be nice if things just worked out for me for once; hopefully, this new job is able to get me enough money so that I don't have to spend one-hundred percent of my earnings on that piece of crap I'm in right now…"
Rangiku sighed. "You know I'm always willing to spilt the rent here with you so that you can get out of that place already… your landlady is such bitch and you know she just takes advantage of you any way she can." Rangiku had hated Toshiro's landlady ever since the first day she had met her. She had a habit of charging Toshiro way more than what he should be paying and would spend all the money she did manage to make in those transactions to buy any and all alcohol that she could get her grubby little hands on.
"We've discussed this Rangiku… my answer is the same as ever. I don't like having to depend on people and I need to learn how to make it for myself in this world if I ever want to become successful." Toshiro sighed. This was one of the reasons that he didn't like visiting with the strawberry blonde too often… she was always trying to pressure him to move in with her and frankly, he was getting tired of constantly having to refuse her every time he saw her.
"Oh my god!" Rangiku yelled suddenly, before jumping up and rushing out of the room, going who knows where, leaving a very confused Toshiro still sitting in the living room periodically drinking from his water bottle.
It was less than ten minutes later before Rangiku made her return to her living room. She had changed her clothes and was searching through the purse currently hanging from her arm before turning to the boy still sitting in the same spot he had been since they had first left the kitchen. The moment Rangiku reentered the room, Toshiro quickly lifted his head hoping the strawberry blonde would enlighten him as to why she rushed out of the room so suddenly before.
"I'm so sorry, Toshiro!" Rangiku squealed, "I totally forgot that I have to go into work today…. I actually have to be there in uh- about a half an hour." The strawberry blonde quickly apologized as she slipped her feet into some sandals she managed to fish out of a large pile of shoes near the hall. "You can stay here if you want; I'm only going to be gone a few hours." Rangiku finished rather awkwardly. Toshiro stood up and shook his head while accompanying the older woman to the front door.
"No, it's fine, Rangiku. I don't want to impose on you any more than I already have. I'll be okay, don't worry." The boy shrugged as the pair walked out into the blinding sunlight.
"I can't help but worry, Toshiro! You've been my friend for longer than anyone I know and I just want what's best for you..." Rangiku sighed as she flagged down a taxi cab that had been passing by the pair.
"Just go, you're going to be late and I'll manage." Toshiro replied as he practically pushed the strawberry blonde into the back seat of the taxi before closing the door and waving as the taxi pulled away. If he didn't do it, she never would of left and Toshiro knew that for a fact. Ever-since his parent's had been killed in a car accident a few years ago Rangiku had been trying to act as his replacement mother to some extent. On one hand, Toshiro thought it was nice she cared so much for him, but then again he also noticed that she had become overly protective lately and it could get really annoying really fast.
If it was possible, it seemed like it had gotten even hotter out than before he had taken refuge in Rangiku's small townhome. Toshiro wasn't exactly sure what he had done to deserve this, but in any case, there wasn't much he could do to change the weather and he would just have to learn to deal.
After standing in the broad daylight for about ten minutes trying to figure out exactly what he was wanted to do now, Toshiro ended up deciding to just let his feet take him wherever they wanted to go and to see where he would end up. So that's exactly what he did, hoping that somewhere along the way he would be able to find somewhere that would prevent him from just melting on the spot.
Apparently, I'm the only person in this whole damn city that hates this hot weather... Toshiro thought to himself as he scanned the city park, where he usually spent most of his free time; but right at that particular moment said part was more crowded than the white-haired boy had ever seen it in his life. Every little bit of shade was either occupied by a person, animal or anything otherwise that was trying to escape the heat. The young boy just kept wandering through the park, hoping to find a spot, but having no luck as the feelings of sweating out all the fluids in his body started to return. I really need to find somewhere, anywhere that I can go to try and cool down. He thought as he looked down sadly at the empty water bottle still firmly in his grasp.
As he approached the lake, Toshiro was so thirsty that he was seriously debating either just jumping into the lake, clothes and all, or even filling up the empty bottle still firmly in his grasp with lake water so he would have something to drink. However, the second option he regretfully threw out because he knew that the water was far from clean and wasn't at all fit for human consumption. As for the first option, he wasn't exactly sure what was living in the depths of the lake and wasn't really sure he wanted to find out.
Toshiro didn't think it was possible for one person to be so hot… it baffled his mind. He had been walking around the park now for so long that he was starting to feel dizzy and his legs were starting to feel more like jelly than ever and to top it all off he was starting to feel nauseous the longer he stayed on his feet. Shade or no shade, he had to find somewhere to sit down so that he could collect himself before possibly trying to move on to find shelter elsewhere because the park obviously wasn't an option right now. There was a small street of shops only a few streets down, but the young genius wasn't too sure that he would be able to make it quite that far.
It was then that Toshiro spotted a fairly deserted pedestrian tunnel on the other side of the lake and in his haste to get out of the unforgiving sun; he attempted to run to his much desired destination and after only a few seconds of running he could feel the toll that it took on his body. He stopped running suddenly when he felt himself getting extremely light headed and dizzy. The world started spinning before his very eyes and then after a few seconds it started to tilt at dangerous angles and unable to do anything but mutter, "Shit…" due to the fact that his body had suddenly decided to completely shut down on him and Toshiro was unconscious before his body even had a chance to hit the ground.
Ichigo Kurosaki couldn't believe that his dad had managed to convince him to come to the hospital with him for what seemed like the fifth day this week. Although, 'convince' probably wasn't the best word to use in this situation… a more fitting word for this situation would probably be more like 'guilt' or 'bribe,' yea that sounded better. Ichigo's dad was fully intent on having his son carry on the family business when he was no longer be able to perform his duties or if something suddenly happened to him. Ichigo wasn't all too thrilled about this idea, but being the eldest Kurosaki in the family he didn't really have any choice in the matter.
Ichigo's father was the most respected and well-known doctor in town; in-fact he had become somewhat of a celebrity and Ichigo, to his dismay, was held up to certain expectations and one said expectation was to follow in his father's footsteps as owner of the hospital. Isshin had moved into the city when he was just a young doctor fresh out of medical school and soon after he came to town, Isshin Kurosaki quickly rose through the ranks of the local hospital. After working for years with some of the city's finest doctors, he decided to leave the hospital to open his own clinic on the other side of town. It started out small, but when he became more well-known and had cracked a few particularly large cases he started to expand his hospital and soon it was even larger than the previous hospital that he had been employed at.
So basically, Ichigo was stuck inside all day, everyday shadowing his father and learning about what it took to run what was now the family company. Today seemed worse than most days to the strawberry and he was pretty sure that he was going to lose it if he had to look at another report, talk to another secretary about what his dad had planned for him, or even just continuing to follow him around saying nothing and doing nothing the entire day.
"Dad?" Ichigo asked as he entered into a patient's room where his father was giving the patient a check-up.
"Okay. Everything looks good and you should be able to leave tomorrow." He said cheerfully before turning around to face his teenage son. "What's up, Ichigo?"
"I uh- need to go… to the…bathroom." He finished lamely. The orange-haired teenager silently kicked himself for using what had to be about the most cliché escape attempt in the entire world, but he hadn't really been able to put much thought into how he was going to get out of the suffocating white walls of his father's hospital and had panicked.
"Mkay… don't take too long though, I need you to drop this progress report off at the nurse's station when you get back." His father replied obviously too distracted with the patient to notice Ichigo's mistake.
The strawberry shook his head before reaching out to take the clipboard in his father's hands. "Why don't I just drop that off on my way?"
Isshin brought his hand up to massage his small goatee before muttering, "Good thinking son. I have a meeting up on the top floor to talk about the new interns we are going to be hiring next month. I don't expect you to come up for the preliminary selection process, but I do want you to come up when we start calling the chosen candidates."
"Yea, okay." Ichigo muttered before flying out of the small hospital room and walking as fast as he could without actually running down the hall in the direction of the nurse's station. The faster he got there, the more time he would have before his dad had to track him down and drag him back to the hospital.
"Oh! G-Good Afternoon, Mr. Kurosaki." One of the younger nurses stuttered when she noticed Ichigo standing in front of the desk. She was new at the hospital and it was clear to everyone other than Ichigo that she had a huge crush on the orange-haired teenager. Well actually, most of the nurses at the hospital had a crush on Ichigo… after all he was pretty built, had a breathtaking smile and not to mention he was the owner's son.
"Hey ladies." Ichigo said as he greeted everyone casually, while pulling the clipboard out of one of the larger pockets in his doctor's coat. "My dad wanted me to drop this off." He finished as he handed the documents to one of the blushing nurses. "Catch ya girls later." He called as he walked off down the hall.
As soon as he was out of the nurse's eyesight he flew down the next few hallways before walking through a large set of doors that led to a rarely used stairwell. Ichigo proceeded to hide his doctor's coat by hastily stuffing it in into his usual hiding spot before pulling out a worn baseball cap that he usually used to hide his flamboyant orange hair and proceeding to run down the remaining flights of stairs. As Ichigo approached the first floor he inched the door open cautiously being extremely careful to make sure that no-one was around before silently slipping out the doors and just as silently pushing the large hospital doors that led outside open and fled into the welcoming sunlight.
Ichigo had been craving to escape his stuffy prison all day, but now that he was actually outside he wasn't so sure that playing hooky on a day that had to be well over one-hundred degrees was all that of a great idea.
"Well, I already put forth the effort to get out here, so I might as well just enjoy myself before the old man finds out I ditched…" Ichigo muttered to himself as he continued walking down a rather crowded street leading away from the hospital. What to do, what to do… The strawberry thought to himself as he approached a busy street, waiting for the light of little white person saying that he was able to cross the street. Should I go see a movie…? Nah, I'll be lucky if I can stay out here for even a half an hour. Ichigo stopped suddenly in the middle of the sidewalk causing a few absent minded people to bump into him and send numerous glares in his directions as they passed. After a few moments, Ichigo's head snapped up suddenly, I haven't been able to go to the city park in forever! The strawberry grinned as he started to reminisce about all the times his mother would take him and his sisters to the park whenever it was a nice day. They would do some many things together like go fishing, play tag, have picnics and so many other things. Unfortunately, a few years ago his beloved mother passed away in a building fire.
Ichigo couldn't help but grin from ear to ear when he finally arrived at the park that had held such joy and cherished memories for him as a child. It was only when he saw a vendor selling ice-cold water that he realized how thirsty he had been and started running so fast towards the cart that he almost ran over the darn thing.
"Woah there Sonny, what's the rush?" The elderly lady chuckled as she reached inside her cart to pull out a cold bottle of water before exchanging said bottle for the money currently in Ichigo's outstretched hand.
"Thanks." Ichigo smiled as he started to chug the bottle greedily without even bothering to move from in front of the cart before plunging his hand back into his pants pocket attempting to dig out more money so that he could buy another drink.
"Try to leave some for the fish next time." The lady chuckled as she handed her newest customer his second bottle of water.
"Eh, they can share." The teenager shrugged as he poured some of refreshingly cold water into his free hand before quickly splashing it in his face.
"Feeling refreshed?" The lady giggled again before freezing for a second as she continued staring as the teenager in-front of her.
Shit… Ichigo knew that look… that look could only mean one thing…
"You're the Kurosaki boy… Ichigo isn't it?"
The strawberry couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh. "How'd you know?" he muttered dismissively.
"I can see your hair sticking out through your hat, darling." The lady replied as she pointed to a few stray orange hairs sticking out of his hat. "Don't worry, I won't tell." She smiled.
"Thanks… for everything." Ichigo replied as he lifted the still half full water bottle in his hand to his mouth before starting to walk off hoping to see what else was going on in the park today.
"Mhmm… that's definitely the Kurosaki boy." The lady smiled softly to herself as she watched the teenager's slowly retreating figure.
For the first time in a long time, the strawberry was actually able to relax. Despite the heat and humidity, just walking along the pathway watching all the other people using the day to enjoy themselves was enjoyable for the usually busy teenager. Some people were playing games, others were having picnics and then there the number of people that had decided to sleep away the remainder of the day in the shade and safety of the various trees and shrubberies found throughout the park.
"Wow. I can't believe how crowded the park is today. It's usually deserted, but on a day like today, I guess it's to be expected." Ichigo muttered to himself as he continued on his leisurely stroll throughout the park. It was such a relief for the younger Kurosaki male not having to worry about every little thing going on in the hospital even if it was for such a short time. Breaks are healthy for everyone right? He thought to himself as he started to approach a small tunnel that led under a large bridge.
The difference in temperatures between the direct sun and the cool relief of the tunnel had to be at least five to ten degrees and Ichigo decided to stay in the forgiving coolness for a few moments before deciding to venture out back into the hot and humid afternoon. It's weird that dad hasn't tried to call me or that I haven't seen any of his associates coming to try and find me… I've been gone almost an hour. The strawberry wasn't sure whether to be thankful or worried about why he hadn't been called back to the hospital like he usually was within the first twenty to thirty minutes after he would 'mysteriously' disappear. Soon however, he decided not to let it bother him as he took a particularly large gulp of water and ventured back out into the blazing sunlight.
As he emerged from the tunnel, a huge smile grew on the strawberry's face as he saw that he had ended up right next the lake that his mother and sisters would visit all the time before her unfortunate passing. He decided to walk up to the bank for old time's sake and he was already here so, why not? As he sat on the edge of the lake Ichigo looked around the part of the park he had ventured to and realized that it was a lot less crowded than from where he had first entered. There seemed to be a rather large gathering of people near him that seemed to be having some sort of party with games and food and drinks and they had even rented out the small pavilion for all the people who wanted some place to sit down during all the festivities.
Out of everything going on there was one thing, er- one person in particular that happened to catch the strawberry's attention. A young boy from what Ichigo could see, but there was just something that seemed off about the kid… At first glance it seemed as though he was simply taking a nap like so many other people had chosen to do with the day; but the longer he stared at the boy across the lake the more things felt off kilter. Ichigo didn't want to make a big deal about it if he was just overreacting to nothing, but there was just something about the way the boy was lying on the ground that made him feel that not everything was what it seemed.
It wouldn't hurt just to make sure that the kid was okay, right? So, after hoisting himself up to his feet, Ichigo decided to walk over to where the smaller male was lying and as he approached him he couldn't help but feel in his gut that he wasn't just taking a simple snooze.
"Hey… um, kid you alright?" Ichigo asked cautiously unable to stop staring the still unmoving figure before him. The strawberry got no response so he decided to attempt to rouse the boy in order to hopefully have the kid tell him that he was just being stupid and that he had just been simply sleeping, but even after he shook the mystery boy's shoulder he still didn't stir and now Ichigo was starting to get worried. Something weird was going on and he was secretly hoping that it wasn't as bad as he thought.
"Hey… can you hear me?" Ichigo said concern becoming more prominent in his voice every second. The young doctor-to-be gently rolled the boy over so that he see his face and wasn't all that surprised when it the white-haired boy looked really pale with the exception of his cheeks which were practically flaming red. Ichigo first put his cheek down near the boy's mouth to make sure that he was still breathing and to his relief he was. It was slightly labored, but the important thing was that he was at least breathing. Next, the strawberry decided to check his temperature and when he placed his palm against the boy's forehead; Ichigo drew his had back almost instantly shocked with the heat radiating from it. Shit. He thought to himself as he looked around the immediate vicinity trying to see if there could possibly anyone that might be with the kid, but no-one seemed to be paying any attention to the two teenagers near the edge of the lake at all.
I wish he was conscious… that would make everything so much less complicated… While the strawberry knew that the mysterious teenager in his arms needed medical attention immediately, he didn't want to take him away from any family or guardians that might be with him.
Screw it, I can't just sit here and do nothing. Then as Ichigo pulled out his phone something struck him. "Ah shit… I'm supposed to be back at the hospital right now… if I call dad then he's gonna know that I've skipped out on my duties again and just yesterday he did tell me that if he caught him skipping out again then there were going to be serious repercussions… oh the joy of being Isshin Kurosaki's son. I'll just have to figure out how to deal with that shit later… right now I need to get this guy to the hospital ASAP. Ichigo quickly opened his phone and dialed his dad's number while also deciding to lift the unconscious boy into his arms and start walking briskly in the direction that he had originally come from; hopefully he could meet the ambulance on the side of the park that was closer to the hospital.
"Hello?" Came the voice of the elder Kurosaki.
"Hey, dad-" Ichigo started to say before he was quickly interrupted by his father.
"Ichigo, where in god's name did you disappear off to? I called for you to be sent up to my office nearly a half-hour ago! You better not have run off again… you know how I feel about those escapades of yo-"
"Dad!" The strawberry yelled desperately as he tried to get his father's attention and luckily Isshin was able to recognize the urgency in his son's voice.
"Okay, what's going on, Ichigo…?" Isshin asked a tone of annoyance still obvious in his voice.
Ichigo decided that this was no time for fabricated lies and that he had no choice but to come totally clean to his dad about the situation. "Yes, I did skip out on my duties at the hospital and decided to go to the park to take a break, but I found a kid unconscious by the side of the lake and I think he has a pretty bad case of heatstroke. I need an ambulance here immediately!" Ichigo tried to keep his voice steady and calm because he dad said the worst thing a doctor could possibly do in an emergency was to panic, but he just couldn't help it. Despite all the practice and demonstrations he had never been in a situation like this on his own and it was nothing like he had ever experienced before.
"Okay Ichigo, the first thing you need to do is to take a deep breath and calm down." Isshin said firmly from the other side of the phone before continuing. "The ambulance is on its way and is going to meet you on the corner of 31st and High Street. Be there as soon as possible; I'll be waiting in the ER for you and you can fill me in on everything when you get here."
"Thanks, Dad."
Ichigo quickly snapped his phone shut and set off in an all out sprint in the direction of the place his dad had told him to meet the ambulance and as he ran, he couldn't help but glance down at the boy in his arms and he feel a rather large pang of sadness in his heart for the boy. How long had he been laying out there before I found him? How come no-one else tried to help him? Is he going to be okay? All these questions were just bombarding the strawberry's brain as he wiped a large amount of sweat currently decorating the young boy's furrowed brow. I don't know who you are, but don't worry, I'm gonna get you help. The only recognition that he got from the boy was a small groan that passed by the smaller's lips before he was once again still and silent in Ichigo's arms.
Ichigo arrived at the destined intersection and before he knew it the afternoon air was filled with the blaring sirens and the blinding flashes of the ambulance lights and in another instant Ichigo was surrounded by a group of EMTs who quickly took the young boy from the strawberry before placing him on a stretcher and loading it into the ambulance.
"Ichigo-sir, what are you doing here?" One of the men asked as Ichigo approached the back of the ambulance.
"I was the one that found this boy, so I am going to be accompanying you on the ride to the hospital. I have something I need to discuss with my father as well." Ichigo replied quickly as the men nodded in acknowledgment and then he and everyone else piled into the back of the ambulance as they sped off as fast as they could towards the hospital.
"Ichigo, what happened?" Isshin Kurosaki insisted as soon as his son and a group of already assembled doctors swarmed around the young boy being currently being wheeled into the ER.
"I'll tell you everything later… but first you need to help him!" Ichigo practically yelled as he motioned towards the limp boy on the stretcher.
Isshin looked the boy up and down finding that no external injuries were obvious except for a few places on his body that were badly sunburned. Heatstroke, no doubt about it and it's more serious that I had thought… Isshin thought quickly to himself as he began to think about what treatment would be most effective in this particular case. "Wheel him into the room at the end of the hall!" The elder Kurosaki demanded. The men simply nodded before disappearing into the room and Ichigo was practically in the door when his father stuck out a hand in front of him preventing the strawberry going any further.
"Dad, get out of the way so I can-"
"No." Isshin demanded.
"Bu-" Ichigo tried to protest, but was once again was unable to finish his thought before being interrupted by his father.
"Normally, I would have you in here in a second to be able to experience this kind of thing, but considering how serious this is I need to be able to concentrate and do all I can for this boy before it's too late… I'm sorry Ichigo. Next time if the case isn't so serious you will be in here, I promise." Isshin stated swiftly and without even waiting for a response from his obviously frustrated son he disappeared into the room where several doctors were already trying to save the young boy's life.
Ichigo merely stayed frozen to the spot; how could his father just shut him out like that? He never thought he would actually want to be part of one of his dad's crazy 'learn how to be a doctor' stunts, but for once he did. Which raised the question, what is it about this kid that makes him any more special than anyone else… Without even thinking about what he was doing, Ichigo barged into the room his dad had disappeared into mere moments ago.
"Wha-" Ichigo spluttered at the sight that met him or more particularly the sounds that met him.
"Dr. Kurosaki, his temperature keeps climbing!"
"What should we do?"
"The cold packs don't seem to be having any effect!"
There was one voice however that roared among the commotion commanding order. "Everyone calm down! Someone get a bath of cool water ready for the patient!" A few of the doctors ran quickly to the side of the room where a small tub was situated and started filling it with water except for one doctor with a confused look on her face, refusing to move from Isshin's presence.
"But, doctor… is that really the best thing to do with the patient in question being unconscious?"
"I did consider that, but we don't have much of a choice at this point…" The elder Kurosaki replied, "If we don't bring this boy's temperature down soon it very well may be too late." Isshin shook his head dismissively, "We will just have to make sure someone will make sure to keep his head above the water until his body reaches a safer temperature…" It was then that Isshin noticed Ichigo frozen at the door.
"Ichigo! I told you to stay outsid-actually, instead of that I would prefer if you go wait in my office; I have something I need to discuss with you when I finish here."
"But-"
"No buts, Ichigo. Now go." Ichigo knew when not to argue with his father and this was undoubtedly one of those times. So regretfully, Ichigo left the room knowing that he would have to leave it to his father to do all he could to save the young white-haired boy's life. Isshin was after all the best doctor in town and if anyone could do it he could.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Now that summer has decided to roll around I should have more time to work on this story along with Hidden Truths. In the meanwhile please review! I'd really like to know how you think the story is going. :) Thanks again!