Title: The Fragile Mind

Summary: AU A hopeless case they called her. He believed that he could help her. Will his love cure her or will it be her bane? IchiRuki

Shalan's Say: I AM SO SORRY GUYS! I have been in school… don't worry about Somewhere, Apostando and The Best… I have the next chapters in the works but I have been SO busy with my classes this year… and taking AP Psychology made me want to create this.

Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Bleach. Nor am I Sigmund Freud. I do, however, own a Psychology book.

Glossary:

Dissociative Identity Disorder (Dissociative): Formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder. It is diagnosed as a person having one or more completely alternate personalities. Commonly confused with Schizophrenia. Fairly rare as only 1 in 100 people will ever be diagnosed with it.

Schizophrenia: A form of "insanity" which is normally identified with hearing whispers or voices and seeing objects or people who are not there. More common than Dissociative.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD): A disorder that is identified with an overly repetitive nature or obsessive cleanliness. Can range from mild (not allowing food to touch on a plate, repeating the same actions in the same order etc.) to extreme (not being able to even walk outside one's door, repeating actions a certain amount of time and even repeating the repetition if one thing is out of place or order etc.)

There will be a glossary at the beginning of each chapter with terms that you may not understand… or that have an entirely separate meaning from what is normally used in everyday life… hope it helps you…

Chapter: Oh So Beautiful Ophelia

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He was young, attractive and the talk of the asylum. The nurses flitted through the hallways, whispering behind their hands about the kind young man who seemed to be some kind of saint. He was tall, with a strong jaw line and sparkling ocher eyes and a smile that nearly knocked them off their feet… but beside that… his messy orange hair seemed to attract them even more. It was new, different, and apparently quite beautiful.

Still he seemed unfazed by all the attention and did his job extremely well. He seemed to care for the patients in the hospital almost as if they were dear to him. His touch was gentle, his voice calming and lulling. He seemed to be the best at what he did as he had the knack for talking to people and calming them down. Yes, Ichigo Kurosaki was indeed good at what he did.

"Here he comes…" the receptionist nearly shivered with excitement as the young doctor walked towards them. "Good morning Dr. Kurosaki…" the two receptionist chimed in unison.

"Good morning ladies! Anything new happen while I was gone?" He signed in and took his badge, clasping it to his belt.

"Nothing really… but a new patient was brought in this morning… she's been transferred from another hospital and has been labeled incurable… the other doctors are working with her right now…" he nodded at her and smiled.

"Thanks Naomi…" he walked in through the heavy silver door and looked over into the large room where a few of the early rising patients were doing whatever seemed to please them. The occupants of the hospital ranged widely, from teenagers to people close to their deathbeds but they all had one thing in common… society had disregarded them because they were a little different.

"Dr. Kurosaki…" A spry looking old man trounced up to him.

"Marcus…" he nodded and the man nodded. "Ah… so you're here this morning… where is Roman?"

"I haven't a clue…" The older man shook his head as he spoke of his alternate. Ichigo found that if you remembered the names of their alternate personalities they took to you better.

"Good… make sure you eat your lunch today…" he smiled and patted the man on his shoulder, walking off. The psych ward seemed to be bustling right along. He nodded at another one of the doctors and he smiled back. "I heard something about a new case?" He lifted his eyebrows at one of the other doctors as he passed. The doctor nodded.

"A young woman… she had been at a hospital in Japan and now she's here. Phew! I'm glad I'm not dealing with her anymore…" Ichigo looked puzzled. "It took three doctors and a tranquilizer to get her into the straight jacket. We had thought we weren't going to need it but once we got her into the room she flew off the handle and started screaming and fussing and biting and MAN! It took us five hours to catch her because someone left the door open…" he threw his hands into the air. "She's the talk of the asylum though… they all want to know what her story is…"

"What's the diagnosis?"

"Her former reports say… Dissociative… but I don't know… I think it's just straight up Schizophrenia," the doctor wiped his forehead, "she's in room 9… from what I've heard she's been pummeling herself up against the padded walls all night long. It makes you feel sorry for them… doesn't it…" his eyes grew sad and Ichigo nodded.

"I'll go visit her and see what I can do…" the carrot-top looked at the portfolio in his hand. "I think that's the case the girls gave me anyways…" the doctor nodded. "Alright Vince… thanks…" he patted the other on the back and walked off down the hallway.

The beautiful marble hallways shone from the morning sunrise, colors dancing across the floors and walls. Ichigo smiled lightly as he watched the reflections, for some reason… the idea of tousling with a case this difficult sounded… intriguing. He hummed as he walked towards the room then paused. A solid thud resounded then a few seconds would go by and again he would hear another thud. This seemed to continue unstoppably. He blinked. So she was running into the walls. He would hear her occasional grunt as she hit the wall but other than that the room was silent.

"Better leave this out here…" he dropped the papers on the ground lightly then walked to the door, opening it. Another thud then everything went silent except for her heavy, ragged breathing and mixed whines. She sat on the floor, her arms strapped about her body, a cap was pulled over her head and the strap was tight enough that she couldn't open her mouth. He could see a few strands of black hair peeking out from beneath the cream colored cap. Her blue eyes were wide and shadowed by dark circles. He stepped into the room, watching her as she eyed him suspiciously.

"Miss Kuchiki… my name is…" he never did get to finish his sentence for at that moment she had officially made her decision about whether he was to be trusted or not… and her verdict was not what he had expected. He was thrown back against the padded door as she hurled her entire weight into his stomach and chest with something like a scream. His back hit the wall hard and he felt his head spin, his lungs momentarily out of service. He could hear her heavy breathing through her nose then cleared the black from his eyes as she ran back across the room to begin her charge again. "Awe hell no!" He jumped to his feet as the wild eyed young woman threw herself at him again.

He braced himself and took the force of her tackle with his arms and chest, crumpling her to the floor. "Miss Kuchiki you have to calm down!" He told her as she struggled violently. He growled and pinned her to the floor. "Calm down!" He repeated as she continued to struggle. "I'll take that cap off if you stop!" He tried again and this seemed to interest her and she paused a moment, her eyes still wild. "Will you calm down if I take it off?" He panted, she was certainly an angry one. Her eyes still wide she seemed to consider this. "Just nod… if you want me to take it off…" she paused a while longer then he saw the tilt of her head and he let her go, reaching over and unbuckling the leather strap and immediately felt a sharp pain in his hand.

"JESUS!" He felt tears prick at the back of his eyes as her teeth sunk into his right hand. "Let go!" He said as calmly as he could muster. She growled at him, her teeth sinking in deeper.

He wedged his thumb in between her teeth and forced her mouth open, jerking his hand back. She dove for his shoulder but his hand gripped her jaw. She snapped her teeth at him like a rabid dog, the look on her face almost wicked as his blood dripped from the corner of her mouth. "Look… I was nice and I let you out of that cap… the least you could do is stop biting me!" He growled and she blinked innocently.

"YOU! YOU'RE ONE-ONE OF THEM!" She shouted at him. "YOU'VE COME TO LOCK ME AWAY AGAIN!" She sounded terrified and Ichigo blinked as she suddenly scuttled away from him into the corner. He let his breath come back to him.

"They tricked you then…" he spoke after a few minutes of silence. She eyed him again then turned her back to him. "Is that right? The other doctors tricked you into letting them put the jacket on. Then they tricked you again when they brought you here…" he could almost sense her pain. She was scared not insane.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" She screamed at him and struggled to get out of the straight jacket. "LET ME OUT! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" She closed her eyes tightly, as if to block out the world and Ichigo watched as her disposition changed.

"So they were right…" he muttered as her head lifted up from the tight little ball she had been in. This time, however, the face was calm, curious, but calmer than the other had been. Her head turned towards him and he braced himself for another attack.

"I'm afraid… I didn't get your name…" her voice spoke but he knew it wasn't her. It was the alter personality that was now speaking to him.

"Dr. Ichigo Kurosaki…" he nearly spluttered as she stood. It was the first time he had seen her full height and she honestly wasn't very tall. He estimated her to be around five feet, if that, as from what he could see she only barely reached the middle of his chest.

"Very well… my name… is Hisui," her blue eyes narrowed into a smile as something close to a grin graced her face.

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When Ichigo walked out of the asylum the next morning he leaned against the wall, running a hand through his hair. The cool autumn breeze caressed his face as he dropped his hand to his side. He closed his eyes, taking the day and the night shift had been hell the day before. He had dealt with psychopaths, he had dealt with OCD, he had dealt with depression but never before had he dealt with someone quite like the Kuchiki case. She was a certifiable head case.

"How… weird…" Ichigo shook his head. In the time that he had been in school and in the asylum he had never seen a case quite like hers. He opened his car door and got in. He just couldn't get his mind around her. He started the car and drove out of the parking lot, a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Arriving at his apartment complex was completely uneventful and he found it rather odd that no one was in the vicinity. He shrugged lightly and walked up the stairs exhaustedly then unlocked his door. The comfortable cream and brown flat welcomed him with a blast of warm air. He smiled tiredly as he walked in, closing the door behind him.

The doctor hung his jacket on the coat rack then walked past his mother's shrine. He paused and bowed to it before wishing her good night.

"Maybe I'm starting to get as nuts as my patients…" he laughed at himself as he walked into his bedroom. Ichigo dragged himself into his bedroom, barely getting his clothes off before throwing himself onto his bed.

Images of his most recent patient came flooding back to him and he wondered again, what had made her the way she was. He ran through the list of possibilities then corrected himself, some people were just like that and there wasn't any particular reason for it… but something told him that there was a reason behind her behavior.

"Put an antic disposition on…" he mumbled as he curled an arm under the pillow, sleep surrounding him like a cascade of darkness.

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Moonlight flooded in through the barred window, casting awkward shadows into the white room. Her eyes lifted upwards as she attempted to crush herself up against the wall, trying to keep the light from touching her body. She didn't understand… why had all of this happened to her?

Coherent thought left her for a moment as she buried her face into her knees. Why did everything happen to her? She didn't see any way out of this place that she was in. She didn't trust the doctors that came in, they all lied, they all told lies… ugly nasty lies…

She nearly let sobs over take her again. He spoke ugly nasty lies too… the one that had come in. She knew it all too well but part of her wanted to believe his ugly lies. "He speaks lies… ugly ugly lies…" she curled into a tighter ball. "They all speak lies…" she hissed then closed her eyes but didn't sleep… she couldn't sleep… she never could… "HI-SA-NAAAAAAA!" She screamed at the top of her lungs as despair took over her again.

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How was that for a psychologically disturbing chapter? XD It wasn't supposed to be but if it was that's cool…