I am so humbled by the response from everyone who read the last chapter! Seriously a massive thank you to ShiroShipShipShipShip, Sherryfanfic1999, Sirius1696, Dsephna and Nico Zi for all your amazing reviews!
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XxXxX
Dr Urahara was completely different to what I'd expected. I don't really know what I was expecting? A professional middle aged man with a long sweeping lab coat on and a tidy office. That wasn't what I got though. Dr Urahara didn't wear a lab coat he wore loose fitting three quarter lengths and a long sweeping black coat that reminded me of some kind of cape. Then there was the green and white stripped hat that basically hid his eyes from view. His office was disorganised chaos and when I arrived I had to walk through a narrowly carved path in the middle of piles of paperwork and stuff just to get to the couch.
How anyone could work in this kind of mess I'd never know. He was tugging at a file at the bottom of a massive stack and the stack gave a tremble before he steadied it with a hand. I held my breath, expecting it all to come tumbling down but it didn't.
'So Ichigo,' he chuckled bringing my file up and glancing through the report. 'Dr Hitsugaya has referred you to me for my expertise in helping with your particular challenge.' He closed the file over and tossed it behind him somewhere into the background. I blinked at him, he was so fucking strange.
'I-yes he said you were one of the best-'
'Oh I am,' he grinned and walked around the messy desk to perch on top of it, his feet dangling down over the side. 'I already have a pretty good idea of what's going on. Though I want to ask you some questions if that's okay?'
'Yeah sure,' it was easier to talk to this man than it was to talk to the incredibly sexy Dr Hitsugaya.
'Alright Ichigo tell me about your wife.'
'Orihime is a good person,' I said, 'she's kind and would help anyone out.'
'Does she work?' he asked.
'No, she has always wanted to be a stay at home wife,' I rested my chin on the palm of my hand.
'And that bothers you?'
'No, why would you say that?' I asked fixing him with a stare.
'Your entire body language just slumped in the couch as you said it,' he pointed out and I blinked, realising he was right. 'So there's something about it that you resent, what is it?'
I had to think. Did I resent her for wanting to stay at home? I felt a bit of guilt bubbling in the back of my throat and realised that yes I did.
'I've always been brought up in a family of hard workers,' I sighed eventually, 'my dad works so hard every day. He even makes house calls after office times. So I've always had a very strong work ethic.' I rubbed my arms as I continued. 'I don't resent her for wanting to stay at home, I resent the fact that I'm still expected to do home chores despite the fact that I work too.' I hadn't ever voiced any of this before and I felt like a weight was slowly lifting as I spoke about them.
'That's only natural Ichigo, so what do you do?'
'Well,' I sat up a little straighter on the couch. 'When I was working I'd come home and have to make the dinner too because she never learned to cook. It bothers me that she won't try. She says she does but instead of following a recipe or a television programme to make something she just throws her own stuff together and cooks things how she thinks they should be cooked. Most of the time it's inedible and when it is she gets upset and I'm left hungry but somehow comforting her. When I'm made to cook which is all the time now, it would eat into the time I'd normally spend going to the gym and I pride myself on physical health.' Why was this so easy to talk about? Why was saying all this making me feel so much better? 'She does her fair share of other things like the laundry but again she does it her own way. I was the one who had to teach her to separate colours and even when she cleans I still find myself going by behind her because she's not done it right.'
'I see, that must be really stressful for you,' he said it and it sounded sincere like he really was feeling for me and my situation. 'Do you think this stress might have something to do with why you've been feeling so low?'
'Yeah I suppose it might,' I sighed as I thought about it.
'It sounds to me like the fact you're keeping it all bottled up isn't helping you Ichigo.' He reached around for a mug and took a sip of its contents. 'Even as you've been sitting here talking to me about it all I can see a physical weight being lifted from your shoulders. When was the last time you spoke to anyone about all this?'
'I've never,' I sighed.
'Is there anyone you can speak too?' he asked and I was thoughtful.
'Well yes, I have my father and I have Renji.'
'Who's Renji?' he asked.
'An old friend of mine from University, I dropped out to support Orihime when we started to get serious in our relationship.
'What were you and Renji studying?'
'We were studying Sports Science together, we both dropped out around the same time. He got his girlfriend pregnant at the time and needed to get a job to support her through the pregnancy. She works though so he'd planned to go back and complete his studying after she went back to work but he never did. We work in the same office space now but we still try to work out together when we can.'
'When was the last time you saw him?'
'Just before I got signed off work a few weeks ago.'
'I see and has he not contacted you?'
'No he has, I've just not had the muse to… see anyone really.' I shrugged my shoulders and he nodded his head.
'That's a side effect of your depression Ichigo, it's completely normal. We'll come back to that in a while but right now tell me about this job of yours.'
'It's just an office job. I look at reports and crunch numbers. It's boring as fuck.'
'I see,' he sat back thoughtfully for a few moments. 'Now I'm going to ask a couple of personal questions. Why did you choose to marry Orihime?'
'I-' don't know? It's what I wanted to say, because I honestly didn't. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, the spark was short lived and it seemed to have fizzled out.
'Ichigo you know I am not here to judge you, I am here to help you try and get to the bottom of the issues you've been having.' He was calm and there was something soothing in his voice as he spoke.
'I married her because she wanted me too,' I sighed eventually and watched as he nodded grimly at me.
'Do you still have any feelings for her?'
'No,' I sighed as I finally admitted it. 'No I don't.'
'I see,' we sat in silence for a little while as I digested all this. It was the first time I'd admitted out loud how unhappy I actually was in my relationship. Perhaps I'd been living under the delusion that if I got some sex drive back that our entire relationship would get better. But that was a hell of a lot of pressure to put onto my sexuality and maybe the fact I didn't want the relationship to improve was the issue why my sex drive wasn't improving either? On some subconscious level it was trying to tell me how I really felt.
'Ichigo,' Dr Urahara said after a while, 'I saw in your report that you were able to get an erection during the examination, was it during the intracavernous injection or…?'
'No,' I felt an embarrassed blush form on my face and I actually brought a hand up to hide it from view.
'There's nothing to be ashamed of Ichigo, I just want to know was that the first time someone else has been near you other than your wife?'
'Yes, it's not like I'm unfaithful.'
'I know you're not, I just wanted to be sure.' I glanced up at him and he seemed to be waving a delicate fan at his face as he contemplated. 'Perhaps it's because you're putting so much stress on the impact of your sex life improving your relationship that's why you're struggling so much? Perhaps it's another reason…'
'What do you mean?' I asked curiously.
'I want to conduct an experiment,' he closed over his fan and slipped back off his desk making his way around the other side. 'I make these little "care" packages for this kind of scenario. I want you to take one away and see if you're able to reach orgasm at all. Best not to do it at home when your wife is around. Is there anywhere else you can go to get privacy?'
'She goes to visit her friend Tatsuki every other evening so I'll wait until she does that why?'
He walked around and handed me one of the packages, it was in a large envelope and I took a peak inside, feeling my face heat up. There was lube, several packets of tissues and a magazine. There also seemed to be a couple of condoms thrown in there just for the hell of it.
'I want you to see if you can reach orgasm yourself, the magazine is particular I chose it for that reason. Sometimes people have particular kinks and fetishes, the magazine is diverse and unique so whatever helps you reach orgasm might give us a little more insight into what's going on.' He said it all with such a doctor like tone that it was easier to not feel embarrassed by the entire situation. I quickly stuffed the envelope down into the back of my rucksack. There was a little section at the back that separated it from the rest of my bag anyway that Orihime didn't know about and she wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed to figure it out bless her. It wasn't like I was trying to hide it because I felt like I was cheating. This was an experiment for my own personal health after all. I just didn't think it was something she needed to know about.
'Alright,' I said once I was satisfied it was hidden away.
'Let me know on Friday how you got on.' He smiled and I stood up and nodded my head.
'Thank you Dr Urahara,' I smiled at him and he waved me with a hand.
'God that makes me sound old just call me Kisuke.'
'Alright,' I grinned at him despite myself, 'thanks Kisuke.' With that I opened the door to his office and disappeared through it.
XxXxX
I didn't dare remove the magazine or the contents of the care package until Orihime was gone from the house. She'd asked me how the session had gone. I told her that it went well and I was seeing him again on Friday. She didn't press the matter but I knew she wanted too. I was a little thankful she was letting me be.
'I'm going to visit Tatsuki tonight will you be okay by yourself?' she asked and I nodded, perfect opportunity.
'I'll maybe go for a run,' I said.
Once she left the house I waited a good fifteen minutes or so before going up to the bathroom and locking the door behind me. She had a nasty habit of forgetting something and doubling back for it but usually after fifteen minutes meant I was in the safe and she wasn't coming back. That's normally the time I would leave to go on my run but not tonight. I dropped my pants around my ankles and kicked them off. The magazine was a lot thicker than I expected as I pulled it out and I started to flick through it to see if anything caught my fancy. I started at the beginning where it seemed most normal. There were women in different positions, some more modest and others that left nothing to the imagination. They had lots of different body types, some women were small some were big, some had massive breasts like my wife and others had smaller bodies. Some had massive asses, and every kind of coloured hair you could imagine. Some were old… they did nothing for me… some were late teens at best… they did nothing for me either. Some were pregnant, some were tied up, some were gagged and some were blindfolded. Nothing.
I was beginning to lose hope then I skipped a few pages and my heart stopped. Then it began to beat ten times faster. This magazine wasn't just women…
I'd come into a section that was all about men. Naked men, some more muscled than others, some a bit over weight and all with varying sizes of lengths. I found myself eagerly glancing through the pages as if searching for something. Then someone caught my attention. He looked young around the age of 19 or so, he looked tiny but had massive green eyes. His spikes were wild and his hair was almost platinum blond and he looked just like…
I gulped. I was getting hard, I could feel the heat pooling down between my legs and my erection springing to life. The young boy was in three different positions on the page, the first he was propped up by an arm as he lay down, his legs spread wide and his other hand wrapped around his dick as he stroked himself, he was looking suggestively at the camera with half lidded eyes. The second position he was on his front, his tiny tight ass up in the air and exposed for the reader to see. He was glancing back behind him suggestively and it was clear his hand was still on his dick. The final position was simple, he was on his knees and stroking himself but his face in this image reminded me of the fantasy I'd had of Dr Hitsugaya. The way his mouth was parted a little and he was gazing through half lidded eyes. That was the image I focused on, that one and the second one as I poured lube onto my hand and slowly began to stroke myself.
The pleasure coursed up and down my body and I bit back every shameful thought that entered my mind about how wrong this was. I needed to know, I had to explore this. I continued to pump my member imagining what it would feel like if it was being engulfed into Dr Hitsugayas mouth. What it would feel like if his tongue was lapping at it and he was moaning around it, sending vibrations straight down and up my spine. It took an embarrassingly short amount of time before I was blowing my load all over myself as wave after wave of pleasure coursed through my body. I allowed myself to enjoy it and enjoy the gentle come down after it without thinking too heavily. But it didn't take long before that overwhelming shame was coursing back down through my body. I shouldn't have had an orgasm over that. It was sick and wrong. Dr Hitsugaya was likely straight and it wasn't fair of me to think of another man like that when I was straight too.
Then the tears were coming before I could stop them and I sat there on the floor of my bathroom crying into my hand like a pathetic man. I was straight. I wasn't gay. The tears spilled down my cheeks and the familiar feeling of shame settled heavily in my chest. I couldn't be gay.
What would my mother have thought of that? Having a gay son, a stupid pathetic crying fag of a son?
I sniffed loudly and snapped the magazine shut. I decided to think less in a bid to calm myself down and quickly went about tidying and cleaning the mess up. I put all the contents back into the care package and shoved it into the back of my bag again. I didn't want Orihime to know that I'd been crying, but I couldn't stop the tears now that they'd started. My marriage was crumbling around me, I was in a pit of depression, I was off work and I couldn't even give my wife the one thing expected of the male species.
What was worse to top it all off. The thing that made me sadder than any of it was the thought that I could absolutely not be with Dr Hitsugaya. That more the most devastating part of it all.
XxXxX
I took every opportunity when Orihime left the house at any point to pull out the magazine and try and stir awake my erection at any of the female pictures. The only ones that elected any response from me were the ones with short hair and tiny breasts and I had to wonder if it was because they looked like men.
After the initial shock had worn off I realised I was slowly coming to terms with it. So that Friday when I walked back into Kisuke's office I was fully intent on speaking it through.
'So Ichigo, how did you get on?' he asked and I folded my arms across my chest with a soft sigh.
'I learned a bit about myself,' I stated simply as I glanced around his office.
'Anything you want to share?' he asked, 'remember no judgement here.'
'I think I might be gay,' I said it and as I said it I realised it was true. My initial denial and breakdown towards the beginning of the week ebbed away in the back of my mind. I actually felt a little bit lighter as I sat there, so much so that I smiled. I smiled for the first time in months.
'What a discovery,' he chuckled, 'well done, so you were able to complete okay? No complications?'
'No, I was fine,' I sighed as I rubbed my temple.
'Alright then and how do you feel with this discovery?'
'At first I was shocked, I got really upset but I think it was a bit of the depression speaking. The rest of this week though I've been feeling so much better about it all.'
'That's a normal first reaction, it must have been a bit of a shock to you of course,' he was nodding his head encouragingly, 'very brave to open yourself up to the idea though and embrace it.'
'Thank you Kisuke,' I smiled up at him and he grinned.
'Hey no problem, now what are you going to do about Orihime?'
'I-' I rubbed the back of my head, 'I need to think about all that. I don't want to do anything too hasty just now. I've only seen a naked man in a magazine right now so I don't know how I'd feel about actually being in close proximity to one.' I shrugged my shoulders, 'I'm going to wait before I make any hasty decisions.'
'I think that's a smart idea, you don't want to hurt her right now until you're fully committed to this new side of you. So what are you going to do next?'
'Well, I wanted to take Dr Hitsugaya out for dinner to thank him for his help,' I said first, pulling a bottle of expensive wine from my bag. 'I got this for you.'
'For me?' he reached out and took the bottle as I handed it to him. He seemed to look a little amused and there was a flash of mischief in his eyes. 'You knew I loved this wine?'
'I saw an empty bottle of it the last time I was here,' I smiled and shrugged, 'you don't strike me as the kind of person to get dressed up and go out for dinner.'
'Very observant of you, you're right of course. I prefer to stay home alone with my cat.' He chuckled and tilted his head curiously. 'So you're going to get to know our little doctor better?'
'Not like that,' I said far too quickly it caused him to smirk at me and I could feel colour flourishing into my cheeks. That was actually a little bit of my plan. But I wanted to build a friendship with him. There was no reason why I couldn't get to know the man who would soon be taking over my fathers' clinic after all right? 'I just wanted to thank him.'
'He'd probably appreciate it a lot, he transferred here from Junrinan which is about three hours away by plane, from what I've heard he's not managed to make many friends in that time except your father and your sisters.' He was thoughtful for a moment, 'so it would maybe be nice for you two to get to know each other. Maybe you could help introduce him to more people.'
'Yeah,' I nodded my head, that was a great excuse and Kisuke had just placed it into my lap. Looking at him and that mischievous smirk I had to wonder if he had done it on purpose. Now I needed an excuse to tell Orihime.
'Another thing Ichigo, I'd like to see you get back in touch with Renji from your work. Drawing yourself away from your friends is not a good route to helping you get over your depression. I think you should speak to him, if you're not ready for anyone else to know then that's fine. But you still need friends to talk too so please get in touch with him for me?' he asked and I nodded my head.
If my doctor was telling me to go and make friends that was the perfect excuse to tell my wife until I could work out exactly where I wanted all of this to go. I didn't quite have the heart to just dump her and get a divorce right on the spot. I needed to know she'd be okay too. Despite the fact I didn't love her romantically it didn't mean I didn't love her at all.
'I will thank you,' I nodded at him and he waved to me as I left his office. I knew exactly where I was heading.
'Ichigo my boy what brings you here?' my father asked grinning broadly when he saw me. He was standing at the reception desk where Karin was shuffling through some papers.
'Hey dad,' I said as I walked over to them. The reception area was just beside the waiting room and I turned to see that there were only two patients left sitting. One of them was a middle aged woman and the other was a younger looking boy, he looked about fifteen and I had to wonder what he was doing here alone. 'I just came by for a visit.'
'Excellent,' Isshin turned towards Karin and asked her to go and file some of the paperwork away in the office behind the reception desk. She left obediently and Isshin glanced around before leaning in to lower his voice.
'How are things going, are you healthy and okay? I asked Dr Hitsugaya but he wouldn't tell me anything and scolded me when I tried to access your personal files.'
'Dad,' I sighed, 'you can't do stuff like that it's private.' I groaned, 'I'm fine don't worry. Dr Hitsugaya referred me to a specialist and things are going well.'
'A specialist?' he sounded worried now, 'what for?'
'Therapy, it's to help with my depression,' he knew about my depression at least and I saw him visibly relax and he nodded his head.
'Alright then great, I'm really glad.'
'I actually came by to invite him out to dinner to thank him properly.'
'Oh?' he grinned and clapped my shoulder, 'that sounds awesome Ichigo, he's a good kid you two would make great friends.' A door to the far side opened and Dr Hitsugaya came out. He didn't notice me as he walked around the corner and called the young boys name. The boy looked like he was on the verge of tears as he stood up and walked with him into the room. The door closed and I could hear my father gibbering some nonsense in the background as I wondered what was going on.
'It's like my two sons are spending some quality bonding time-' he was saying and I watched as the door to Dr Hitsugayas office opened again and he walked out. His face looked sombre as he walked over.
'Dr Kurosaki may I have a consult please?' he asked and my father started and turned to look behind him. They shared a look with each other and then he moved away from the desk and followed him. They walked away from everyone and stood speaking. I was curiously watching the exchange as Dr Matsumoto who was tall woman with long strawberry blond hair walked out. She put some files down at the reception desk and smiled at me.
'Hello Ichigo what a surprise,' she grinned and I tore my eyes away from the two doctors at the end of the hall to look at her.
'Hello Rangiku,' I said, she'd already met me. She was the first doctor my father employed but she refused to take over the running of the clinic because she preferred to finish at her exact finishing time. She couldn't do what my father did so she let Dr Hitsugaya come forward to take up the offer. She refused to let me call her Dr Matsumoto, very much like Kisuke. She followed where my gaze had drifted back to the two doctors and I watched as my father walked into the room at the end of the corridor.
'What's going on?' she asked and I shrugged my shoulders.
'Honestly I have no idea,' I said truthfully and we shared a worried glance before she glanced down at the clipboard in her hand.
'Mrs Unagiya?' she asked stepping forward as the woman stood up to follow her back into her office.
The clinic was small, there were only the three doctors, my father was the main doctor and had two offices, one was an actual administrative office and the other was his office where he saw patients. The other two offices belonged to Rangiku and Dr Hitsugaya. Karin was studying to become a doctor and she would be joining to help in the clinic after she finished studying. That's the date my father was waiting for before he retired fully. Until that date she was working here part time as a receptionist. Yuzu would help out from time to time too but she was studying to become a Chef. She'd always loved to cook. She was good at it too; after all she'd been the one who had educated me in the kitchen. It was part of our bonding time together. We'd bake something or cook together.
The office door opened again and Isshin came out, walking down the hall towards me he reached around the desk and lifted the phone up. I glanced at the number he dialled and it was the number for the local police station.
'Yeah hello is that Mary? Yes, it's Dr Kurosaki. I've got another one for you,' he sighed, 'yes… yes… yes please. No I'll be here with him. Likely Dr Hitsugaya will still be here too. Please… if you can… yes… thank you.'
He hung up the phone and I glanced at him curiously.
'Is everything okay?'
'Poor kid, he was raped by his uncle. He's run away from home just now and he doesn't want to go back. We need the permission of a social worker or guardian before we can conduct a physical examination but Toshiro is in there just now with him.' I felt my heart sink through the floor and gazed at the door, trying to remember the small boys face.
'Do you get these often?' I asked judging by what I'd heard while he was on the phone.
'We get different cases, sometimes domestic abuse and usually it's Rangiku who sees to the women and either myself or Toshiro who see to the men. Rape is quite common but… this a sensitive case so don't say anything.'
'Of course not!' I said and he nodded grimly to me. I glanced at the clock. It was approaching five thirty when the clinic was due to shut. Karin came back out and Isshin followed her back through with more paperwork as they chatted.
I sat down on the more comfortable seat beside the reception desk and stared off into the distance. All I could think about was that young boy.
Rangiku came out her office and her patient thanked her and left. She walked around the desk and turned in her paperwork stretching out.
'Alright, finished,' she smiled and leaned against the desk. 'Do you know what's going on?' I filled her in and her smile fell into a deep frown.
'It's one of the hardest things about this job,' she glanced over at the door. 'I hope Toshiros okay.'
'What do you mean?' I asked, unable to stop myself.
'He's just a little more sensitive to these things than he'd let anyone believe.' She sighed and slowly shrugged her lab coat off placing it up on a coat hanger behind the desk. She took her personal coat into her arms and walked back over.
'Are you waiting for your dad to finish?' she asked and I rubbed the back of my head.
'Tos- Dr Hitsugaya actually,' I corrected myself, 'I wanted to invite him out tonight to thank him for something.'
'Aww,' she squealed and leaned in dangerously close. 'That will cheer him up, that makes me feel better I have to leave because I have plans with Gin.' She smiled at me, Gin was her husband. They'd been married for a few years longer than Orihime and I. 'At least I know he won't be alone tonight, goodness knows he could do with the company after this.'
She waved me off as she left and I watched as a police car pulled up outside along with another black car. They walked in and I called my father back out. He led them down the hall and spoke to the two officers. They'd brought a male and female officer and a female social worker from the looks of things. They walked down the hall and into the room.
The time ticked by and about half an hour passed. Karin was back out and we started to play a pretend game of soccer with our fingers on the desk using pencils as goal posts and a scrunched up piece of paper as a football. We stood up instantly and watched as the door was propped open.
'Karin could you put the kettle on?' Isshin called and she quickly scampered off. The police offers had grey faces as they made their way out towards the car. I watched them and they stood speaking into the car radio with the doors open. The social worker walked down and into my dads office and I stood up stretching out. I walked down the hall towards the window at the end but didn't go too far. I didn't want them to think I was spying on them.
'Dr Kurosaki?' it was the unmistakable call of Dr Hitsugaya and no one was around.
'Hold on, I'll get him,' I called back.
'Is that you Ichigo?' he asked.
'Yeah,' I said back.
'It's just for some juice in the vending machine, I don't have any lucozade left,' he called.
'I can get that,' I walked down the hall to where the waiting area was and glanced inside the vending machine. Most of it was healthier snacks but there was a bottle of apple juice which I put money into the machine and got. I took it back up to the room and knocked gently on the door.
'Come in,' he was behind the curtain and I went to hand it in making sure I kept my gaze adverted. The boy had been through enough. I could hear him crying and sniffing.
'Could you get young Ino here some tissues?' he asked and I glanced around his desk spotting a box of them. I obediently went and picked them up walking back around to place them down on a table close to the boys head. The young boys' hands were shaking as he took a sip of the drink. I knew that sugar was good for someone who was in shock.
'You're being very brave,' Dr Hitsugaya murmured gently to the boy, 'what do you think of Ichigos hair colour?' I glanced down at the young boys face and cracked a grin. He was on the bed and I was stood up beside his head. Dr Hitsugaya was between his legs, out of sight and covered by a personal covering hiding everything from view. The boy looked up at me with timid and red eyes.
'It reminds me of a sunset,' he spoke wiping his nose on his sleeve as I pulled out a tissue and handed it to him.
'Does it now, maybe he was out in the sun for too long when he got it?' Dr Hitsugaya commented and I grinned. He was clearly trying to take the boys mind off everything.
'Even better than that,' I spoke softly as I bent down a little so he could hear me. 'I was meant to be a replacement traffic cone.' The boy chuckled wetly as he sniffed into the tissue and grimaced a little. His entire body tensed.
'I know this is hard Ino, but I need you to relax for me as much as you can please, big deep breaths.'
He was on the verge of tears again and they poured out his giant eyes. I tried to get his attention back by taking a big massive deep breath and letting it go dramatically, he copied me and I watched him relax.
'You know how Dr Hitsugaya got his hair?' I asked him with a mischievous grin and the young boy shook his head.
'You don't know this story?' I gasped dramatically, 'everyone around here knows it.'
'Watch yourself Kurosaki. I have some sharp pointy things in my drawers over there you don't like very much and I'll stick you with them if I'm forced too.'
I laughed it off but the threat did actually make me break into a cold sweat.
'Well, he was out late one night and was walking home alone which you should never do,' I made a point of stating and the boy nodded in agreement. 'When he thought he heard a cat meowing so he went to investigate. While he was looking for the cat his friend played a joke on him. You see his friend dressed as a ghost, and started to make noises in the trees to scare him.'
'W-what did he do?'
'Well, he called out to them, "oh spirits of the great beyond,"' the boy was chuckling now, '"please do not hurt me!" that's what he said to them but his friend jumped out on him and scared him so badly his whole hair turned white,' I cracked up at the huge grin that spread across the boys face.
'Most amusing Kurosaki,' Dr Hitsugaya chuckled and he sat back bringing a hand up to gently pat the boys covered knee. 'You're all done Ino, thank you for being so brave. Ichigo and I are going to let you get changed now in private okay?' He moved away and I followed suit I spotted the gloves he wore as he took them off. There were traces of blood on them as he took them off and disposed of them in the appropriate bin. He pulled the curtain all the way around to give him even more privacy.
'I'm right out here Ino if you need a hand with anything let me know. Take your time, if there's a bit of pain its normal.' He called and I walked back towards the door. As I got to it my father was coming around the corner.
'Ichigo, everything alright?' he asked glancing into the room.
'Your son was a huge help,' Dr Hitsugaya said as he glanced down at a report in his hands.
'The boys mother is on her way to pick him up, the social worker is going to oversee everything but they want to take him back to the police station first. He'll have to turn in his clothes for forensic investigation so his mother is bringing a change for him.'
'Alright, I have the samples here,' I turned back to see Dr Hitsugaya holding up a clear see through packet with several bottles of individual swaps inside. I grimaced at the thought.
'Alright,' my father stepped into the office and took the bag into his hands. 'I'll give this to them for the forensic unit to investigate.' He lifted the bag up into the air to examine it and sighed as he turned towards the door. 'You and Ichigo should leave soon, it's nearly six, I can stay here and shut down for the night.'
'Are you sure?' Dr Hitsugaya asked glancing over and my father nodded.
'Besides Ichigo has something he wants to ask you.' My father grinned and walked away and I was left feeling stupid and uncomfortable. I never really thought this through. I never realised how uncomfortable it would be knowing that this stunning beautiful Dr had literally seen every part of me that no one should really see. Not even my wife had seen that much of me… or felt that much of me.
'Yes, well, I wanted,' I stuttered and glanced back to make sure my father was gone, 'I wanted to thank you properly. Kisuke is an amazing guy, he helped me a lot. I wondered if I could take you out for dinner tonight to thank you?'
'Oh,' he blinked in surprise at me and I felt stupid for a moment as I seriously thought he was about to decline my offer. 'Sure, that'd be great. I'm just going to make sure Ino here is okay first.' He nodded to the curtain and I bowed.
'That's alright I'll wait outside, take your time.'
'You alright in there Ino?' Dr Hitsugaya asked and I heard the boy burst into a fresh wave of tears.
'Oh dear,' Dr Hitsugaya slipped back behind the curtain in an instant and I quickly left the room. He was the professional, I had no real reason to be there except to try and lighten the mood.
It was another fifteen minutes before the boys mother came by. She was more hysterical than he was and in the end he was left comforting her. She stood chatting to Dr Hitsugaya and my dad as the social worker took him away for a quick chat.
'He'll need to come back in a couple of days, preferably on Monday and Tuesday. There was extensive tearing and I've patched him as best as I can but we'll need to keep an eye on it because it's an area prone to infection. I've spoken to him about hygiene and how to care and keep it clean.' Dr Hitsugaya commented, and I did my best to make it look like I wasn't trying to over hear what was going on. 'If he's struggling at all here is my personal number, you can call me and home and I can make a home visit. Free of charge, I just want to make sure he's okay.' The mother hugged him and then they all left. I glanced up and I could see what Rangiku had meant. There was a deep set frown on his face and his brows were furrowed in a creased line. He looked a lot older despite his previous youthful appearance and I could see it on his face, how badly this had impacted him.
I vowed to do my best to try and take his mind off it tonight.
XxXxX
Okay so it's going to be slightly longer than three chapters since this one and the next one turned out to be a lot longer than I expected.
Please review! Your reviews keep me writing! =D
