Hello again so soon! I'm so glad you decided to come back and read the next chapter! I was so happy and grateful for the supportive reviews that I decided I'd finish the next chapter as soon as I could while I had spare time to do it! Thank you again to those of you who reviewed my first chapter (you know who you are!), you are WONDERFUL! Hope you like this one as much as the last! Enjoy! – Miko
Upon arriving home Ichigo was surprised to find the house silent and empty. Shocking considering his lunatic father and two younger sisters should have been home this late in the day. Rukia remained asleep on his back as he wandered into the house, while quietly closing the door behind them with his foot. On the kitchen counter he found a note in Yuzu's handwriting reminding him that she, Karin and their father had a parent teacher's conference that afternoon and that they'd be back soon.
Ichigo grunted at her note, vaguely remembering her mentioning it to him the other day. He must have spaced it. "Whatever." He muttered to himself as he made his way over to the clinic portion of their house where his dad kept all of their medical supplies.
At the sound of Ichigo's muttering Rukia started to stir and opened sleep blurred eyes to see that they had finally made it home. "Ichigo?"
Ichigo turned his head at the sound of her voice. "Hey! You decided to join the world of the living huh? Good! That means you can stop drooling all over my shoulder!" He snickered as he pushed the door to the clinic open.
Rukia's hand immediately shot to her mouth to check for drool and glared at Ichigo when she found nothing there. "Idiot!" she grated, still too groggy from sleep to come up with a good retort.
Ichigo smirked at her weak comeback and turned around to set her gently on an empty exam table. "Sit tight, I gotta find where my dad keeps the first aid kit." He told her while wandering over to the cupboards to the far side of the room.
Rukia nodded as she sat there in a bit of a daze. She's kinda cute when she's not quite awake. Ichigo thought to himself before mentally slapping his brain for such a stupid thought and dove into the contents of the nearest cupboard.
Rukia watched him for a moment before tilting her head back and letting out a huge yawn as she stretched her arms above her head. Wake up Rukia. She thought to herself as she continued to stretch. At the sudden sound of shattering glass Rukia's body jerked in surprise and instantly turned to see what had happened.
Swearing under his breath, Ichigo stepped back and scowled at the broken jar of tongue depressors he'd managed to knock off the shelf and sent crashing to the floor in a huge mess. Rukia couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of her at the sight of Ichigo looking like a little kid who'd just dropped his mom's cookie jar.
At the sound of her laugh Ichigo turned and glared at the petite girl on the table across the room from him. "Oh shut up!" he griped while rubbing the back of his neck in annoyance and slight embarrassment.
"I'm sorry!" Rukia got out between giggles, "Are you ok? Did you cut yourself?"
"NO!" Ichigo practically snapped while walking back over to her. "I don't see what's so funny! I just made a freakin' mess!"
At his look of irritation Rukia went into another fit of giggles. "I'm…I'm sorry Ichigo! I…I don't know why it's so funny! It just is!"
Ichigo's scowl loosened up into a look of slight amusement at Rukia's antics before finally giving way to a small smile. "Idiot. I'm gonna go grab a broom and sweep that up. I'll be right back ok?" Rukia nodded while trying to suppress her giggles, watching him walk back into the house.
With a big sigh she finally started to calm down and let her eyes casually roam around the room. It wasn't until her eyes caught a tray with metal instruments on it that she immediately broke out in a cold sweat. Her heart started hammering in her chest, as she suddenly found it impossible to breath. Somewhere in the back of her mind she heard herself screaming in horror and felt the urge building in her throat to do just that.
Jumping off the table in a near panic Rukia bolted for the door but stopped when she heard an eerily familiar voice.
"Afraid? I can make it stop."
Rukia whirled around, desperate to find the source of the voice…but no one was there. Without warning Ichigo reappeared through the door and was startled to see Rukia standing in the middle of the room looking like she'd just seen a ghost. "Rukia what th…."
"I just need some air." Rukia cut him off as she started to back up towards the door, her hand covering her mouth as she went.
Ichigo watched her vanish out the way he had just come in and stood there in complete confusion. What is going on with her?
Once she left the room and found herself in the kitchen, Rukia gripped the edge of the counter to steady herself and took deep calming breaths in attempts to relax. What the hell was that! She worried to herself as she trembled slightly.
A few seconds ticked by before she heard Ichigo close the clinic door behind him and come walking up behind her. Setting a small first aid kit on the counter next to her he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and calmly told her to "Sit down." To his surprise she did so without an argument on the stool behind her.
Rukia kept her eyes focused on the counter, too unnerved to look Ichigo in the eyes just yet. She loathed the thought of him seeing how upset she had just become over something not even she could explain. Without a word he opened up a kitchen cupboard and then walked over to the sink.
Next thing Rukia knew he handed her a cool glass of water which she gratefully accepted. "Ok?" he asked as she took a few sips. Rukia nodded, somewhat embarrassed at her behavior. "I don't know what happened… I just.."
"There's no need to explain Rukia. Some people just don't like hospital rooms or doctor's offices that's all." He murmured as he carefully started to wipe the blood off her knees with a damp cloth. "Personally I can't stand the dentist's office. There's nothing wrong with that. It's perfectly normal."
Rukia stared in fascination at Ichigo as he cleaned up her cuts. For many reasons Ichigo was the type of guy who wore a constant scowl and a cool demeanor but every so often, his true colors would come out and it always amazed her at how perceptive and gentle he could be. So perceptive in fact that it was hard to remember that he was only 15.
Almost instantly her thoughts were shattered as a burning sensation shot through her knees as Ichigo traced some disinfectant filled cotton balls over her cuts. An immediate knee jerk reaction ensued and before she could stop it she kicked out at Ichigo who instinctually grabbed her ankles just seconds before her feet connected with his face.
"WHOA!" Ichigo barked as he stared up at her, eyes wide with surprise. Rukia's eyes were just as wide as she covered her mouth with her hand in shock. "Here I am tryin' to help you out and this is the thanks I get? A kick to the face!" Ichigo smirked sarcastically.
"Well YEAH you IDIOT! That stung!" She yelled back, jerking her ankles out of his grasp.
"Big baby." Ichigo muttered while reaching into the first aid kit for the bandages. "You've been through worse."
"….Yeah," Rukia whispered softly, suddenly growing silent as her hands once again unconsciously ran down her sternum. "…I have…"
Ichigo looked up at her, slightly shaken by the waver in her voice and watched her hands trail down her chest. Suddenly worried that he had said something that had upset her he quickly changed the subject. "All done!" he announced while standing up to let her inspect his work.
At first glance Rukia snickered at the site of two regular sized band-aids on each knee. "Ichigo those are never going to stay." She started before stopping and taking a closer look at them. "CHAPPY!" She practically squealed in delight as she saw the band-aids had the little rabbit's face dotted all over them.
"Alright alright calm down. Sheesh! It's nothing to get worked up over." Ichigo replied coolly although deep down he was pleased at her reaction, knowing she'd like them considering how much she loved that stupid bunny.
Rukia smiled up at him as he offered her a hand off the stool. "We may as well start dinner, Dad and the girls should be back anytime."
Later that night…
It was dark…. And it was cold…so cold. Faces. So many faces, all of them smiling, all of them laughing. Evil faces…. Masks. And pain…. Oh the pain. A scream of pure agony could be heard ripping through the pitiless roar of laughter surrounding them. But why? Why was this happening? And why…. Oh why wouldn't it stop! Wasn't there someone…. ANYONE… who could make it stop! A wild scan of the sea of masks and faces revealed the sickening truth… there was no one. No one familiar. I am alone. A sudden flash of cold steel and another wash of indescribable pain beckoned the screaming to grow even louder, more agonized.. and more desperate. Please…. PLEASE!
"I can make it stop."
Rukia's eyes snapped open in sheer horror; unable to speak or cry out for help, unable to move or even breathe as she realized that she was paralyzed with fright. Soon though, her terrified eyes adjusted to the absence of light and she slowly recognized the familiar outline of the ceiling light in Karin and Yuzu's room. A nightmare. Her mind registered as she struggled for every gasping breath. She laid that way for what seemed like hours, simply fighting to keep calm.
She tried to focus on the tiny sounds of Karin and Yuzu's breathing in the beds next to hers but with every blink of her eyes bringing her new images of her haunting nightmare it felt impossible. Please please please please… her mind kept repeating like a mantra, over and over again… not ever sure why or what she was pleading for.
Rukia soon realized that she was covered in cold sweat and completely tangled in her bed sheets. With feeling ever so slowly coming back to her limbs she used all of her strength to force herself to sit up. Covering her face in one hand she was surprised to find that she wasn't just covered in sweat, she was drenched in it. Even her hair was damp and she shuddered as the night air around her chilled her to the bone.
Trembling terribly Rukia continued to move; pulling away the sheets that had ensnared her and swinging her bare feet down to touch the cool floorboards. Taking a deep breath Rukia got up and made her way to the bedroom door, turning back to make sure both of Ichigo's sisters were still sound asleep before leaving the room.
In the hallway Rukia stood there for a moment, at a complete loss as to what to do now before instinctually turning her head to a familiar bedroom. "I…Ichi…" she whispered, suddenly incredibly desperate for his presence. Unable to stop herself she silently made her way over to his door but hesitated as she reached for the doorknob.
Surely he's still asleep…I can't just go in there and wake him up all because of a stupid nightmare! She worried as she drew her hand back from the door. A flood of different emotions engulfed her as she weakly leaned her body against the door. Anger, embarrassment and shame at her weakness, and hurt, anguish and pain at the fear that now refused to leave her. With a silent sob Rukia rubbed her head against the door as she focused her senses on seeking out Ichigo's spirit energy.
Sure enough she found it, steady and strong behind the door that separated them. She quietly sighed in relief at the comfort just the feel of his Reiatsu brought to her suffering soul. Suddenly too exhausted to stand anymore she let herself slide down the length of the door until she was lying down on the floor. She pressed her hand jadedly against the cool surface of his door.
Time seemed to stand still for her as she simply lay there, unmoving, refusing to let sleep drag her back to the hell that was her nightmare. Not without a fight. She decided fiercely and redoubled her focus on connecting with Ichigo's reiatsu. That was the last thought that came to her mind before it came to a screeching halt as the door to Ichigo's bedroom suddenly opened…
Well? So far so good still? Should I keep going? All ya gotta do is press that lil' review button! ;) -Miko