Hay guys, chapter 4 is up :o I just want to thank the people who have been keeping up with the story and enjoying what i'm writing. And to those who are new WELCOME! :3 Like i said this is my first fan fiction and it just is really the best feeling knowing some people out there enjoy what you write :) It's such a good feeling i can't get over it! *squee* anyways, here is the fourth chapter and the 5th will be coming out pretty quick, i've just been speed typing away and popping these chapters out like crazy on my lappy topper. Hopefully i will have internet soon where i am at. but if not, starbucks sure is getting a steady profit of passion tea lemonades from me. :P
Ichigo could feel himself being pulled into consciousness and realized that he was laying on something cold, hard and wet. Then after a while he realized, with great discomfort, that something kept hitting his skin repeatedly and it was like knives made of ice pricking his skin. His eyes fluttered open and he was met with grey skies, a landscape that looked like tall endless buildings, and he was currently laying on one of them. He sat up slowly and noticed that the knives were raindrops, it was raining and he had nothing on but a weird sickly white gown. He looked down and saw his reflection on what he assumed was a window to a skyscraper. He tried to peer inside but was met with darkness and his reflection, which was horrible. He had multiple bruises and cuts like he had been hit by a train and yet he didn't feel any of the pain that went with being hit by one. He touched them gently and tore strips of fabric off his gown and dabbed at some of the wounds, trying his best to clean some of them with the water that the rain provided. Well...at least he wasn't dead. The sky thundered a bit and Ichigo shivered, he needed to find a place nice and warm with a certain blue-haired Adonis.
Suddenly he realized that he wasn't even in Japan, everywhere he looked was just an endless horizon of skyscraper after skyscraper. You would think someone would have opened a window or sent someone after him to help him down, and there were no noises. No cars, people talking, walking, girls laughing or cellphones going off...just complete silence.
"Wh-where...am I?" he croaked out.
"In yer head. Think a place like this exists outta yer head...King?" A small short disembodied laugh sent Ichigo straight on edge. "Damn do I fuckin' hate tha rain yanno? How fucked up can a guy be when it rains constantly?"
Ichigo whipped his head around to meet the distorted voice and was met with a negative copy of himself...except for the eyes. The eyes were that of a wolf. Gold and black, filled with a hunters view of the world: he was the hunter and the world was merely his prey.
He was wet, just like Ichigo due to the rain, and the odd outfit he was wearing clung to his skinny frame making him appear gaunt and hollow.
"You...who are-"
"Doesn't matter right now, but seein' as how yer awake and all...think ya can make tha rain stop?" he said, looking up covering his eyes with a pale hand.
"I...what? I can't control the weather. No one can decide when it rains or not."
He scoffed and crossed his arms. "Typical King...always lookin' fer ways ta make ME suffer."
"Ok...excuse me? Who are you! I'm not getting any warmer over here trying to figure out this stupid...situation." he couldn't think of calling this anything that could come close to describing the position he was in. Awkwardness?
"Wats the last thing ya remember King?" his copy interrupted, pulling him out of his thoughts.
"How's that even relevant? I want to know how I got here,"
"What's. The. Last. Thing. Ya. Remember King?" he repeated, frustrated with his Kings' stupidity. Maybe if he banged him in the head a couple of times the damn thing could work. He smirked at the thought, then again he wouldn't mind banging the actual thing the head was attached to either.
Ichigo sighed and closed his eyes trying to remember. He was with Grimmjow...and they were about to cross the street when he saw a car speeding down and that it was going way too fast for a car to be coming down that street. He couldn't remember what happened after that.
"Ah, so thas all then? Yer more fucked up than I thought."
Ichigo frowned and opened his eyes looking at the pale man. "Thanks...that makes me feel so warm and fuzzy inside. Wait...how did you know-"
"Hey...whaddaya know about instincts King?" he asked quickly.
"Wait...wha-" his head was starting to hurt from the bombardment of questions from this strange creature/man/anomaly.
"Just answer tha damn question." he said, interrupting him again. The sky thundered again which only resulted in making the pale anomaly smirk and the orange-head shiver.
Ichigo huffed in annoyance."Like...animal instincts?"
His copy walked closer to him and knelt down to his level, his gold eyes vibrant and Ichigo couldn't help but be stunned by them.
"We're all animals King, some are just smarter than others, faster than others, stronger. If you don't rise out at the top then yer just food to be played with." he said lowly.
Ichigo could tell that this guy, thing or whatever he was...he was dangerous and probably shouldn't piss him off. Too much.
"So, ya gunna answer my question or do I gotta explain it ta ya like a retard?"
Ichigo frowned and glared at him. The rain fell down even harder.
"Answer my question and i'll answer yours."
The copy version laughed and it made the orange-head shiver even though it was already freezing.
"My name? Yer bein' a little sour-puss cuz I ain't given ya ma' name? Well, don't mean ta burst yer bubble but ya didn't give me one when ya made me."
"Excuse me? 'Made you'? I don't remember making you."
He laughed again. "Ya can't 'make' yer subconscious ya dimwit. Ya make one without knowing...but, ya still give it a name."
Ichigo looked at him and couldn't get it through his head. He was his subconscious! How could he think up something like this? Something as menacing and...dangerous. Ichigo then examined what he really looked like; he was paper white pale, a vicious demeanor about him and yet he represented himself wether he liked it or not. This thing was a part of him and he had to accept it.
"Shirosaki..." he muttered, wrapping his arms around his body, feeling the chill seep into his bones and he shivered even more.
The pale man grinned and licked his lips.
"That's what I'm talking about."
Ichigo scooted back seeing Hichigo licked his lips.
"S-so...what kind of instinct are you talking about?" he stuttered, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
"Survival. When a body is in danger and uses a 'Hit in case of emergency' switch." he said, standing up walking around as if it were a nice day to pace back and forth. "Like a 'fight or flight' kinda deal."
Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, i've heard of something like that, why?"
"That's what yer going through. Yer life is in danger and is goin' through somethin' ta make ya survive. So yer 'loving and caring' subconscious, which is me, is makin' a nice little nest fer ya ta recover as best as ya can. Ya should be grateful."
"'As best as I can'? Are there going to be pieces missing or something? Why won't I be 'shiny and new'? I'm pretty sure i'll like that better than the other option."
"Does this look like a buffet table of options? Look, I ain't a magician King and I can only do so much, seeing as how i'm a part of ya."
"So what's your job?"
"Ta make sure my King is safe."
Ichigo panicked and looked at Shirosaki with a panicked expression, which made Shirosaki a bit uncomfortable. He didn't like it when his King felt like he was in distress even though he liked fuckin' with the kid.
"Am I in danger?"
Hichigo sighed, then again sometimes the kid could be pretty dense.
"Uh, no i'm just makin' all of this up and it's all a bad dream. Why tha fuck do ya think we're havin' this talk! Right now yer mind is in danger and we need ta make a decision right now King, otherwise...you don't wake up and ya stay with me."
"What? 'don't wake up'? when the hell was I asleep? Stop talking in riddles Shiro! I'm tired of guessing and not getting a right answer!" the sky thundered and it began to rain harder, the wind blowing at an insane speed. What the hell was up with the fucking weather!
"I wake up here and i'm fucking cold and practically naked, then you show up with your stupid 'Confucius says' kind of attitude! If you really want to help me then stop giving me questions to answer the previous question! If you really want to come to a quick decision then just give me my options and stop playing with me!" Ichigo shouted over the noise of the storm raging around them.
Shiro looked up and closed his eyes.
"Not fast enough King." Shirosaki pulled the berry up and put his index finger on Ichigo's forehead and was suddenly met with was a white flash that was followed up with intense pain. His head felt like it was being torn apart bit by bit, dissected, prodded at and put back together in all the wrong places. Ichigo screamed and felt the world he was in turning to where they were standing on the side of the buildings instead of on top.
"See ya next time King." Shiro whispered and pulled his finger away, letting a screaming Ichigo fall freely parallel to the building. And then as soon as he neared the bottom of the building an ocean was quickly rising to meet him. Ichigo broke past the surface and the pain only intensified jerking him into consciousness in the real world.
Grimmjow woke up with a start when he heard the phone ring. He groaned and held his head from the small hang over he had from drinking. He hadn't drunk like that since the day Ichigo...well shit. He got up and stumbled across the apartment and magically answered the phone in time.
"What?" he barked out.
"Grimmjow...if you're in any kind of good mood get to the hospital. If you're in a bad mood clean up your act and get to the hospital." said a stern voice.
"Why? What's going on." he caught the seriousness of Doctor Unohanas' voice. He looked at the clock...5am.
"...It finally happened."
Grimmjow went stone cold and lost his grip on the phone letting it fall. Those words...they were all he needed to hear. Hell, it's what he's been wanting to hear since the moment Ichigo had fallen into the coma.
"Grimmjow! You there? Grimmjow what happened?" yelled Unohana, but he barely heard her. Ichigo was awake, after all this time, after all the worrying and sleepless nights, paying the bills to make sure he was alive month after month. Ichigo was finally awake. He grabbed his keys and wallet and made his way over to the hospital, hangover forgotten. I
Grimmjow brushed past all the people that had gotten in his way, patients, doctors, visitors and something that resembled a dead person being wheeled out. But, he didn't care...he wanted to see Ichigo. When he arrived at Ichigo's room Unohana was outside, clearly waiting for him.
"Grimmjow...wait. You can't go in there yet." she said quickly, putting her hands up as if to block him.
"The fuck I can't! I've been waiting 2 years for this and you're keeping me from seeing him!" he yelled out, pronouncing each word correctly. Clearly...he was pissed.
"Just hear me out you blue-headed buffoon! Do you WANT to go in there in the current mood you're in! 2 years he hasn't seen you and you want him to see you like this? Angry and..." she took a small sniff and shuddered in horror. "Reeking of alcohol? You're going to make him feel horrible and guilty for being in a coma because of the state that you're in, when it's not even his fault! Shape up Grimmjow!" she exclaimed, which surprised Grimmjow seeing the usually quiet and polite doctor yell at him. She glared at him and huffed out straightening up.
"You willing to hear how he came to or do you need some time to go home to clean up your act and be a big boy?"
He glared at her and hesitantly shook his head. How the hell can a woman like that make him feel like he was being scolded by a parent or a teacher.
"Okay then. Ichigo woke up at around 3:50 am...not exactly in the best of ways but it can happen. He woke up screaming bloody murder and screamed that he was in pain. We checked his body but found no form of injury on him but, because he kept insisting he was in pain, knowing what to do when patients are in pain, we had him sedated. He's awake but not very responsive. So, when you go in there...just give him some time to recognize you and collect his thoughts."
"Did he say where he was hurtin'?" Grimmjow asked, voice soft for once.
"He kept grabbing his head so we can only assume that it's a headache seeing as how the recent MRI we took didn't show anything that could be causing any pain. Something that could have developed in his brain within the last 24 hours is highly unlikely but we probably will do a more intense screening to make sure we didn't miss anything."
He nodded and ran his hand through his hair.
"Can I go in now?" he asked, anxious.
Unohana nodded and walked past Grimmjow patting his shoulder before whispering something.
"Congratulations."
Grimmjow nodded his head and pushed the door to Ichigo's room, something he had done for 2 years only to be greeted with his sleeping form. But, this time...Ichigo was there and he was awake. His golden brown eyes were open, his head turned to look at Grimmjow and he was sitting up. He even had a food tray that was completely wiped clean of food and drinks. For sure that was his Ichigo...eating everything in sight when starved.
"Berry..." Grimmjow croaked out, and let out a cry in relief nearly buckling against the wall.
His berry was finally awake.
Ichigo heard the blue-haired mans voice and he looked at Grimmjow with a slight confused look on his face which made Grimmjows' heart skip a beat. Why was Ichigo looking at him that way? Shouldn't he have a huge smile, maybe some tears, opened arms and crying out his name?
"Berry?" Grimmjow asked, taking a small step forward.
"I'm sorry but...who are you?" he asked, his voice sluggish and laced with a slight speech impediment. Grimmjow had the look of a deer in headlights and just kept staring at the berry-head, his body frozen and his mind reeling repeating those dreadful words.
"I'm sorry but...who are you?"
