10. Endgame I (Fading Out)
KUROSAKI CLINIC
The two girls sat by the window, gazing at the sky.
"Do you think Ichigo's okay?" Yuzu asked.
Karin smiled. "Sure! We may not see him much, but I know him well enough to be certain that he won't go down without a fight!"
Yuzu nodded and resumed looking at the clouds.
A muffled shout startled them. Several loud crashes and bangs followed.
"What's going on?" Karin stood before her sister defensively.
Armed men filed into the room and they swiftly restrained the two girls.
"Leave them out of this!!" Isshin roared from the other room. Although they couldn't see, they could hear the thunderous hit that silenced him.
"What did you do to our dad?!" Yuzu screamed.
A haggard old man stepped into the room, a sinister expression on his wrinkled face. As he walked through, the others stepped away, he must have been in charge. He stopped in front of Yuzu and placed his claw-like fingers on her chin, turning her head to and fro.
Yuzu whimpered and the man straightened. "You need not fear young lady...Yuzu isn't it?"
The way her name sounded coming from his withered old lips made Yuzu shudder.
"I have heard about you. Ichigo thinks quite highly of you."
"Leave her alone you old zombie!!!" Isshin yelled angrily.
The old man, Yammamoto, grunted distastefully and waved a hand at Isshin. "Deal with him. He is no use to us!"
Isshins face fell. "No!! Please no!! What about my girls?! They need me!!"
"Don't worry. They can live with us at the prison!" Yammamoto sneered.
A man in a rice farmers hat and white coat strolled up beside Genryusai. "The prisoners have been dealt with. They are all back in their cells. Only one remains on the loose, but we have nearly caught him."
"Who?"
"Ulquiorra."
Genryusai stiffened. "The human blade! Well. This may be a problem! We must deal with Kurosaki as quickly as possible." He turned to Yuzu. "Now sweetie, all I want to know is where Ichigo went."
"No! You're going to hurt him!"
"No, no, no. We want to help him. Please be a good girl and tell us."
Karin struggled against the grip of her captors. "Yuzu don't tell them!!"
"Very well..." Yammamoto reached inside his coat and produced a long katana. He placed the shining blade on Yuzu's neck and glared at Karin with cold emotionless eyes. "Where is Ichigo?! Tell me or your sister dies!!"
Karin screamed. "Don't hurt her!! Please!!"
Yammamoto yanked at Yuzu's hair making her cry.
"Okay! I'll tell you...just let her go!!" Karin fell to her knees and sobbed.
*****
Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime, Isane and Unohana all sat against a wall, just outside the room where the whole ordeal happened. Sirens blared outside. Help had arrived.
As the stretchers rolled in the doctors gasped. "Jesus! What the hell happened?!"
Ichigo was lifted onto a stretcher and Rukia was lifted into the next one. As they were wheeled out to the ambulance, they held each others hand.
Isane was placed inside the ambulance as well. Isane and Orihime were set free as they had no injuries.
The ambulance sped through red lights and crossings. One of the doctors had warned that Ichigo was lucky to be alive and that it would be a miracle to last five more minutes without immediate attention. Rukia leaned over and kissed him. Their tired eyes met and they smiled.
"That was in case one of us doesn't make it."
"Please forgive me..." Ichigo whispered.
"I already have. Remember how I said I owed you? Well consider the debt repaid because I forgive you."
"Ok..." Ichigo fell asleep.
Rukia admired him in silence as the ambulance drove on.
*****
Ukitake and a handful of guards turned soldiers were stationed outside the hospital. Ukitake had just seen Kiyone and he felt completely detached from his job now. He asked the guards to stand down and go back, but they refused. Now their sights were on him as well.
An ambulance raced towards them.
"Get back!!" Ukitake jumped out of the way. The guards stood still, blocking the vehicles path.
"I'm sorry Ukitake, but we were ordered to stop and inspect all passing vehicles."
"But the person inside may need immediate help! If we stall them they could die!!" Ukitake stretched his hands out.
"STOP THE VEHICLE!!" The lead guard roared.
The ambulance rolled to a stop. The driver stepped out and glared at the blockade. "We have a man in here who could die in the next minute!! If you don't let me pass, he may lose his life!!"
The guards raised their weapons.
The driver held his hands up and crawled inside the cabin of the ambulance.
"Stop this!!" Ukitake yelled, but his cries fell on deaf ears. The guards wrenched the back doors open and two female passengers shrieked. A man lay unconscious or worse on a blood stained mattress. His hair was a bright orange colour, just like their target.
"Is this Ichigo Kurosaki?" The lead guard asked. He had several scars on his face and a grey stripe tattooed from his ear to his nose. He directed the question to Rukia, whom he recognized as well.
Rukia shook her head. "I've never heard of an Ichigo Kurosaki."
The guard frowned. A ray of light revealed a name badge: Shuhei Hisagi. Hisagi grabbed Rukia by the hair and slammed her face into the wall of the ambulance.
"Hisagi!! Stop this at once!!" Ukitake roared.
Hisagi ignored him and stared coldly at Rukia. "Don't play dumb with me you bitch!!"
As Rukia's face fell away from the wall, a red splatter remained behind. Hisagi threw Rukia out and gripped the stretcher carrying Ichigo. With a deep grunt, he dragged it out, Ichigo's still body falling uselessly.
Hisagi waved at the other guards and they dragged them to their car.
"Have someone inform Mr Genryusai that we have captured the escapees." Hisagi turned into a weak punch aimed at his face. He caught the frail fist and pushed the attacker back.
It was Ukitake. He breathed heavily and sighed. "I never was a fighter..."
"Give up old man! You are a disgrace!"
Ukitake took no offence, his attention elsewhere. His gaze settled on a ghostly white figure drifting towards them. He recognised him. He was the man sent to solitary confinement for his brutal killing spree...Ulquiorra, the human blade. It was said he could impale a man on his bare hands.
And he did just that. Hisagi shuddered as the milky white limb shot through him. Ulquiorra green tears stood out from his pale face. He dropped Hisagi and glared at the other guards.
"I shall avenge those who you slaughtered with no valid reason."
The closest guard rushed forward, but his mistake only lasted two seconds...then he was no more.
"You fools shall incur your own wrath!" Ulquiorra stared blankly at them, as if no thoughts or emotions passed through him.
Ukitake took the diversion as a chance to escape and climbed into the car they owned. The prisoners were already inside so all he had to do was slam his foot down on the accelerator. He had to drive around the other side of the hospital because the emergency area was blocked off. The car bounced over a traffic island and careened towards the glass doors at the entrance. They exploded in a shower of reflective little mirrors and Ukitake buried his foot into the brake pedal. The car spun around and stopped when they reached the waiting room.
His boots crunched on the broken glass as he ran to a stretcher. He placed Ichigo on it and commanded the others to walk. Together they made a painful sprint for the emergency room. A trio of doctors stared in shock. They looked like they had a million questions to ask, but they knew the task at hand.
Ichigo's body was punctured by little tubes all filled with different liquids. He was hooked up to a machine and a green line showed Ichigo's heartbeat. It was almost a straight line, occasionally jagging up.
"Ichigo..." Rukia murmured. Her hands covered half of her face and her eyes remained focused on the little green line.
"He's lost a huge amount of blood! What happened?!" A doctor asked.
Ukitake looked down and muttered. "I have no idea."
"That uniform...are you from that prison near here?" The doctor queried. Ukitake nodded.
"Well, while the other doctors tend to your friend we'll need to take some details. What is his name?"
"Ichigo Kurosaki." Ukitake stated.
"Kurosaki? You mean that murderer? I thought he was supposed to be de-"
Ukitake silenced him with a wave of his hand. "No. He was granted freedom, but someone disagreed and attacked him and the others."
The doctor gulped in air and stepped away from Ichigo. "Okay. Any allergies you know of? Any genetic diseases?"
"We have no idea. Even his friends seemed to know nothing about him." Ukitake said with a solemn expression. He felt pity for the poor young man. He had never had friends, no one to care for him and when he finally met someone who did, he faced death.
"Alright then. We'll have to leave him for a while and let the other doctors treat him. You can stay in the visitors area for a while but there is little chance of seeing him again until the morning. I'm sorry ."
They filed out and were led to the visitors area, a depressing little room crammed full of concerned, traumatised or grieving family and friends of the other patients. Children's drawings were pinned up on the walls to try and cheer people up but the effect was limited.
Rukia sat away from the group, wanting to be alone. She had experienced so much in this short time and had not properly absorbed it. She had to think about what she would do after this. Her home was gone, she had no money, no family, no friends except Ichigo, but his condition was deteriorating. Her life lay in burning ruins. There was nothing...nothing except pain.
A stray tear slid down her cheek. It stung her fragile skin. More followed until she was unable to see past the waterfall of her eyes.
Isane watched Rukia, She had heard about how Urahara had explosives planted in her apartment. She felt sorry for her and wanted to walk over and support her, but Rukia insisted on being alone.
"I'm going for a walk. Watch her." Isane strolled to the entrance and Carefully wandered through the sea of broken glass.
Something exploded in front of her, throwing Isane into the shards of glass.
*****
FOUR MINUTES AGO
As Ulquiorra butchered the other guards, one hid. He took out his phone and stabbed at the keys.
#What?# Genryusai's raspy voice snapped.
"Um sir...We have the prisoners trapped inside the hospital, but Ulquiorra has appeared. We have lost half our group already!"
#Are all the prisoners there?#
"Yes sir."
#Fine. Hold out for a few minutes. I will send every unit to your position. Just keep them inside. We shall lay siege on the hospital and take them out!#
The guard placed his phone back in his pocket and then unhosltered a pistol. He swung the barrel about in a frenzy, searching for Ulquiorra.
A twig snapped behind him and he whirled around and struck out with the gun. A ghostly white hand caught him by the wrist and dug their nails into his wrist. The guard managed to scream before he met his end.
*****
FORTY SECONDS BEFORE BLAST
Genryusai stepped out of a large car and glared at the hospital.
Guards were setting small explosives into the entrance. If they tried to escape, they would be blown apart.
As Genryusai though about it, it began to unfold in real life. Isane, the meddlesome investigator made her way to the entrance. The guards scurried away and waited.
Isane walked slowly, stepping around large shards of glass.
Genryusai raised his hand and waited.
Isane took another careful step.
Closer! Come closer!!
Isane reached the entrance. Genryusai's hand dropped and the detonator was activated. A deafening boom resulted in a large shockwave which threw Genryusai's large beard around. It wrapped around him like a scarf.
The girl vanished from sight. A black plume of smoke choking the entrance. Small flames bit into the walls.
"Sir, the explosives are set at the other exits. They are trapped inside now." Stated a soldier.
"Good. I should inform Urahara of how things are going." The old man reached for a thick black radio strapped to his waist. "Urahara...Urahara, are you there? Kisuke!! Answer dammit!!" Genryusai threw the device to the ground. "Bastard! He orders us to find them and then runs off himself! Well screw him. I am in charge now!"
The twenty or so guards left formed a circle around the hospital.
Inside, Ichigo was completely unaware of the situation. The green line slowed and the jags were less frequent. He was slipping away.
Outside, Genyrusai commanded his soldiers. "Cut off their power. We'll see how they like it!"
*****
Ichigo's mind was blank. Every now and then a random thought would swim across, but it would drown in nothingness and Ichigo would again have no thoughts. A image reappeared over and again. It was Rukia's smiling face.
For her...I must wake up....for her...
He knew he had no control, but still he tried. He attempted to command his body to move in his thoughts, but even his subconscious was drowned out by a vast black zone which threatened to consume him. Rukia's face appeared again. Her smile, her laugh, her dazzling blue eyes which mesmerized him. He longed for them.
Ichigo found himself next to her. They were in a garden. Ichigo leaned close and kissed her, but she pulled away immediately. Ichigo opened his mouth to ask what was wrong and an ominous black fog escaped from his lips. The bright colours of the garden dulled to a dark grey, then black. Rukia's body began to disappear under a black ocean. She was slowly sinking.
Ichigo reached out for her and she extended her hand. They nearly caught each other, but the darkness dragged Rukia back.
"NOOOOOOOOO!!!" Ichigo screamed. Rukia was only visible from the shoulders up now. Ichigo scratched and swiped at the abyss and found his arms coated in black. It slowly wrapped around his limbs and he felt himself drifting away.
Rukia's eye gazed at him. The last ray of light in this dark world. The brilliant shade of blue dissipated into black and Ichigo's world turned to black.
In reality, Ichigo's life support machine had shut down and so had the lights. In the physical and mental worlds, Ichigo was lost in darkness...
The cage was a nightmare...Now they must escape hell!! The seige has begun! Will fate side with Rukia, Ichigo and the helpless citizens inside the hospital...or the cruel, depraved staff from the cage? Will Ichigo survive?
Find out in the next chapter!!
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