A/N: And...I'm back again! :D

And WHOA! o.O I was stunned to see the amount of reviews the last chapter got! I should write more cliffhangers...

A big thanks to my loyal reviewers- Guest, totaleclipse84, Camille loves chocolate, ilovebks, Neko-Chan2604, Star fire girl 788, Darkmyr-InuYashaFan, Guest, WhiteSheWolf17, Iris Irine, SayoShihoinXKohAyamerei, andyantopia, Guest, Lizzy, annia9semi, D, NarutoLuver896, IchiRuki-Ventus-11 for their reviews. And of course, all of my readers as well and everyone who waited for me to update!

To-

Darkmyr-InuYashaFan: I'm glad I'm back, I missed y'all too! ^_^

Star fire girl 788: Thank you! My exams went quite well :)

Thanks to Iris Irine for pointing out the typos in the previous chapter. Although I'm too lazy to go correct them right now, I will do so as soon as I'm done typing this :P:)

Disclaimer- Don't own Bleach.

Lost and insecure- you found me, you found me,

Lying on the floor- surrounded, surrounded,

Why d'you have to wait?

Where were you? Where were you?

Just a little late-

You found me, you found me.

Have a little Faith

Ichigo couldn't shake that tugging in his chest that something was terribly wrong. He tapped his feet impatiently as he sat there on the park bench, his phone held to his ear as he waited for Rukia to pick up.

Ever since she had departed from the bar without any explanation, Ichigo had been worried. He was about to rush out of the pub when the bartender had stopped him, demanding he pay for the drinks. By the time Ichigo had thrown a few bills at his face and ran out to follow Rukia- she'd disappeared.

Ichigo hadn't gone home though. Oh no- he'd run up the street, hoping to catch sight of her somewhere- he had no idea where she lived, she'd never told him and he cursed himself for not asking her.

After another half-an-hour of running and futile searching, he had given up and huffed down to sit on a park bench, out of breath. He'd tried her phone earlier, but she hadn't picked up.

And now here he was, panting, frustrated and fighting a desperate urge to punch something.

"Damn it!" He cursed loudly as he disconnected the call yet again. Several passers by stared at him as he clutched his phone tightly in his fist, shaking. He felt like throwing his phone against the grey sidewalk and watching as it shattered into pieces. That tugging in his chest wouldn't go away, and with each second, he seemed to grow even more agitated.

He leaned forward onto the bench, elbows on his knees, running a palm over his face.

Why isn't she picking up?

He'd seen the look on her face when they'd danced. Despite that uneasy fluttering in his stomach, he'd remained there wih her in his arms- revelling in the fact that he'd made her look comfortable- made her warm. For that moment, as they'd danced to the music in the background, Ichigo had looked down into Rukia's eyes and gotten lost. For the first time, he'd just...given up. Given up on hiding, on trying to look badass and guarded- given up on everything. He'd felt nothing and yet, everything.

And then- all of a sudden, she'd jumped out of his arms and escaped.

What the hell happened to her so suddenly?

He frowned. Where was he supposed to go now? Home?

He racked his brains- trying to remember something that Rukia might've said about her house- a landmark, or directions, or any name- anything that might help him locate it.

Nothing.

He scowled. Just then his phone rang.

His heart skipped a beat. He jumped, fumbling for it desperately, and looked down at the Caller ID, wishing against his wildest dreams that it was Rukia calling him back.

Home.

Damn.

"Yeah, what?" He said, disgruntled, picking up.

"Brother?" Ichigo's eyes softened as he recognised the voice- it was Yuzu, one of his little twin sisters. "Where are you?"

"Out- just had some stuff to do. Why? Are you guys okay?"

"Oh, yes, we're fine. It's just that...well, Dad hasn't returned from the hospital yet- and he usually comes back by this time."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "He'll be fine, Yuzu. No one's crazy enough to mug him or anything."

"Brother, don't say that!"

He chuckled drily, although he felt far from humorous at the moment "You know it's true."

"Oh- but seriously, what if he's lost?"

"The loon's been living here before we were even born, Yuzu. He couldn't get lost if he wanted to."

"But he should've been home an hour ago!"

Ichigo raised a brow, frowning "An hour?"

"Yes! Karin's saying maybe it's just another patient but still-"

"Yeah it can be." He shrugged "I mean, it's happened tons of times before."

"But brother..."

"Listen, Yuzu-" Ichigo's voice softened, the way it always did whenever he was talking to either of his sisters- especially Yuzu. She was so fragile and innocent- it almost made him want to hide her from the terrible world "-he'll be fine. Trust me, nothing can harm that jackass. He'll be back any minute."

"But what if- what if he isn't..?"

Ichigo sighed "He will be."

"I'm w-worried.."

He let out another sigh.

Damn Isshin- Ichigo was going to kill his father once he got his hands on him. The idiot was probably just wandering the streets scaring poor defenceless old ladies, for all he knew. As if Ichigo didn't have enough to worry about, what with Rukia's sudden departure, now Isshin was being added to that plate. Great- just fantastic!

But then- maybe Isshin knew something about Rukia's house? Back at the train station after their fight, when Rukia and Ichigo had been talking (*cough* bickering *cough *) Isshin had been chatting with Kuro. Maybe Kuro had slipped in their address, or another contact number or something?

"..Say what, Yuzu, I'll go drop by the hospital" Ichigo said into his phone "I'll see if Dad's there and tell him to give you a call-or I'll give you a call myself. Okay?"

There was a sniff from the other end "..Okay..."

He smiled "Good. Now stop worrying and go watch T.V or something. Lock the door and you and Karin take care of yourself and-"

"-don't allow any strangers inside, no matter what they say or who they are." Yuzu giggled as Ichigo grinned "Got it, brother. Thankyou!"

"Yeah, yeah. No problem. I'll see you later."

"Okay. Love you!"

He smiled "Love you too."

Clicking his phone shut, Ichigo got up and stretched. It was completely dark, crickets chirping away in the night as the cool breeze blew through his hair. He looked up to see a full- moon night, and for some strange reason, smiled at the night sky, before looking down, brain whirring.

Although Ichigo wasn't very much worried about Isshin- the idiot could land a mean upper cut if messed with- he was genuinely getting a little anxious. Dad never came home late- and when he did, he made sure to call and let the children know so that they wouldn't be worried.

What the hell is up with him now?

"That took longer than expected!"Isshin said loudly, cracking his knuckles as he walked out of the operation room, his usually goofy grin placed on his face. He was followed by another surgeon, who looked highly irritated, and a trembling, mousy-faced intern "Didn't think the guy would bleed so seriously though."

"He wouldn't have-" the other surgeon said menacingly as he glared at the nerdy intern, who shivered under his gaze, lifting a trembling hand to set his glasses straight "-if it wasn't for thebrilliant Michiro here! You were told to hold the clamp, you fool, not shake and potentially kill the patient!"

"I'm s-s-sorry, s-sir I -"

"You're not going to see the inside of an OR for a whole month, let me tell you that!"

"I d-don't- I'm s-so-"

"Ah, leave the poor chap alone, Ryota" Isshin clapped a hand on Michiro's back, whose whole body shook under the impact "His concentration was somewhere else, and who can blame him when there's a gorgeous nurse standing next to him in scrubs?!" He looked at the intern with a wise look on his face "You hit that, Michi. And I will help you hit that in ten days- strictly following The Ten Levels of Seduction by Isshin Kurosaki, a step-by-step guide in how to score with a young woman in just ten days!"

"Ah here we go." Ryota muttered "You're mental. I don't even know how you became a doctor, Isshin, but you desperately need a shrink."

Isshin pouted "You're such a spoil sport!"

Ryota didn't say anything, but left them, muttering under his breath.

Isshin watched him go, and then his grip on Michiro's shoulders tightened, making the intern yelp.

"Son, I was able to save that patient and your ass today." Isshin said quietly, his voice dead serious "But maybe next time I won't be able to, and I would lose my patient and you'd be on probation. So if you know what's good for you, don't do that mistake again."

Michiro nodded, trembling, and Isshin's face brightened up once again.

"Now! Where were we- ah, levels of seduction! I continue to try to tell my son, you see, but I've given up, it's obvious he has no interest in girls. I'm just waiting for him to come out of the closet, the girl's one is obviously completely waste for him, and then I'll start working on a guide for him. Say what- I'll give you a ride home and we'll talk over it. Jut let me call my children and tell them I'm not dead!" Isshin winked, taking his phone out of his pocket and flipping it open.

You have a Total of 11 Missed Call(s) from- Home, CarrotHead

Isshin grinned, shaking his head. They all must've been really worried.

Just as Isshin was about to hit the 'Call' button, the doors of the Emergency Ward burst open.

"Dr. K-Kurosaki!"

Isshin jumped and turned to see a very frightened-looking nurse running up to him.

"What? What's the matter?"

"We need a doctor ASAP! There's a girl-she's not breathing- oh God, there's so much blood- she attempted suicide and- and her family's here and we can't find a pulse- she doesn't- we don't know and no one's on duty in Trauma a-and you were the first doctor I could- the nurses-"

Isshin pushed the rambling nurse out of the way as gently as possible- clearly she was new if this was how she was handling things- and made his way to the Trauma room, shoving his phone into his coat pocket.

His heart beat frantically- there is a suicide patient in the hospital...?

"Should I call Psych...?" The nurse asked.

"No. Not now." He ordered, his voice loud and commanding. It would only make the patient panic even more.

He burst through the door to see a loudly sobbing woman, a pale-looking man, and there- amidst a heap of frantic nurses lay a petite, raven-haired girl on the bed, the white sheets stained in her blood, her lips cracked- her eyes closed.

Isshin's eyes widened as he immediately recognised her, and then the pale man he had talked to at the station- Rukia Kuchiki and Kuro Michita.

What the...?!

His eyes fell on Rukia's arm, which was so raw and scarred from cuts and wounds that it could barely be called an arm- rather a bloodied, intangible mass of flesh.

"She must've hit an artery- or- or a couple of them, we can't seem to see where- and the lady is in hysterics- and she's had a heavy concussion- her pupils-"

"For starters, calm down." Isshin snapped, rushing forward to check Rukia himself, making quick work as the nurses around him quickly hurried out of his way. He gave prompt instructions to them, in a no-nonsense voice and his eyes narrowed at Kuro, who was watching from the sidelines, looking deathly pale- as if he'd just seen a ghost. He was watching the whole scene unfold in front of him as if he'd temporarily gone autistic.

Maybe it was shock. Maybe it was fear...of being caught.

Isshin had been suspicious of Kuro the minute he'd talked to him at the station- the minute he'd realised that he and Rukia didn't share the same surname. It was obvious that there was some sort of history between them.

"Hand me the paddles." He called out sharply when no amount of CPR seemed to be working on her.

"Oh m-my God!" The woman choked, bursting in sobs. She must be Rukia's mother- Isshin surmised.

"Kuro, ma'am, we need you to get out of here-"

Kuro's eyes snapped up "H-huh?" His eyes flooded with recognition "...Kurosaki? Isshin Kurosaki?"

Isshin gritted his teeth, feeling sick "I said- you and your wife need to get out of here, Kuro. Charge to 100!" He instructed the nurse.

"What-"

"I said get out!" Isshin said angrily. Kuro was sick...what had he done to Rukia? Isshin knew enough from Ichigo to know that Rukia was a quiet girl who was secretive, admittedly very friendly, and loved to paint, and that she loved Kuro unconditionally- he'd seen her on arriving back from university on the train station- she had been an excited mess when she'd run into Kuro's arms.

Then what had made her do this?

Kuro gripped the woman's arm and the nurse shushed them out as Ishhin ordered "Clear!"

He pressed the paddles to Rukia's chest, the electric shock jolting through her limp body. She jerked up, and then fell back against the pillows. Isshin glimpsed at the heart monitor- not realising that his hands were smeared in Rukia's blood.

Nothing- the monitor showed a straight line.

Shit.

"Yeah- I was looking for him."

The receptionist smiled at Ichigo, having known him from when he had been a little kid.

Ichigo looked around- it had been awhile since he'd last visited the hospital. Years, in fact. Before, he'd used to visit the hospital to amuse himself- it used to be his playground. It was practically like a second home, and he used to visit all the time with his mother- going on rounds, doing mock surgeries, laughing and holding the tray for the doctors when they did stitches, getting a lollipop as his reward.

The nurse's voice jerked Ichigo out of his thoughts. "He's in Trauma- a case came in at the last minute. You can wait outside."

"Right."

That tugging feeling was still there in his heart as he began to walk towards Trauma One. He felt queasy- he couldn't sit- he just had to do something, damn it- walk, pace, kick, punch-

What had happened to Rukia?!

He bowed his head down thoughtfully- maybe Isshin would help. He had to. That fool has to come to some good use.

Ichigo grimaced, looking at his phone for the millionth time. Nothing- no message or missed call- although there was no chance for Rukia to call and for him to miss it, considering he had been checking his phone every other minute.

He took a left, knowing his way to the Trauma Room easily. From a distance, he could hear audible sobbing coming towards him. He sighed- he was used to the grief and depressed atmosphere of a hospital by now.

He flipped his phone open. Might as well call Yuzu. Dialling the number, he raised it to his ear as he took another left. Yuzu answered on the third ring.

"Hello, Kurosaki Residance!"

"Hey Yuzu- it's me. Dad's fine- there was some complications in a surgey and a last-minute Trauma that got him late, from what the nurse told me."

"Oh thank God! I was so worried!"

"Don't. I'll tell him and he'll be here in another half an hour. I've just got a couple of stuff to do later but it won't be too..."

Ichigo's voice trailed away as he reached the Trauma Room, and stared at the sight that met his eyes. Kuro and some other lady were standing outside the same room. The woman was crying her eyes out, as Kuro held her, looking blank.

Ichigo scowled, eyes narrowing. What the hell is Rukia's dad doing in here? Wait- Ichigo froze, his blood running cold.

Where's Rukia?

Yuzu's voice echoed through the phone, but Ichigo barely heard.

"Brother...? Brother, are you there..?"

"Yeah, I'm..."

Where the fuck is Rukia? Why isn't she with them? Why are they crying? What is-?

The window of the Trauma room was open- someone seemed to have forgotten to pull the curtains down- so everything happening inside the room was visible from Ichigo's angle.

"Brother, are you okay?"

And that's when the phone fell from his hands.

Ichigo stared through the window, heart thudding, at the lifeless body of Rukia Kuchiki there, as Isshin madly attempted to bring her back to life. Another doctor seemed to have joined him and they were arguing- the other doctor trying to force the paddles out of Isshin's grip.

The steady line of Rukia's heart monitor could be seen from a mile away, in Ichigo's opinion. He couldn't breathe- he felt his chest constrict as he stared, frozen.

No...

He watched, and felt a familiar pang of pain flood through him. She looked so...small. And her arms- all that blood..

He knew it. He'd caught a glimpse of the scars on her arm when he'd first met her at the campus. He felt sick- looking at all that mess and blood.

Why would she do that to herself?

He watched as Isshin lifted the paddles and yelled an order, pressing it to her chest.

Live, Rukia.

He watched as her limp body jolted forward and then she fell back, her hair brushed back- eyes closed. He wondered how cold her hands would be if he touched them right now.

Live, damn it!

He watched as Isshin slumped back, wiping his brow. The other doctor came and gently took the paddles from his hands, and this time Isshin didn't protest. He looked like he'd given up, and that's when Ichigo felt rage explode inside him.

That bloody midget- who the heck does she think she is to die like this?!

"NO!" He yelled, startling the other visitors. Kuro and the woman jumped, Isshin and the other doctor turned to look at him through the window as Ichigo began to storm forward "NO- SHE DOESNOT GET TO DIE!"

Isshin looked shocked as Ichigo burst inside.

"Ichigo, don't-"

"SHE IS NOT DYING AND YOU ARE NOT GIVING UP ON HER! I KNOW YOU AREN'T!"

"I know, but you're not supposed to be in-"

"YOU SWORE! YOU FUCKING SWORE AFTER MOM THAT YOU WOULDN'T!" Ichigo felt a horrible stinging in the corner of his eyes as he shouted derisively. He was so mad right now...so,so mad at her...

"Yes, I know I did, buti-"

"NO-MAKE. HER. LIVE!"

"Ichigo-"

"NO! JUST NO, DAD! NO!"

"I don't-"

And then a small beep made both of them freeze.

Ichigo, stunned, turned around to see a spike go up on Rukia's heart monitor. And then another...then another...then another...

XXX

Kuro Michita was standing in the hallway, frozen.

Rukia had just tried to kill herself...

He looked down to see that his hands were trembling. Christ, what the hell had he done that had made her lash out so badly?! Why did she have to make such a big deal about everything? He could go to jail if she opened her mouth and told anyone what he had done under the influence of alcohol- admittedly a very slight amount, he'd just had around two glasses. He could be arrested for treating her like that- he'd come close to hitting her!

The only thing that seemed to calm him down a bit was the fact that Ami had treated Rukia the same way- and the girl had kept her mouth shut. So Rukia would keep quiet this time around too... Right?

Kuro gritted his teeth, running a hand through his hair. Why had Mrs. Kawasaki come? She'd interrupted everything! Why had Rukia lived in all this mess? She shouldn't have survived, damn it! She should've been just left like that- and everything would be fine! But now- now, there would be questions raised. There would be people asking Rukia all sorts of things- there would be Social Services involved. Kuro would be asked hundreds of questions about Rukia's mental health, and all along, he'd be a suspect too, and his past history didn't help.

He leaned against the doorway, breathing heavily as he heard the commotion inside. Mrs. Kawasaki had shakily left the hospital to go get some of Rukia's spare clothes the minute they both had seen the heart monitor bleep into life through the window.

Kuro- however- couldn't stand to enter that place anymore. It made him puke- the pool of blood staining the white marble, the paintings in her room that hung eerily, haunting him with their stares, as if accusing him.

Run...

He held his head, going mad. He had a splitting headache- he could feel himself losing control- he wanted to smash his fist into the glass window of that room and yell at Rukia! Just for one or two heavenly minutes-let out all the frustration and the tension and yell at her.

How had things gone so wrong? Why couldn't she leave him the hell alone?! None of them had wanted to meet him all those years ago when he'd been declared a drunkard and diagnosed to be mental, then why now?! Did Rukia know that- he wondered- did she know the true reason why he'd been deemed unfit to be a parent to either of his children when he'd fought for custody? That he'd been a pathetic drunk, who slowly gave away to depression, wiling away office hours as he sunk into pleasure and sought any way to distract himself? That he was bordering on psychopathic tendencies? That he'd stopped taking his medication at the start of this year?

That's right- he thought bitterly- You're not the only one who's fucked up, Rukia. I am too- but you don't see me slashing my wrists.

He looked into the window and saw Ichigo, who was now on his knees, clutching his head as he breathed deeply, trying to calm himself down. Isshin was checking Rukia, frowning thoughtfully.

And then slowly, as if on slow motion, he moved to stare sideways and his eyes locked with Kuro's.

They say that you can always tell the guilty one by the way he looks into your eyes, and at that moment, Kuro felt his heart race. He knew- he just knew, that Isshin was going to do everything he could to bring him down. Isshin knew- Kuro didn't know how, but Isshin knew that Kuro had done something.

Run.

He didn't really have any other option, did he?

And so, stumbling backwards, Kuro spun around and began to walk away, as fast as possible. He heard exclamations, nurses asking him to sign this or that, but he shoved them away as he jogged.

He was getting the fuck out of there, as soon as possible, and he was not going to look back. He was collecting his stuff and never coming back. He felt anger boil through him- all this because ofRukia. Why couldn't she have just died and be done with it?

From behind him, Isshin's eyes followed him, and he contemplated whether or not he should Ichigo anything. He decided against it- it really was none of his business.

And so, Isshin watched Kuro go, feeling disgusted with the man who was running away from his own daughter.

A/N: And this is the 10th chapter :):) I think the longest chapter by far, and maybe a tad bit boring- sorry about that :(

The quote mentioned in the starting belongs to the song 'You Found Me' by The Fray, not me.

I'm sorry I didn't really add Rukia waking up in this chapter. I thought about it, but decided against it. I wanted this chapter to describe the turning of events while she was unconscious. You know, how it effected everyone in their own way- and what actually happened while she was 'gone'...

Pardon any mistakes I've forgotten to correct while editing this. Feel free to point them out for me :)

I've kind of realised that I don't have much IchiRuki in majority of the chapters of this story, so sorry for that. There will be more IchiRukiness in the next chapter, so keep reading!

I hope you liked it :) Leave a review!

~SS~