"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

Surprised by the sudden crack in the blissful silence, the brown-haired girl nearly tripped, her hand dropping the cell phone as the other collided into the glass of juice she had prepared for her patient. Watching as the orange liquid slowly seeped into the food on the plate next to the once perfect food tray, a mixture of regret and disappointment welled up in her being, suddenly replaced with fury in a few moments.

She had worked so hard to make the perfect dish for Toshiro to eat in his fever since he might not feel well enough to eat. To top it off, she had even made some of Tatsuki's favourite dishes, but making the food wasn't the part she regretted. It was watching the food she made with love and dedication go to waste. Breathing in deeply a few times to quell her anger, she once again stomped over to the room, this time opening the door in a refined manner rather than slamming it open. However, the sight she witnessed made her jaw drop as she dubiously stared into the room.

At that moment, multiple emotions flashed across her mind: shock, anger, exhaustion, and maybe even laughter. To think of laughter though, Yuzu Kurosaki may have nearly lost her mind, but watching the lively scene of an angry Toshiro and a non-caring Tatsuki may have been what she needed after a stressful two days.

Finally unable to contain her laughter, the kind-hearted girl burst into laughter, clutching at her stomach for laughing so hard, tears forming at the corner of her brown eyes. Sensing the sudden silence, she peeked at the expressions of her two friends: one filled with utter shock and disbelief while the other grinned with accomplishment. After a few moments, Yuzu calmed herself, wiping the tears from a good laugh as she looked straight at Tatsuki.

"Just what are you doing to this poor boy?" She chuckled, pushing a lock of her brown hair behind her ear.

"Sensei," Tatsuki exclaimed, raising her hand like a child would when they have a question, "I was trying to test my bandage wrapping skills! Did I pass?"

"Like hell you did!" Toshiro yelled with exasperation. "And Yuzu… To think you would laugh when I'm obviously in such a terrible predicament…" He voiced his complaint with disappointment, but even Yuzu knew that he was faking the hurt in his voice – well, maybe a little.

"Sorry, but," a relaxed and childish grin flashed across her face, "it was just so funny." Noticing that the stress from before had dissipated, the boy merely averted his gaze, relaxing his tense muscles after whispering a 'whatever'.

"Yuzu," the black-haired teen addressed the girl in a serious tone, her gaze glancing between her and the boy, "it seems that he can't tell me anything. Do you have anything you want to ask?"

Feeling tempted by her question, Yuzu bit her lip anxiously, not failing to notice the slight flinch in Toshiro's figure. Of course she had questions.

Questions about his absence.

Questions about her sister.

Questions about the relationship between the two.

But…

If he wasn't comfortable answering it… No, rather, even if he was uncomfortable with it, the one he has to give the answers to is Karin. Not her.

Breathing in deeply, she walked up to Toshiro, sitting on side of the bed, and placed her hand on his forehead. As if it was a repeat of the previous day, he shifted backwards away from her cool touch, causing a frown to appear on her face yet again. Like it was an endless cycle, this time he again didn't dare look at her. However, Yuzu had something else in mind to break this cycle or else, they – Karin and Toshiro – would be in an endless loop without answers and without the will to face their problems head on.

Taking advantage of his restrained movements, she placed both of her hands on each of the shinigami's cheeks, lifting his face suddenly to force him to look at her. Surprised teal eyes looked straight into serious, studying brown eyes.

"You can't run away forever, Toshiro. No matter what fears you have or how much time has passed, nothing will change if you don't tell us the truth." His bewildered eyes softened as a mixture of regret, sadness, and uncertainly became painfully evident in those usually confident, stoic teal orbs. "It's alright if you don't tell us, but there's someone that has the right to know about what happened to you."

Nodding his head ever so slightly, she gave him a small hug, taking care to not agitate his wounds any more than a certain teenager had already done. After she felt him relax, she pulled away, putting on her usual face when she condemned Ichigo's rash actions, giving his best friend the same deserving look.

It was an expression that always had an interesting reaction from the one on the receiving end. However, not every person had the same reaction, but it was an equally amusing reaction that basically got the same message across. When used on her brother – more often than she'd like, he would begin to back away slowly, guilt and shame filling up his honey eyes as he broke into a cold sweat. Within moments, he would dash into his room but not without bowing deeply, apologizing for his misdeeds.

Who knew though, that this same look that Tatsuki was getting would result in nearly the same exact reaction as her brother's? There was only one slight difference. Just before she considered the idea of running out of the room, she mumbled a few excuses like 'I did it just to make sure he wouldn't run off again' or 'he wasn't listening to me so I thought he would give in faster this way'. However, just like Ichigo, within a few moments, the teen stiffly shot out of her seat, bowing deeply, apologizing countless times before running off.

Shaking her head at how common the two childhood friends were, she felt surprised when she heard the person beside her laugh. Snapping her head to the side, the brown-haired girl felt her gaze soften as she watched the extremely rare smile that managed to find its way on Toshiro's face.

"For a moment," the captain snickered in an attempt to stop laughing, "I thought I saw Kurosaki sitting there. I never imagined to see that kind of look on her face." He seemed to enjoy himself so much that he leaned forward laughing, not caring that his arms were bound above his head at this moment, his face scrunching up slightly from the pain his injuries were causing him. "I-It hurts…"

Standing just outside the door she just left, a smile crept on the teenager's features as she finally heard the young captain's laughter. She could just tell that something's been eating away at him, but he was being too hard on himself, being stubborn, obstinate, and unwilling to open himself up even a little bit. She never really wanted him to feel so cornered when she pinned him down on the bed or even tied him to the bedpost. However, the black-haired girl had reached her limit of tolerance, resolving herself to pull it out of him by force – whether he liked it or not. Although there was something nagging at the back of her mind as well… That something that was hidden under the pure white bandages wrapped around his torso, being overlooked due to his current injuries… The thing she and Yuzu both noticed, but she was sure that Karin didn't… This was the truth or maybe even the answer Karin needed to know.

Pushing herself off the wall she was leaning on, Tatsuki made her way to the kitchen, thinking about giving food to Toshiro since Yuzu is now occupied. When she witnessed the mess on the counter, a look of absolute horror and shock was written all over her face, but it also made sense as to why Yuzu seemed so furious at first. Silently apologizing to her cook, she cleaned up the spilled juice on the counter, leaving the tray as is – its fate left to Yuzu's discretion.

As she was about to leave the kitchen, she barely stopped herself from stepping on the cell phone on the floor. Thanking Kami that she had seen it in time, she picked it up wondering why Yuzu's phone would be on the floor in the first place. Closing and placing it in her pocket absent-mindedly, she pulled out her own phone and decided to dial a certain household. The phone rang a couple times before being answered by a tired and exhausted older man.

"Yes?" He breathed out, not really in the mood to talk to anyone.

"Hey, Kurosaki-san. I believe one of your patients as well as your youngest daughter is here." Merely seconds after those words left her mouth, the phone got disconnected hastily, leaving the teen to sigh with exhaustion. "He must have been really worried. He didn't even ask who it was." Stuffing the cell in her pocket, she thought back to the cause of this over exaggerated situation before heading back to the room. "Stupid Ichigo… What is he thinking?"

A/N:

Ta-da! The double update exclusively here for you, my readers!

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