Chapter 10: Muscle pain.

Ichigo had worked himself to near-tears last night working out. He had dropped by the wreck-center in his school after he got threw with his first dancing lesson with Rukia, and hung out with a few football players who had stayed late to work out more. Ichigo probably benched at least 250, and that's a lot for someone who hadn't done manual labor in about three years. He could feel his muscles expanding under his flesh with every beat of his heart he worked so hard. And worked out muscles meant a sore body, and a sore body meant an EXTREAMLY sore rib. Today…was going…to suck.

His alarm went off at about 6:30 the next day, and the thing made it to about two and a half beeps before Ichigo's fist came slamming down upon the already half broken machine. He grumbled into his pillow, face down in its welcoming softness, when he made the biggest mistake he could make that day.

He moved.

The second his muscles tensed, pain shot threw his body like he'd been hit by the semi. Ichigo let out a groan before collapsing back onto his bed. His arms were still twitching under his skin.

Today was going to be hell. At school and after. Because now, he didn't have the luxury of looking forward to going strait to bed right after school. Instead, he had to be at dance practice no later than three o'clock. Oh joy…

After a good twenty minuets of mental preparation, Ichigo managed to slide his weak, wobbly little body out of bed and to his closet. He didn't really care what he yanked off his hanger and threw on, just so long as it was clothes, and he didn't really care if a teacher stopped him and asked where his uniform was. He'd just tell them it was dirty and this was all he had.

He passed his kitchen, taking his water bottle as he passed it on the counter, and filled it up in his sink. He also grabbed his sweat pants, tank top, and dance shoes, than stuffed them in the empty half of his backpack before throwing the overloaded thing over his shoulder. He passed by his bathroom, took a quick comb to his hair than dragged his way out the back door and down the stairs.

School-ARGH! Too many people in too small a proximity. Ichigo had the temptation to count how many people managed to elbow him in the one place that really didn't need to be touched at all. He swore he probably re-broke his rib at least three times before he even managed to get to his first class. He reached his desk alive, however. And how thankful he was to be away from the flood of teenagers roaming like headless chickens in the halls.

He let his backpack slide ever so gently off his shoulder and land with a loud thud on the tile floor by his desk, and he slowly…so slowly…. sat down in his chair.

God, it hurt to just breath in. And it wasn't because of his sore muscles. His rib pain was doing less than letting up on him. In fact, Ichigo thought it was actually getting worse. Hopefully it wouldn't go too far today. He had only been admitted to the hospital twice because his rib got too bad, but that was a long time ago. And the last thing he needed was for it to happen a third time, and on his second day at 'work'. He decided to practice his breathing exercises to help relax his body. Perhaps if he could limit the tension on his muscles, he could limit the pain on his rib.

He let his head fall forward slowly, as he let his breath out. He held it in and counted;

One…. two…three…four…

He let his head fall upward, to the ceiling, than breathed in and counted.

One…two…three…four…

Held it in.

One… two… three… four…

Breath out.

"HEY ICHIGO!!"

Ichigo jumped about three feet off his chair, and when he landed, he instantly regretted it. He hissed and wrapped a hand around his rib cage.

Inoue sat herself on the edge of Ichigo's desk and crossed her legs, putting her hands on her lap. She was looking rather happy today.

"Hey there! What'cha doin'?" she asked, peppy as usual.

Ichigo willed back his pain with a loud swallow, kinked his neck up and forced a smile at her. "F-fine…and you?"

Inoue shrugged, bouncing slightly and looked forward. "Oh fine…. hey, guess what?" She twisted and put he face into Ichigo's. He backed up, flat against his chair, his arm still wrapped around his ribcage.

"Yes?" Ichigo asked with a hiss, hoping she'd kind of back away if he acted intrigued.

She sat up and smiled proudly, straitening her short, short skirt over what little leg it covered and bounced again.

"Ishida asked me out yesterday at the mall…again."

Ichigo paused, his head turning in subtle circles. "And…." He asked.

"I said YES!"

Hmm…. okay. Saw that coming.

"Oh that's uh…great…Inoue," Ichigo said, obviously not as exited as she was about it. "But I thought you didn't like Ishida?"

Inoue rolled her eyes and smiled. "Yeah well…I figured I'd give it a try. After all, he seems like a pretty nice guy and stuff. I just don't want to loose him as a friend if this doesn't work out and all, you know?"

Ichigo hesitantly nodded…actually it was more of a mixture between nodding his head and shaking it. Ichigo was glad that Inoue confided in him enough to talk to him about this but as of right now and for that matter…any time…he didn't care. What did she think he was, gay? She wouldn't be the first person to think that, though. He'd been called gay plenty of times because of his affiliation with the arts. But that's in the past or without realization as of right now.

"Yeah, that's great, Inoue, but listen… I have to uh…" Ichigo started to stand up to excuse himself to the bathroom, but Inoue's face was in his again, knocking him back into his seat.

Oowch.

"So how did your dancing thing go? Any good? Yay, nay?"

Ichigo was backed up against his seat again, trying his best to keep his face as far way from Inoue's as possible. "I uh…it was fun…"

Inoue sat back and cocked her head at him. "That's it? Just…fun? Nothing happened?"

Ichigo's mind flashed the scene of Rukia touching his face. The feel of her silk hands on his skin still made him quake. He could still feel her hot hands running up his back, setting his body on fire, could still feel her body against his when he caught her in mid-air- it was like she fit perfectly in his arms. No, nothing happened. Everything happened.

Ichigo brought up the hand that wasn't around his half and scratched the back of his neck. "It depends on what you mean by ' happened'."

Inoue's eyes grew large and she gasped. "You didn't."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow, "Did what?"

Inoue slid off the desk and came to crouch at his side, looking to the left and right as she went, making sure no one was around. "Didn't…you know…" she turned her back and acted like she was making out with someone.

Ichigo cringed, "What…oh hell no!"

But he sure as hell wanted to!

Inoue toppled backwards laughing, and Ichigo was glad she had her back to her instead of the other way when she fell. Her giggle was cute, and childish. Just like she was.

"That was priceless! You're face was…." She started laughing again. Ichigo just stared at her as she rolled around on the floor, trying his best not laugh as well. His side would not hold up to a racking or laughing…at all. And the last thing he wanted was for Inoue to start worrying about him.

Inoue finally came around, her laughs dissipating to minor hiccups of chuckles as she sat back up and whipped some tears from the corner of her eyes. "Oh…." She said with a breath of relief. " That was fun."

Ichigo just flashed a brief smile before going back to brooding again. The pain wasn't stopping…

Inoue's smile faded and she cocked her head like a curious puppy. She sat up on her knees, putting her face…yet again…close to his. Ichigo flinched and instantly cringed because of it.

"Hey Ichigo, are you feeling okay?" Inoue asked, her voice softer now.

Ichigo's eyes were getting blurry. He had to squint slightly to make out her face. "Yeah I'm fine."

Like hell he was. He knew what was coming. Knew, without a doubt that today was going to be paid with a trip to the hospital. No doubt. He had to get to the nurse's office now or else he'd have to deal with talking to his teacher, facing his classmate's stares, than, mostly likely have an escort to the nurse because he could barely stand up. He'd much rather brave the halls than go threw all that.

It was Inoue's voice that knocked him out of his thoughts. Ichigo blinked and shook his head, than looked at the blurry image of Inoue. It didn't take much to realize, even with cloudy vision, that she was getting extremely worried.

Ichigo didn't flinch when he felt Inoue's hand touch his forehead. He was too tired to care now. "Ichigo, you're turning pail. And you're sweating. Are you sure you're okay?"

Ichigo's mind took a while to process her words, and his own words took a while to reach his lips.

"No…" he managed to get out. He looked Inoue in the eyes. "I need to go now."

Inoue could see in his eyes that it was urgent, and she made sure her face didn't look panicked as she nodded gently. "Okay…"

Inoue took Ichigo's hand and helped him to his feet, making sure he didn't topple over when he made it. Like it or not, Ichigo was going to have an escort, but he'd much rather have Inoue at his side than some stranger who would stare at him the entire way to the office. Inoue was one of the few people Ichigo trusted with his life.

Inoue steered Ichigo around his desk, feeling his grip tighten every once in while on her hand from the pain. Ichigo made it about two steppes when he suddenly stopped, making Inoue stumble slightly.

She looked up at Ichigo with alarm. "Ichigo? Ichigo, what's wrong?"

Her words were drowned out. The commotion in the halls was nothing more than a muffle now. Ichigo's world and drained of all color until all he could see was…black. Ichigo's eyes slipped shut as he tipped backwards. Inoue felt a scream get trapped in her throat as she watched her friend fall, and all she could do was keep a hold of his hand as she was taken with him to the ground. Inoue managed to catch herself before she landed on him, but she cringed when she heard his skull smack against the tile. That'll leave a mark.

Inoue began to panic now…hysterically. She sat up on her elbows, her breath coming in loud, short huffs as she fought for composure. She put her hands on either side of Ichigo's face and began to beg.

"Ichigo! Ichigo, wake up! Come on, open your eyes!" her voice hiccupped when she started to cry, the tears flowing without hesitation off her face and dripping onto his. Inoue began to slap Ichigo, hoping she's stun him enough to wake him up, but nothing happened. His skin grew colder and colder, and his lips turned to ice blue.

He wasn't breathing!

Inoue began to cry aloud, sobbing and wailing as she continued to slap and shake Ichigo. Keigo had walked by the open door, talking to someone, when he heard Inoue screaming. He stopped fast and looked inside, seeing Inoue laying over Ichigo and shaking him roughly.

"Inoue!" Keigo screamed as he ran inside, the person he was talking to behind him.

Inoue looked up at them, her teary eyes looking at Keigo for a second before going back to Ichigo. "Keigo! He…he…he stopped breathing!"

Keigo dropped to his knees on the other side of Ichigo, his hands hovering over the two wondering how he could help. Ichigo was paler now, and his lips were a dark blue. He looked dead already. Keigo began to panic as well, his mind not forming any conclusion what so ever as to how he could help. That's when his lumberjack of a friend knelt down beside him. Inoue double took at his size, her sobs stopping for only a second to gawk at his size before going back to crying.

"I'll carry him to the nurse," he said, his voice as deep as a bear's growl. My God, he was enormous, and his dark tan and even darker hair made him look Hispanic. "You call some teachers and tell them what's going on." The man finished. His face was emotionless, as was his tone of voice. He was calm…ten times calmer than Keigo and Inoue, and seemed to know pretty well what he was doing. In fact, he seemed even a little impatient with the whole thing, because he didn't even wait for the two to reply when she scooped Ichigo into his massive arms and began to carry him out the door. He had to turn sideways in order to fit threw the doorway, he was so broad shouldered.

Keigo and Inoue were left sitting on the tile, starring at the display of strength the giant just showed by carrying an almost full-grown man out the door. It wasn't until a few seconds after the giant had left when they both shook their heads and rubbed their eyes.

"What were we supposed to do?" Keigo asked.

"Um… call the teachers!" Inoue announced. Keigo nodded once, his face etched with determination. "Good. You call the teachers and I'll go take care of Ichigo," Inoue ordered before standing up and bolting out the door, having to shove her way threw a crowd that had collected by the door.

"Right, I'll…HEY!" Keigo lept to his feet and sprinted after her. He was his friend too, you know!

The giant didn't care about the flock of teenage spectators that were fallowing him down the hall. He just kept his cold eyes forward as he made his way down the hall, keeping Ichigo close to him. He turned a corner and stopped in the doorway.

The nurse's office was quite small, even for a normal sized person, and for the giant to even consider walking in, he'd have to take out the wall in order to fit. The nurse was at her computer, which was set beside the doorway, and she was a small, old lady with wire for hair and spectacles the size of water glasses. She jumped to her feet, first out of fear of the mountain standing in her doorway, than out of fear of the body he was holding in his arms.

"He stopped breathing," said the mountain's booming voice. The frail nurse paused, looking up at him with wide eyes and an open mouth, her wrinkled, old body shaking.

"You… might want to call 911," said the man, hopping that would knock her out of her daze. Inoue came sliding to halt at the door, and she squeezed herself past the giant and stood on her tiptoes to look at Ichigo.

He was still out cold.

Inoue was breathing hard again, and she looked around the room frantically; first at the giant, than at Ichigo, back at the giant, than at the nurse. Inoue paused, frowning when she saw the nurse just standing there, gawking at the giant man in her doorway.

"Hey!" Inoue shouted, her voice dripping with impatient venom. The nurse blinked and looked down at the average sized girl handing off the giant's arm. "What do you think you're doing? CALL AN AMBULENCE!"

Keigo had made it to the doorway when he heard Inoue shout…and he gulped. Never in his life had he heard Inoue sound so mad. It…scared him. Inoue…scarring him? Wow.

The nurse jummpe3d back when the orange haired girl screamed at her, but she reached for the phone on her desk, and dialed 911.

"Yes, My name is Mrs. McGinnis. I'm the nurse at Mashiba High school, and I have an emergency…. A boy has stopped breathing and I need an ambulance right away…. Yes…thank you."

She hung up and turned to Inoue, trying her best just to look at her and not the giant looming above her. "They're coming now."

Inoue nodded, taking in a deep breath. "Good."

She pointed to a futon bed against the wall and said, "Why don't you lay him down over there until the paramedics come."

The giant paused, looking around the small room. "Umm…. okay…" he wondered how he'd do this. He turned sideways and began to side step into the room. He backed Inoue up against the doorway, making her squeak as he did so. He pushed the nurse onto her desk, nearly pinning her legs to the edge. And he hit his head on the light on the ceiling. But he made it to the futon, thank god…. and gently laid Ichigo down.

The giant exited, going threw the same obstacles to get out as he did to get in, than sat outside the door. Inoue ran to Ichigo's side, taking his cold hand into her own.

"Hey, Ichigo…" she whispered. "You don't leave us now, you hear me? You're not threw here…so you come back…"

Come back mother! Don't leave me! Come back!

COME BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!!

Ichigo woke with a start, jolting up in his bed, crying out the last words he said in his dream, before falling silent. He felt his rib scream at him, and he instantly cringed, wrapping both arms around his sides. That's when he felt the soft fabric of bandages. He opened his eyes and looked down. His entire midsection was wrapped tight in medical tape, and he was…shirtless.

He gasped and looked around, wondering if anyone was in his room. That's when he realized he wasn't even in his home. There were pictures of scenery on the pail blue walls, a television sat on a perch on the ceiling, and there was the steady beat of the heart monitor at his left side.

He was in the fucking hospital.

He held out his arms, seeing that they were strung up in tubes and monitoring systems. His wrist had on that stupid paper band indicating he was a patient, and he was wrapped up like a mummy.

Great. Just great.

He groaned to himself and flopped back onto his bed- if you could call it that- and put his hands on his eyes. As if the day couldn't get any worse.

"Hello there, Mr. Kuroskaki," came a familiar voice. Ichigo paused. It was his childhood doctor, Mr. Tsukabishi Tessai. He was probably just as large as the man was at school, and just as Mexican-looking. Except for the fact his skin wasn't tan, and he always wore sunglasses. He was a nice guy, despite his size, and Ichigo was never afraid of him, even when he was little. Mr. Tessai knew about Ichigo's dance carrier, and knew that he had stopped. He knew about Ichigo's mother and knew he was living alone. He knew pretty much everything…accept for the new dance partnership…thank God.

"Hi, Mr. Tessai," Ichigo mumbled, his tone of voice saying that he'd been threw this once or twice before.

"More rib troubles, I see," Mr. Tessai said, looking at his clipboard of papers. Ichigo just nodded his response, keeping one hand on his forehead. Mr. Tessai smiled and walked over to Ichigo's bedside, pulling up a spare chair from the corner and sitting down.

"So…" he began, crossing his legs and leaning back. "I could sit here and give you the doctor lecture on how you should be more careful and not do any physical labor and so on, but it's not like you'll listen, am I right?"

Ichigo nodded again.

Mr. Tessai snorted a laugh than sat forward. "Ichigo..." he began, leaning his elbows on his knees as he bowed his head. "You wanna tell me what you've been up to?"

Ichigo shrugged, letting his hand slide off his face finally. "Nothing, really…just…stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Just…working out and stuff. Nothing big."

Mr. Tessai sighed aloud, letting his head drop dramatically. "Ichigo, you remember what I told you about lifting things that are heavy!"

"So than why'd you do it?"

Ichigo shrugged again and smirked. "It's like you said, ' you can give me a lecture, but it's not like I'll listen'."

Mr. Tessai groaned than sat up, pushing the chair back up against the wall. "Alright, you win. I won't argue with you today just because I'm too busy..."

Yeah right.

"But I'm putting you on Vikeaden for a few weeks and we'll see if we can't get that pain under control."

"Mmm…Vikeaden…fun stuff," Ichigo said sarcastically.

Mr. Tessai ignored his remark. "Than I'm putting you on some narcotics called Opium. They should stabilize your pain attacks until we find something permanent." He wrote out a prescription for the Opium and handed it to Ichigo.

"I'll send you home with a month's worth of Vikeaden. Don't take more than one, okay? If one doesn't do the trick, call me." Ichigo was reading over his prescription, trying to make out the chicken scratches that were Mr. Tessai's handwriting.

Mr. Tessai stared at Ichigo for a moment, knowing that Ichigo probably wouldn't listen to what he was about to say, but was going to try anyways.

"I'm holding you over night just to make sure you didn't damage your head when you fell. You'll be free to go tomorrow."

Ichigo nodded again, his attention still on the paper. "Okay…hey doc, what time is it?"

Well…that was easy. Mr. Tessai lifted his arm up, drawing back his sleeve, than looked at the wristwatch he had. "It's… ten 'till three."

Ichigo was out of that bed in seconds, the IV tubes ripped from his arms as he leapt. "Shit! I've gotta go!" Ichigo still had on his street pants so all he had to do was pull on his shirt and backpack.

He breezed past Mr. Tessai, who just standing there smiling at himself, telling himself He knew it…he knew he wouldn't listen. He knew it was fruitless to stop him, so he just let Ichigo go.

"By, Mr. Tessai! Thank you for everything!" Ichigo said in a jumble as he flew to the door.

"Mmm hmm. And Ichigo…" Mr. Tessai said calmly. Ichigo stopped at the door, his button-up shirt halfway on and his backpack hanging off one shoulder.

"Don't forget these," Mr. Tessai tossed Ichigo an orange bottle of Vikeaden, and Ichigo caught it with one hand.

"Thanks!" Ichigo said, flashing a smile before she shoved the door open and bolted out the door. Mr. Tessai just stood in the middle of the room waving to on one as the door shut. He let his hand drop at his side and he began to shake his head.

"Why do I even try? Why? Why do I even try?" He said over and over to himself as he turned and paged for a nurse to come and clean up the room.