Keigo Asano didn't know that his last big secret, he hid by advice of his former manager, was exposed to the people, he hoped to forget. Now he couldn't believe what he did that day. Sure he was always overreacting, but never like this. But now... after he experienced the whole 40 hours again, he could think about it now. He was tied up on his bed. Alone in this hospital-room and was observed by a camera. A doctor in another room could watch him. Everyone was too afraid to get closer to Keigo. Especially after his live-horror-movie-performance, that became a You-Tube-Hit with more than 10 Million hits in less than one hour. Two police-man stood in front of his doors but were scared by every little sound. The crowd of protestors and reporters went now in front of this hospital. Even after the horrible events in the prison. But now they didn't demonstrate for his release... they prayed for him...
While the people in front of the hospital demonstrated, a nurse called for Keigo's doctor inside. There was a call for him...
"Hello... Yes... Oh... Ah... Really..." the doctor was surprised. But he was also very happy to hear it. "Thank you, so much! I will tell Asano immidiately..."
Happily, the doctor hang off and went to Keigo's room. A sign was hanging on his door: 'Dangerous patient'. A warning for the others to not to enter the room. But the doctor was so happy, because he could get rid of Asano and the crowd in front of he building...
Keigo was laying in the cold, sterile room and his only wish was to wake up. Wake up and get out of this nightmare. He was awake for around 4 or 5 days, apart vom several short naps he had. And he could feel the withdrawal from his sedatives. He was long enough addicted to this pills he only start to take because his sick sister. Is this all some kind of punishment? Is this the punishment for Yuzu's death in his apartment? Why she had to kill herself in his penthouse? There were so many questions in his head again... Than the door opened... and the doctor entered the room to tell the good news to Keigo...
In Soul Society Ichigo was struggling with his feelings when he hold his head agains the flickering screen of the TV. Yuzu meanwhile, told her father in tears what happend and that she drunk the spiked soup to die, because she was too afraid of the consequences. The same drugs, Keigo used to kill himself several months ago. The only difference was that Keigo survived.
"AWW... IT'S ALL MY FAULT!" Yuzu wailed. "He is in prison, just because of me!"
"Yuzu, it's not your fault!" her father said consoling.
Ichigo meanwhile, start to think about everything he just saw. Why? Why he did that? What went so wrong in Keigo's live that he tries to kill himself after the recent events. Why did he freak out so much? Ichigo knew: Keigo always ran away from his problems. The Asano's had many problems within thier family. He found out later. But was is really true that he had no one else. They were friends. Why he left and avoid any contact? But now they also asked themself how he survived the overdose of drugs?
"This is the reason he disappeared for weeks!" the chairman of the commission wailed and start to sweat. Now everything made sense again, unlike thier results. "Looks like he was in hospital..."
"It's a miracle that he's still alive!" Ichigo said and turned to his family and friends. "SAY ANYTHING, PLEASE!"
Nobody dared to say anything. The most of them cried. Tatsuki was hit by Keigo's harsh words. She left to cry secretly. Orihime still tried to not to freak out too. Mizuiro hid his face ashamed. They felt guilty. For them it was thier fault. They realized that Keigo always had to bottle up everything, because they never listened. Now Orihime understand why Tatsuki needed weeks to recover from the incident with Aizen. After they talked, she felt better. Just like Mizuiro. But Keigo was never told the truth by them. He had to enlightened by Mizuiro and not by Ichigo...
"What I... don't understand... What happend? What did he mean with, share my room with them?" Ichigo asked.
"Hmmm... Maybe he was talking about Madarame-san and Ayasegawa-san. Both lived with Asano and his family during thier missions in the world of the living." a member of the commission told. "Both later told that Asano was visibly afraid of them. Because he was able to see them they forced him to give them shelter..."
"WHAT? And why I don't know anything about?" Ichigo asked. "That day I didn't want any of my friends get pulled into the mess."
"We asked Madarame and Ayasegawa about, of course. Both told us that they used a Kidou to keep sure that the memories of the Asano's get deleted. Madarame-san even did so twice, to keep sure. Looks like he felt molested by Asano's sister. But Asano seems to remember, we already know that he is immune against Kidou..."
"Oh, oh..." Mizuiro remembered.
"WHAT, OH, OH?" Ichigo asked mad. "Do you know something?"
Mizuiros face turned red. "He... it was before we knew about your Shinigami-powers. Asano seemed more upset like normal those days. He told me that he hears huge noise in town at night and that these people living with him have to do something with that. He was afraid of them... I could see it. But I... I thought he is just overreacting as always. That... that it is some typical 'Keigo-Asano-Moment'..."
"But... how he could remember? We changed and deleted your memory so many times and..." Ichigo stopped talking when he saw Tatsuki and Mizuiro looking angrily on him. "... hey, don't be mad. It was for your own care! Well... Why he... Is it... maybe because he is... like Orihime and Chad...?"
"Maybe!" Rukia realized and nooded. "It's very rare that a human becomes immune against Shinigami-powers. I heared about incidents with humans, who became insane because they didn't understand what happened!"
"And why it was never arranged or checked?" Ichigo asked unbelieving.
"Well, there were really harsh rules for the contact between Shinigami and humans." his father interfered and moaned. "When I engaged with your mother, I commited a very very big crime. There was one important rule: Is a human able to see and hear you, delete his memory! If it's not working, run away and hope that the thinks he just dreamed..."
"Keigo has to remember more than we thaught. Maybe... he has even powers. Just as like as Chad and Orihime?"
"Hmm... sure...?!" Kaneda murmured and crossed his arms moaning. "When we talked that evening... he told me that he is able to run very fast. And he has immunity agains Kidou not to forget. He also told me that everytime he wanted to talk to you about it... you pushed him away..."
"Oh, my gosh!" Ichigo was completely done now. He realized that it was his fault too. "Do you see what's going on here?"
"I do!" Tatsuki realized and start to cry again. "I know how he has to feel... It was the same when you didn't want to tell us why Orihime disappeared. I was so mad on you. I hated you for your stubbornness. Now... I understand why you didn't tell us. But... Asano, seems to know more, but also less... I mean... You saw it. He believed everything they told in the news. Not because he is stupid, because he was never told...
"Most of it wasn't true. But I thaught... that he knows at least the true things."
"I have to admit... that I just learned to understand everything when we came here!" Mizuiro said. "And he remained in the world of the Living and..."
"And thinks we pushed him aside as always!" Ichigo realized and hold his head stunned. "Awww... There is nothing to deny! We are terrible friends! Keigo was able to see everything, and he remembers even more than you two... And we pushed him away. We always just pushed him away. I mean you saw what happened... He tried to protect us. He tried to protect the children. He tried to prevent that they publish more stuff about us..."
Ichigo grabbled the remote-controller again and searched the scene of Keigo and Makoto fighting in the boxroom...
"How dare you to say this! You can't force me to!" Makoto said mad.
"Yes, you heared right! I don't want you to publish anything about the Kurosaki's or someone else. You have no clue, how many problems that will cause." Keigo moaned and looked into Makoto's eyes. "Makoto-chan... Believe me, I saw things I would really love to forget... And I only tell you because I am really worried about you. This is too hot, even for you! And for everyone else in this world, too."
"You only say this because you are afraid of them?! Admit it!"
"NO! I tell you because I'm afraid of the consequences! Believe me, I left Karakura to leave all this mess and all the pain behind me. I couldn't bear it anymore. Now... after you are going to tell the whole world... I don't know what to say now. And now you show me the package with the evidences... or I will tell the news-announcer of another channel, that I smuggled that footage out of North Korea... and not you, as you told everyone. I can prove it."
"You won't dare... the report about the North Korean nightlife was my breakthrough!"
"I'll dare! And you don't need to threat me! My sister threatened me worse for trivia. You are as much in trouble as I..."
Ichigo stopped the tape.
"You hear that?" Ichigo asked and pointed on the screen. "After everything, he still tries to help us."
"Oh my gosh... Ichigo... we have to safe him!" Orihime jelled.
"YEAH! Ichigo, you go to this hospital immediately and get him out of there!" Yuzu jelled, while she released herself out of her fathers hug and crawled towards her brother. "Ichigo... He tried to hire Toranosuke Mota, as my lawyer!"
Everyone who knew the name was astonished.
"The famous star-lawyer?" Orihime asked astonished.
"YES!" Yuzu screamed and stood up to grab her brother and shake him. "YOU HAVE TO SAFE HIM!"
"Yuzu, calm down!" Ichigo said and looked on her. "Tell me what happend!"
"I went to Keigo, told him everything and he didn't hesitate after I tried to jump of his terrace. He left to hire the lawyer and left me alone with Yamada in his penthouse. I took a shower and after that I called the police because I figured out the plans of the terrorists. Keigo came back and told me that everything is arranged..." Yuzu start to cry again.
"He wasn't succesful in the lawyers office!" Kaneda explained and everyone looked on him. "When we talked, he told me that the lawyer was very condescending and insulted you. They had a fight and Asano left. He didn't dare to tell you the truth so he wanted to get you out of the city to protect you."
"Awww..." once again Yuzu start to cry. "I caused so much trouble. And everything... just because I was a stupid little hussy that did it with a terrorist."
"Oh, Yuzu..." Ichigo hugged his sister. "You're not a hussy just because you... Wait a moment...! YOU AND THE TERRORIST HAD SEX TOGETHER?"
When Ichigo start to scream on her, Yuzu pushed him away and screamed back: "STOP SCREAMING. I'M AN ADULT WOMAN! IT'S MY THING. AND I CAN DO IT WITH WHOEVER I WANT! AT LEAST I DIDN'T GOT PREGNANT LIKE KARIN DID!"
"WHAAAAATTT?" everyone screamed and was shocked.
"HEY, I TOLD YOU TO NOT TO TELL ANYBODY ABOUT!" Karin screamed before she realized that the exposed her pregnancy by herself accidently. With both hands she hold her mouth while everyone stared on her disguised. Her face turned red. She had to escape thier eyes. "Oh, wow... so late... I NEED TO GO!"
Karin tried to run away. But her father jumped up and stopped her, right in front of the door. Karin's face turned darker. She was afraid of his reaction. Because she knew that it he will make something really embarrasing, soon. And she would be right.
"OH, KARIN!" Isshin screamed happily and hugged her. He was cheering. "I AM SO HAPPY!"
"AGGHHH... LEAVE ME ALONE!" Karin protested and tried to escape her fathers hug.
"COME ON! WHO IS THE FATHER?" Isshin asked excited. He hoped that it was someone he really hoped to be the father of his next grandchild.
Tears start to run down Karin's face. Everyone stared on her. Her family, friends, all those foreign Shinigami who normally shouldn't know about it... because it was not thier business. Everyone looked on her with a different view. Her father was happily excited, her sister smiled, her brother shocked and so far... Karin start to sob. She couldn't deny it anymore anyway. Especially after she puked so often during the last days.
"Awww... It is... Toshiro!" Karin wailed.
„YEAAAAAAHHHH!" her father start to cheer.
"PLEASE WHAT?" Ichigo screamed shocked.
"Oh, Karin! I'm so excited for you!" Orihime said with a smile.
"TOSHIRO? AS IN TOSHIRO HITSUGAYA?" Ichigo continued screaming.
"What, do you mean this little, white-haired captain who get's upset when you tell him by his given-name?" Tatuski asked curious. "Oh, I knew there is something going on between them..."
"HOW LONG DO YOU DO IT TOGETHER?" Ichigo screamed again.
"You can't imagine how proud I am." Isshin praised. "My daughter and my successor as captain. We have to celebrate..."
"SHUT UP! DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!" Ichigo screamed on his father but he didn't care for his son's anger. Karin just continued crying.
"E... E... E..."
"E, e, e what?" Ichigo asked now quieter but still angry.
"Eight..."
"Eight weeks?"
Karin shaked her head sobbing. "Years!"
Ichigo was shocked. So his sister was in a secret relationsship with this 'ice-cube-of captain' for eight years now. Isshin was crying happily, while he put out a poster of his late wife, out of his pocket to pray to her.
"MASAKI... OH, MASAKI... WE GET A FURTHER GRANDCHILD! WE CELEBRATE THE NEXT MARRIAGE!"
"HEY, DO YOU CARRY THAT POSTER WITH YOU ALL TI... WHAT? What do you mean with... next marriage?" Karin asked. She became abashed.
"It's so clear! Nobody puts a bun into my little girl's oven without to make her a honourable married lady." Isshin said prouldy. Karin was so shocked now that she became unable to move or say something. She was unable to start to run away and was like a statue when her father carried her outside. "There is no reason to be so stiff. It's just a wedding... You go and look after your little friend. We prepare everything for the party. And this time we invite him."
Ichigo watched his father leaving the house with Karin on his back and tried to calm down. Yuzu followed them and start to tell her ideas for the menu and the decoration...
"Is... this real... or was it a bad dream?" he asked with a trembling face. "Oh, my gosh... That means Hitsugaya will be my brother-in-law..."
"Ichigo, you have to agree that they match perfectly together!" Orihime said smiling as always before changing the topic. "And I think, we should look for Asano-kun. And than you have time to get upset."
Ichigo calmed down immediately when he remembered that they should Keigo get out of the prison before.
"Aww... you're right. And when we see him, we apologize to him! It's the most important, at least. He shouldn't think we hate him." Ichigo murmured and looked up to the roof-window. "KAZUI! I know you and Ichika eavesdrop again! Show yourself!"
Kazui and Ichika were really on the roof again to eavesdrop at the open roof-window. Both put thier heads over the border and looked down to thier parents.
"Kids, do you know in which hospital they brought Keigo?" Ichigo asked. The kids shaked thier heads. "Okay, than we search every hospital near the prison... or we just go to the hospital with the most protestors in front of it..."
"Kurosaki, you can't go to the world of the living." the chairman of the commission interfered. "We need to change the memories of the people first. Now we know that it's orgin has to be somewhere here in the Soul Society, that means we can use the right Kidou this time..."
"NO, we go now!" Ichigo moaned and lift off to leave.
"We need at least a few hours to prepare and handle everything. I know you want to see your friend. Believe me, now that we know that we blamed him wrongly I would really love to let you see him... But now you can't help him anyway. He is in hospital, and there they keep an eye on him. He won't run away from there."
"Run away? Keigo is the world champion in 'running away!" Ichigo ranted. "And that's the reason we need to go now. And I don't need your aprovement!"
After saying this, Ichigo passed the speechless commission and left.
"And we, too!" Orihime said and left together with Tatsuki, Chad and Mizuiro, too. "Kazui, you stay with your grandfather and help him with the wedding-preparations. We will be back soon."
"But, but, but..." one of the members of the commission stuttered. "...em... wait... you..."
"SHUT UP!" everyone jelled and together they left the house. Rukia and Renji joined them, too.
"Ehm... Abarai-taichou, we..."
"Be quiet. The Kurosaki's and thier friends are under my supervision, as I know. So I can decide when an where they go." Rukia moaned on him and looked up to the window. "ICHIKA! You and Kazui come down there and stay with Isshin. And keep an eye on Karin, she looks like she has to puke again, soon...
After these words the Abarai's left the house, too... and left the commission alone. Kaneda lift up and followed them. "Kurosaki-san, wait. I want to come with you!"
"Awww... We're so much in trouble now. That will have consequences for all of us." the chairman of the commission said ashamed. They failed in any possible way. Two months of work were unavaling. "How we could make such a terrible mistake? YAMADA!"
Hanataro was going to leave the house, too but he stopped when someone shouted his name. He turned worried: "Yes?"
"You know Kurosaki better than all of us together. What we have to expect?"
"OH, you don't want to know that!" Hanataro said and turned again to go. But than he stopped again. "But, now that we are talking about knowing and not knowing... I have the feeling that I forgot something really important..."
While Hanataro tried to remember that he knows that Keigo was going to be a father soon, his friends organized a portal to the world of the livng. They had to go there. No matter than in Shinigami- or Human-form. No matter than visible or invisible for the humans. They had to go to this hospital as quickly as possible...
The group arrived in front of the hosipital not long after...
"It has to be here!" Ichigo said when he found a cardboard with the word '#freeasano' on the ground. The street was full of trash. Everywhere they found leftovers of the demonstration, that was over by now. Ichigo dropped the sighn so nobody would see it floating in the air and looked up on the hospibal.
They arrived. Invisible for the living, in Shinigami-Form. The humans among them were invisible, too. They insisted on it, till the Shinigami were ready with the memories of the humans. They would need days, or even weeks, till the last memory of the Shinigami-excisting was gone. But they had no time: They had to look for Keigo. He had to be in a terrible condition.
"KEIGO!" Ichigo screamed.
"I don't think he can hear you?!" Rukia moaned.
"Okay..." Ichigo moaned back to her and went to an parked ambulance, standing in front of the building. "So I will try, this way!"
"Ichigo, what are you going to do..." Orihime began, but Ichigo already opened the door to the cabin and grabbled the microphone...
"KEIGO! KEIGOOOOO?!" Ichigo's voice echoed out of the speakers on the top of the ambulance. Only hearable for people who had enough spirituall powers. "PLEASE, IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, SHOW YOURSELF IF POSSIBLE..."
The pedestrians around them were neighter able to see Ichigo, nor the others around him. A man and a woman saw the open door of the ambulance and the floating microphone and ran away scared.
"... I AM SO SORRY! I DIDN'T WANT ANY OF THIS HAPPEN! I AM SURE THE LAST TWO MONTHS WERE THE PURE HORROR FOR YOU, TOO! I WAS SO STUPID AND DID NOT MENTION!..."
Someone could hear Ichigo's voice. A person left the hospital and staggered dazed towards the ambulance...
"...AFTER EVERYTHING WHAT HAPPEND... I WILL NEVER FORGET WHAT YOU TRIED TO DO FOR MY SISTER! YOU PROTECTED HER WHEN I WAS NOT ABLE TO DO. SHE GREETS YOU VERY WARMLY. SHE IS SO SORRY, THAT IT HAPPENED ON YOUR COUCH..."
The only person, who was able to hear him, came across the parking-lot and went closer to the ambulance...
"... I AM NOT SURE THAT YOU CAN HEAR ME ANYWAY! THE PEOPLE HERE ON THE STREET CAN NOT HEAR ME. BUT I HOPE YOU CAN! KEIGO,... PLEASE! I WANT TO TALK TO YOU! WE ALL CAME HERE TO SEE YOU! SEND ME A SIGNAL!"
"Ku... Kurosaki?" Ogawa stuttered. She was in the hospital to treat her injuries, she recieved during the stampede in front of the prison. She was shocked when she realized that the person in the black kimono, using the speakers of an ambulance to make noise across the whole city, was definetely Ichigo.
Ichigo was totally surprised when he saw his former classmate standing in front of him. And he was much more surprised when he realized that she could see and hear him. Overwhelmed, he continued screaming into the microphone: "I TOLD YOU TO SEND ME A SIGNAL AND NOT TO SEND ME OGAWA!"
"Oh, Michiru-chan! It's so nice to see you again!" Orihime said happily. "What happened to you?"
Michiru was to afraid to say something. But finally she was able to do: "Ehm... I was almost trampeled to death in the stampede, but the Shinigami over there safed me. Than I was kidnapped by your son again and was found in front of the post-office by the police and they brought me here..."
"Wait a moment! Why you can see us?" Ichigo asked overwhelmed. "Aww... forget it... Did you see Asano?"
"No! And I never want to see him again. As I want to not to be able to see you anymore. That's all his fault. After I visited him in prison, I suddenly was able to see you." Michiru told and start to cry. "I can't go on! I was kidnapped by two ghost-kids, than almost trampled to death and I am still able to see Shinigami. I don't want anymore and I can't go on with that anymore. I have to forget that these two horrible days ever happened. PLEASE! You have to release me from this memories. And from this ability. Now I know why Asano became insane!"
She cried loudly when she fell on her knees and hold her face. Orihime wanted to solace her and handed a handkerchief to her.
"Ssshhh... it's okay. We'll delete your memory. But we urgently need to know where Keigo is!" Orihime said quietly.
Michiru looked on her with tear-filled-eyes: "Why? Do you want to be sure that he is really dead?"
"WE DON'T WANT TO KILL HIM! HOW OFTEN WE NEED TO..." Ichigo start to scream but Tatsuki hold his mouth. Michiru was scared enough and Ichigo should not upset her much more. When she took off of him he continued quietly: "We only need to talk to him! Do you think that he heared me?"
"Sure! And all people from here to Yokohama, too." Michiru moaned and looked on the microphone in Ichigo's hand. "But you are wrong here. He left the hospital long ago..."
"He is gone? They took him to prison again?" Ichigo asked shocked.
Ogawa shaked her head: "No! They released him and he went home!"
Everyone was surprised...
Ichigo was realy surprised when Ogawa told him that Keigo was released and went home. The other were surprised, too. Michiru Ogawa was still crying and she didn't look like was going to calm down soon.
"Aww... you again?" she wailed when she saw Kaneda standing behind Renji. "See you again, so soon..."
"Ogawa, please tell us... What did you mean, when you said: Keigo went home?" Ichigo asked.
Michiru continued wailing: "Aww... When I was waiting for the doctor I watched TV. The news told that the autopsy of your sister confirmed a suicide. And the guy who tried to kill the people in Haneda confessed that everything was his idea. The North Koreans confessed, too. They are all afraid of you. He left threw the back-door and when the people here realized that he was gone they left too... AWWW... I'm becoming insane..."
"Oh..." Orihime tried everything to calm down her friend. "Ichigo, we can't leave her alone!... Oh, Ochi-kun, please take her home and keep an eye on her, please!"
"Eh... what? Ochi?" Michiru became curious and looked on Kaneda.
"Yes, he is Ochi-sensei's brother! Well... he was, before he died in this plane-crash." Orihime explained and helped Michiru to stand up again. "Ochi-kun takes you home and replaces your memories with other memories."
"Realy, is that possible... May I become nice memories?" Michiru asked with a strange smile.
"I look what I can do." Kaneda said and hold Michiru on her arm to take her home. "I take care of you. And you don't hurt Keigo when you see him. He had enough stress."
Michiru's face turned red when whe was brought home by Kaneda. Even if he was a Shinigami, she felt better to be with him than with the others and they start to talk. It was just the start of a night, both will never forget... and will trigger harsh consequences for both of them... when the one thing leads to the other...
Please review!