Twenty-One

'LET- ME- GO!'

Karin pulls hard against Ichigo's firm grip, screaming in frustration. Her older brother drags her away from the others, his face stony. Behind them, Grimmjow walks off in the other direction with Hollow in his arms, the others following. With one final tug, Karin breaks free and races back towards her other brother, ignoring Ichigo's shout to stop.

'Is he okay?! Is he all right?!'

'He's not breathing,' Grimmjow says grimly, and Karin's eyes widen in horror.

'What?!'

'There's a weak heartbeat,' Nel says, her fingers on Hollow's wrist.

'Don't we need to do CPR?' Dark says worriedly.

'We need to get him away from that lunatic. He might try something else,' Grimmjow replies, glaring furiously at Ichigo, who's frozen a few metres away, his face in shock as if he's only just realised that he almost murdered his little twin brother.

'Here.' Karin fishes around in one of her pockets, looking for her notebooks containing times and dates for soccer matches and a spare pen. She tears out a sheet of paper and scribbles down an address. 'He'll help you all,' she continues, handing it to Ulquiorra. 'At least, I hope so.'

'Thanks,' he says quietly.

'He's… alive…?' Ichigo says, eyes still open wide.

'Yes,' Grimmjow spits.

'We won't let you hurt him,' Dark adds.

Ichigo regains his composure, his eyes pained. 'He killed my mother.'

'He never did it. Sôsuke Aizen is the one who is responsible,' Ulquiorra counters. 'Just like he's the one responsible for the massacre of Grimmjow and Nels's families. Just like he is the reason Grimmjow had to run away from every home he was given. Just like how he shot Dark's brother. Just like how he killed my mother.' Ulquiorra's voice breaks a little towards the end.

It's clear to see Ichigo doesn't believe them at all.

'Karin. Come on.'

Karin clenches her fists in anger. 'Fine. But when we get home, I'm telling Yuzu everything. She deserves to know.'

'Karin, you can't-'

'Shut up!' Karin shouts. She walks towards Ichigo, stops, and then turns her head to face the others. 'Save Shiro-chan,' she tells then.

Ulquiorra raps loudly on the door of the address they were given by Karin. Behind him, Hollow has begun breathing again but it's very weak and practically non-existent.

'We should get him to a hospital,' Nel whispers.

'We can't,' Ulquiorra mutters. 'We're fugitives. We'll get caught.'

'But he might die-'

'His dad's a doctor. Maybe Karin can sneak some medication out of the house,' Dark suggests, just as the door opens.

'Hello?' says a boy around Dark and Hollow's age, with long-ish black hair and pale blue eyes. He certainly matches the description of one of Hollow's friends that he told them about.

'You're Tensa Zangetsu, aren't you?' Ulquiorra says.

'Yeah…' Tensa peers over Ulquiorra's shoulder, the view of his long-gone childhood friend blocked by the two girls. Ulquiorra focuses on not revealing Hollow to Tensa until they get inside, so he won't go into shock in plain view.

'We're friends of Ichigo and Rukia,' Dark says calmly. 'Can we come in? It's important.'

'Uh… sure…'

The fact that he hasn't recognised them suggests that he hasn't seen the news about five fugitives from a mental hospital. Their escape must have been on the news by now, so this is quite a miracle. Certainly something in their favour.

Tensa leads them into a rather plain living room. The walls are bare, without any photographs, and the furniture is shaded in a dark green theme. Grimmjow places Hollow on the sofa and Tensa finally gets a good look at the unconscious albino.

'Wha-?' Tensa gasps, his blue eyes widening, his face growing even paler than it was before. He bends down and stares at Hollow before looking back up at the others, disbelief evident on his face.

'Who…?'

'It's not just someone who looks a lot like your dead friend,' Ulquiorra says calmly.

'How…?'

'He's Hichigo. Real and alive. And he- we- need your help.'

'B-but he's dead…' Tensa whispers.

'Well, that is what his family told you,' Nel begins, but she realises that maybe they should let Tensa come out of shock before they continue.

'He died…'

'It was a lie,' Grimmjow says gruffly.

'But, then… where's he been all this time?'

'Uh… with us. Somewhere far away,' Nel answers, she and the others having all decided at that moment to probably not mention the asylum.

'Wh-what's wrong with him.'

'He got strangled,' Dark replies, and Tensa looks horrified.

'But- how?! Tell me what's going on! What happened to him all this years?!'

'We will explain, but first we need to help him,' Nel says. 'I'm not really sure what the protocol is for a situation like this, but he is breathing now, although it's really weak, and above all else-'

'We cannot take him to a hospital,' Ulquiorra finishes. 'I don't know how to stress the point of how absolutely crucial that last part is.'

'But he needs medical attention,' Tensa whispers, checking Hollow's pulse and realising how faint his old friend's breathing is.

'Look, how do I put this? We're not exactly best mates with the police right now,' Grimmjow mutters.

'You're on the run?'

'And there is a very good reason,' Nel says quickly, unsure what alibi to give. 'A good reason which Ulquiorra will now give. Ulquiorra?'

Sure. Assign Ulquiorra the task of explaining everything.

'We've been framed,' Ulquiorra states.

'We should write that on a t-shirt,' Dark murmurs to Grimmjow, making them both grin despite the situation.

'And we can give you evidence later, but right now our number one priority is helping Ho- Hichigo,' Ulquiorra says.

Tensa seems to pull himself together. 'Right. Does his family know he's back?'

Nel winces. 'Ichigo and Karin do, but it's probably better if you, er, don't let Ichigo know that Hichigo's here.'

Tensa frowns. 'Why not?'

'Let's do a rule where you don't ask questions until after we know Hichigo's gonna be all right,' Dark suggests. 'Then, we promise that we will answer any questions you have.'

'We wondered if Karin could maybe sneak some medical stuff out of the house,' Nel says.

Tensa nods, and walks over to a table in the corner of the room where the phone sits. He picks it up and quickly dials a number.

'Hello, Kurosaki residence,' comes Yuzu's cheerful voice down the line.

'Hey, Yuzu. It's Tensa.'

'Hey, Tensa! How are you?'

'Fine, thanks. You?'

'Yeah, I'm great. Would you like me to get Ichigo? He and Karin just returned home this minute.'

'Um, I was actually wondering if I could speak to Karin, please.'

Yuzu sounds surprised. 'Oh, okay. I'll call for her.'

'Thanks, Yuzu.'

A few seconds later, Karin's voice comes on. 'Hi, Tensa.' Her voice sounds hoarse, as if she's been yelling for too long and now it hurts to emit a single sound from her throat. 'Are they there?'

'Uh, yes they are. Did you tell them to come here?'

'I said that you might be able to help them. We can't tell Ichigo.'

'Why not?' Tensa asks, contemplating that the no questions rule probably doesn't apply if he's asking someone else.

'I only just found out today that Shiro-chan is still alive.'

'Okay, so it's not just me who's in the dark,' Tensa mutters.

'Dad and Ichigo were the only ones who knew the truth,' Karin continues. 'Six years ago when my mom died, Shiro-chan got sent to an asylum because he was charged and found guilty with her murder.'

'What?!' Tensa gasps.

'It's not true. He didn't do it. Dad and Ichigo were so ashamed that they told everyone that he died as well as Mom.' Karin sounds so disgusted that Tensa can practically feel it being radiated from the phone in his hand.

'Is there any chance that you could sneak some medication out the house? Anything that might help- he's been strangled.'

'I know. I was there. Ichigo did it,' Karin answers bitterly.

'No…'

'It's true. Ichigo believes that Shiro-chan is guilty. So, I've seen strangled victims before, and I know about some of the stuff Shiro-chan will need. To start, we'll need a cast to go around his throat to prevent him from bending it and injuring himself anymore.'

'You're really smart, Karin,' Tensa says with a smile.

Karin gives a weak laugh. 'I just want my big brother to be okay. We can't let him take tablets because that involves swallowing, but I know Dad has some painkillers we can inject into Shiro-chan.'

'Great. Do you want me to come and get them?'

'Ichigo will think that you'll have come to speak to him. I'll bring them to you, and I'll just say I need some time and space to contemplate everything that's happened. I'll come right away.'

'Thanks.' Tensa and Karin say goodbye and Tensa puts the phone down. 'Good news,' he says, turning to face Hollow's friends. 'I think Hichigo's going to be all right.'

Karin shoves everything they'll need into her rucksack and decides to do one final thing before she goes. She storms into her brother's room to find Ichigo lying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. His eyes briefly flicker towards Karin, wondering why she didn't knock first.

'Where is it?' she hisses.

'What?'

'The letter that Shiro-chan sent, the fourth one that was addressed to me! Where does Dad keep it?'

'K-Karin, I don't know…'

'Right,' she says. 'Right. You get it for me. You ask Dad for me. That way, we don't have to go through an awkward situation where I tell Dad I found out the truth.'

'Hichigo's a murderer, Kar-'

'SHUT UP AND GET ME THE LETTER!' she screams at him, and it's not extremely hard for Ichigo to visualise her eyes glowing red at that moment. He gets up from the bed, unsure why he should be doing this, passes Karin and goes downstairs to find Isshin. Karin stands there, unmoving, glad that she did inherit the family flame after all, unlike Yuzu.

'Karin? What's going on?' comes Yuzu's voice outside the door.

'Just a little family spat, nothing to worry about,' Karin calls.

To: Karin Kurosaki (and Yuzu too, if she'll listen)

From: Hichigo Kurosaki

25th December

Dear Karin (and Yuzu if you're reading this),

I'm not sure what Ichigo and Dad have told you. Perhaps you believe I killed Mom. I don't know. But... I might have. That's the really scary thing. And I know it's not the kind of thing you want to hear on Christmas day. But it was an accident. It might have been my fault, but I never meant to kill her, no matter what Ichigo might have said. I can't believe for a second that Ichigo would blame me, but just in case he told you anything different, I never wanted Mom dead. That is the truth.

Anyway, I hope you guys are doing okay. I'm not sure that you're actually getting these letters, 'cause I've already sent three to Ichigo and I never got replies. Maybe he's just not replying because he thinks I'm guilty. I'm not sure.

Hopefully, one day I'll come home, and then I'll see you guys again.

I miss you all, and Merry Christmas!

Shiro-chan.

.

Karin reads the letter as she walks along, biting her lip furiously.

'Why the hell did Dad and Ichigo lie?' she mutters to herself. 'They should know he's innocent! Those bastards!' Karin has never thought so low of her family before.

By the time she has reached Tensa's house, the light from the sky has completely disappeared and it is pitch black now. It looks as if Tensa has let Hichigo and his friends stay at his house, because when she walks in she finds him getting spare sleeping bags out of one of the cupboards. Her brother is still unconscious and on the sofa in the living room, and his friends are sitting on the other chairs, discussing what to do next.

'Hey, Karin,' Nel says with a bright smile.

'I have the stuff he needs to recover,' Karin says, slinging her bag off her back and onto the floor. She unzips it and pulls out a white plastic cast. 'I've brought some different painkillers to inject into him. If the pain gets too intense, I have got morphine here, but…' Karin hesitates, unsure of what's going to happen. She looks up at all of them. 'Who are you?' she asks. 'If you met Shiro-chan in a mental institute then you all must have done something bad to get in there. How do Tensa and I know we can trust you?'

It's Ulquiorra who answers.

'Hichigo trusts us,' he says simply.

Tensa nods, and Karin looks approving. 'That's good enough for me.'

Grimmjow clears his throat. 'Uh, not to be pedantic or anything, but isn't morphine illegal in this country?'

Everyone stares at him.

'What?' he says defensively. 'I may be a rule-breaker, but I do know a thing or two about the law. Because I'm a rule-breaker.'

'It can be allowed in extreme cases. Doctors have that privilege,' Karin answers.

'You could get into a lot of trouble,' Nel says, looking sympathetically at Karin.

'I'm helping my big brother. Do I look like I care?' Karin replies with a grin.

'K-Karin…' Hollow murmurs weakly.

'Hollow. You've woken up,' Dark says, turning around to face him.

'Yeah…' he croaks, wincing. 'Ow… it hurts… Where's…?' His eyes widen and he tries to move. The evident pain on his face shows that it isn't a good idea. He relaxes again, gasping for breath… which also hurts.

'Ichigo…' he rasps. 'Where's… Ichigo…?'

'He's… not here,' Dark replies carefully. 'He's back at the Kurosaki residence.'

'He… hurt… me…'

'You'll be okay, Shiro-chan,' Karin says. 'We'll tell everyone you're innocent, and then you can have your life back.'

'He… hates… me…'

'That's because he doesn't believe the truth yet,' Nel says soothingly. 'But we'll make him see, okay? And it's just him that blames you. Karin doesn't. Tensa doesn't.'

'T… Tensa…?' Hollow's eyes widen as they fix onto his old friend for the first time in six years.

'Hey, Shiro-chan,' Tensa says with a sad smile. 'Long time no see.'

I'm not exactly the expert on morphine, but I think those facts are accurate. Please don't rant at me.

Anyway, I wouldn't really call that a cliff hanger, so, again, please don't rant at me.

Bye~