Tastes Like Strawberries- 21

Karin slumped against Ichigo in the back of the cab, her usual aloof attitude clouded by misery. He had an arm around her shoulders as he leaned back against the seat. When they pulled up in front of the house, he thanked the driver and gathered his sister up in his arms. For once, she made no comment and didn't shrugged away the touch. While her condition wasn't really serious, it was still obvious that she felt awful. Ichigo took her upstairs and put her to bed. She mumbled as he pulled the covers up.

"Thanks, Ichi-nii."

Ichigo smiled quietly and smoothed her hair before going to his room. He changed out of his school uniform and put on a comfortable pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He wouldn't be going back today. Sighing, he sat in the desk chair. Now that he could see that Karin was relatively okay, he was worried about Shiro. He really wanted to be there when he went to go get his stuff. Ichigo had a feeling that the albino was a little more freaked out about it than he was letting on. After all, this would be a big transition for him.

He pulled out his cell phone and tried calling his dad himself. It went straight to voicemail without even ringing. Dammit. Picking up his pen, he pulled out his books and started on the homework he knew he'd need for tomorrow. A couple of hours later, he tried calling again. Still voicemail. That was actually starting to worry him too. The school had said that they had tried calling the local hospital as well. His dad sometimes went there for consultations or to visit a patient he had admitted there himself. But they said he hadn't been in that day as far as they knew.

Ichigo continued with his schoolwork and did his best to push his worries aside. There was nothing he could do about it at the moment anyway. He wasn't totally successful, but at least he was able to get some work done. When he looked up at the clock again, he could see that school had just let out. Shiro would be going to get his stuff and he'd be back here shortly after. Maybe he'd call him to see how he was doing. But as he pulled out his phone, he decided against it. Though the act was driven by concern, Shiro would probably see it as invasive. He was already touchy about the whole thing. No, Ichigo would leave him alone. He could take care of himself for the most part.

Putting his phone away, he got up and headed down the hall to check on Karin. She was sound asleep. Not wanting to wake her, he quietly closed the door and went back to his room to read. About an hour later, he went downstairs to get a snack. What he really wanted to do was go find Shiro. It was getting later and he should be back anytime. But he really couldn't leave until his dad got back. While he was digging around in the fridge, he heard the door open and leaned back to look. His father came in the door looking rather harried. Ichigo stood and resisted the urge to put his hands on his hips and scold him. But he couldn't quite hold in the irritation that had been bubbling all afternoon.

"And where the hell have you been without your damned phone on?" Ichigo glared at his dad as he shut the fridge, just barely managing not to slam the door. Isshin blinked and pulled his phone out of his pocket, cursing when pressing the buttons did nothing to bring it to life.

"Sorry. Battery must have died."

"Which is why I told you to replace it. I had to bring Karin home at lunch today because they couldn't reach you. What if it had been something serious?" Ichigo was getting angry and he wasn't entirely sure why. He knew he wasn't really mad at his dad. His duties as a doctor really did keep him busy and some things slipped his mind. The whole mess with Shiro must be bugging him more than he thought.

"Is she alright?" Isshin kept himself from racing upstairs to see for himself. But only just. Ichigo sighed and leaned back against the counter.

"Yeah. She traded her apple for a fruit cup at lunch." Ichigo watched his father's brows raise.

"A tropical fruit cup?" When Ichigo nodded, Isshin shook his head. "Mango will get her every time."

"She said it wasn't labeled and she didn't know." Ichigo smiled a little. "But I bet she won't do it again."

"No, probably not. Where's Hichigo?"

Ichigo had to blink for a moment before he knew who his dad was talking about. He didn't really use Shiro's first name at all. For that matter, neither did Shiro.

"He had some stuff to do after school." They both turned as Karin came into the room and plunked down on the couch. Isshin immediately went to fuss over her as she tried to bat him away.

"Let me get you something to drink darling. You should have something on your stomach just in case you're sick again." He pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and wrapped it around her shoulders. Karin grimaced but didn't argue. She flicked the television on and started flipping through channels. Ichigo headed to the door to get his shoes. But he stopped dead when the a newscaster broke into the broadcast to cover a fire somewhere downtown. In the business district. Ichigo didn't really have to see the picture to know the exact building they were talking about.

Pulling out his phone, he dialed Shiro's number, swearing as his fingers kept pressing wrong buttons. Straight to voicemail. Why the hell didn't anybody take care of their damned cell phones? He was out the door before his dad and sister could even ask him what was wrong. And then he was running. He'd never felt the need to be somewhere so strongly. Something was wrong. He knew it. He didn't know how but he knew it had to do with Shiro and that every single second counted. His side started to ache after a few minutes but he pushed through it. He dialed Shiro's number again and got the same message. Even though he expected that, it still made his stomach flutter with worry.

By the time he got close enough to see the smoke and hear the sirens, he was drenched in sweat and his breaths were heaving in and out. He slowed to a walk and nearly bent double as the stitch in his side pulled taught. Ichigo coughed for breath. He was in shape, but he hadn't bothered to warm up and the sudden activity was taking its toll. It was a fair distance after all and running for that long had seriously winded him. But he kept moving. He'd come this far and he couldn't stop now. The watching crowd came into view as he moved around a corner. The police were doing their best to keep them back. Ichigo forgot his aches and jogged forward to get as close as he could.

When he got a good look at the building, he breath caught. It was totally engulfed in flames, the windows blown out by the force of the inferno. His heart flipped when he thought about Shiro. He hoped the hell he hadn't been there when it happened. Glancing around, he started to look for a head of pale hair. Maybe the firemen or the police were keeping him around. Maybe he'd gotten out and they had questions. Maybe he was okay. Maybe he hadn't been here at all and he was even now walking into the house. Maybe, maybe, maybe. So many possibilities and none of them felt quite right. Ichigo's thoughts raced even as he tried to calm them. Pushing through the crowd, he kept looking. But after shoving his way through the throng of onlookers, he wasn't finding what he was looking for.

Ichigo nearly called out to him but even if he was here, there was no way he'd be able to hear him over the din. With sirens, the murmurs and exclamations of the crowd and the general roar of the fire itself, he could barely hear anything at all. He caught sight of an ambulance out of the corner of his eye and headed in that direction. He knew a couple of the local drivers because they were friends with his dad. Maybe they could tell him something. His eyes widened as he recognized someone they were currently working on.

"Chad!" Ichigo called out as he ducked under the police tape and avoided the grasping hands of a flustered policeman. The cop followed and was going to pull him forcefully back, the but ambulance driver waved him back when he caught sight of Ichigo. Chad was trying to push his way up off the fender of the ambulance where he was being held down by two med techs. He stilled when he saw Ichigo, his expression pained.

"What happened? Where's Shiro?"

Chad swallowed before answering. "I'm sorry. I don't know."

Ichigo forced himself to breath. That didn't mean anything. It couldn't. He turned to Hikaru who was busy trying to take Chad's vitals. "Is he okay, Hikaru?"

The ambulance driver frowned as he finally got the blood pressure cuff snug around the muscular bicep in his hands. "Can't tell you much until he sits still for two damned minutes." The EMT gave Chad a meaningful glare. Ichigo turned to the larger boy. He wanted to race off and find Shiro, but he had to stay calm and see if he could get some answers first.

"Chad, please. Let them look at you."

Chad looked at him steadily for a moment as if waiting for a rebuke. But when none came, he slumped down and sat quietly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about that. I want to make sure you're okay." And he did. It looked like Chad had been taken down hard. He had some sort of burn or bruise on the side of his neck where it met his shoulder.

Hikaru shot Ichigo a look as he pumped up the cuff. "You don't look too good yourself, you know."

"It's from running. I'm fine." Ichigo waved it away. His attention was for Chad at the moment.

"Tell me what you do remember."

There was a deep sigh from the other teenager. "We came to the building to get his stuff." Chad frowned. "It was really quiet for some reason. There's usually more people here. We went up to his room and a couple of guys jumped him. I-" He faltered as he struggled with himself. "I don't remember anything after that."

"Looks like a stun gun burn." Hikaru pulled the neck of Chad's shirt back to get a closer look. "And a powerful one too. You're lucky. We need to get you back to the hospital." Chad shifted as if he was about to get up. But Ichigo reached out and put a hand on his good shoulder.

"Please. Let them take care of you. They're right, it could have been a lot worse." Chad slumped again and lowered his head. Ichigo looked to the med tech.

"Was there anyone else here?"

Hikaru shook his head as he helped Chad up into the ambulance. "No, he was laid out at the edge of the lot by himself when the fire trucks showed up. The firemen said they didn't find anybody inside." The EMT winced. "But it's supposed to be an empty building, so they might not have looked."

Ichigo's heart fell. No, they wouldn't have. He pulled out his phone again but he just gripped it tightly in his hands. Calling would probably just send him to voicemail again. But he had to keep looking. There was no way he was giving up. This whole situation stank. He nearly snarled when he thought about the possible cause of it all. It had to be Grimmjow.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Hikaru was looking at him with concern. Ichigo sighed and shook his head.

"I'm fine."

The med tech looked like he was going to say something else, but he just clenched his jaw and shut the back of the ambulance before going up to get behind the wheel. Ichigo watched them drive away and knew that his dad would probably be getting a call shortly. Great. That wouldn't help him find Shiro.

A slightly familiar face caught his gaze from the crowd and Ichigo nearly groaned. That blonde guy who was asking questions the other day was here. Ichigo's eyes narrowed. That could not be a coincidence. But he didn't think he could talk to the guy without taking a swing at him. Not at the moment anyway. He heard a voice calling his name as he turned away and ducked back under the tape on the other side of the lot. He ignored it. The fire continued to rage behind him. They would probably do their best to contain it from here so it wouldn't spread. The building would be a total loss. Ichigo had wanted Shiro to have a clean break from his past, but this was ridiculous. Where was he?

When he'd gotten clear of the crowd and gone a ways down another street, someone caught his sleeve. Ichigo whirled, his irritation, fear and anger getting the best of him. The blond guy dodged easily but Ichigo wasn't stopping. He needed to lay into something to release the awful pressure that had been building since he'd seen the report on the television. But no matter how he tried to find an opening, there wasn't one.

His opponent was playing with him and Ichigo knew it. The thought did nothing to cool his rage. But the quick jab to his gut that doubled him over was a start. Ichigo wheezed in a breath even as he tried to back away. There was a firm hand on his shoulder while another rubbed his back. Wow, the guy was fast. Ichigo never would have guessed from his initial impression of him.

"Take it easy Kurosaki-san."

"Screw you." Ichigo coughed before he could continue. "Just get away from me." He nearly jumped when the phone in his pocket rang. Jerking back suddenly, he pulled it out as he tried to put some distance between himself and the other man. He had to swallow before answering. "Hello?" He cursed himself for the desperate tone in his voice.

"Call me back when you've got some privacy." Then the line went dead. Ichigo stood, his hands shaking after hearing Grimmjow's voice on the other end. It had been Shiro's number on the display. His gaze flicked to the blonde man, whose name he couldn't remember at the moment. Not saying anything, he moved back and started walking away from him. Surprisingly, he didn't follow. He just watched Ichigo leave with a calm look on his face.