Hi! Finally passed 10k hits a few days ago. Thank you everyone who has stuck with me so far. I will probably try writing another Bleach story after this, but unfortunately all the good plots have been taken. Whatever I decide to write though, it will definitely be a long one; I don't like to rush things, as you can probably tell.

fokker333: I don't really like to juggle. Not even the real juggling. Can't even do it with two of anything :/. But then again, maybe it has something to do with my upload speed. I suppose if I drag it out, I could juggle, but till then, no, not going to. This chapter shall have some action, and the tipping point shall be reached. Not saying anymore beyond that.

pokkop14: I needed a pair of brothers, and Shiro and Koga are Shiba Kukaku's assistants. No other brothers besides the two Grantz Espada/Arrancar brothers, but I've already used Szayel.

Anyway, without further ado, here's the next chapter. Read, enjoy and review! A further thanks to everyone who have!

Here's hoping that there won't be a repeat of last week, where I had only 3 reviews. Come on! Show some love! The time you guys use to review shall be greatly appreciated!

This was done in a rush, so excuse any possible mistakes! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. Neither do i own the series my story is based on or any group, place or organization mentioned in my story.

Strawberry Fix

Chapter 24: What Do You Want From Me

Wednesday 0545 hrs

"What if that bastard sleeps till afternoon?"

"Then we'll get him in the afternoon," Koga simply said with a yawn. It was still dark, although the sky seemed to be brightening up slowly.

"Well, whatever it is, I hope your bomb does better than mine."

"It will be Shiro, because I kept it simple, and I stayed cool while making it." It was a simple magnetic car bomb; about half a block of C4 sandwiched between a detonator and a large bridge magnet. Earlier, they had seen the man return in a Honda Freed, and he'd parked it right outside the building they supposed he was staying at, completely unaware that he was being watched.

Since his brother's bomb didn't work, Koga had gone with a remote controlled car bomb, attaching it to the driver's side of the underside of the car. When it blew, the C4 would shred the car and leave nothing recognizable of whoever was sitting inside except for a few non human parts.

Koga was taking no chances. As tempting as it was to let the man drive around before blowing him up near some cops or on a main street, there was a high chance that it could backfire. A traffic glitch could put the bomb out of range of the remote, or a stray radio signal could jam the remote. No, it was best to keep it simple and do it right in front of the guy's building.

Movement at the building entrance caught both their attentions, as a man stepped out of the building and leaned on the wall. "Look," Koga said, which was unnecessary since Shiro had spotted the movement as well. "Is that our guy?"

He felt Shiro stiffen besides him. "It sure is. It's that bastard. He looks like shit though, like he's wasted or something."

The guy certainly did look spent as he slumped against the wall, looking left and right, which seemed strange to Koga though. From what he could remember of their confrontation with this guy, as well as when they were tailing him, he maintained a fluid posture, agile and quick. Now, he looked like an old sloth. "Come meet your maker," he heard Shiro say beside him.

Koga pulled the trigger from his shirt pocket. It was black in color and about the size of a cigarette pack, and probably could have passed off as one if it weren't for the small aerial transmitter at a corner and a red metal guard over the trigger button.

He watched the guy slowly step away from the building, digging through his pants pockets as he stumbled forward. 'Please be going for your car keys,' Koga though. A keychain appeared in his hands and Koga silently pumped his fist as the man selected a key and stuck it in the lock.

"Give me the button, I want to do this. It has to be me!" Shiro said as he reached towards the detonator in Koga's hand.

Koga jerked it away. "Just wait for a moment would you? We're in no hurry here. He's right where we want him, there's no need to hurry."

"You don't think I know that? Just give me the damn detonator," Shiro said, reaching for it again, but Koga swatted his hands away before turning back towards the man. To his surprise, he saw the man slamming his car door shut and turning back towards the apartment building. "Shit! We missed him! We should've blown him up the moment he got near the car," Shiro said in anger, banging the dashboard again.

Koga shook his head. "No, we shouldn't have, and you know it. The worst thing we could do is blow too early, and he'll just be injured. Badly, yes, but he wouldn't be dead. We won't get another chance after that. Maybe he simply forgot something. He'll be back," he said as he slipped the detonator back into his pocket.

Sure enough, about two or three minutes later, the man reappeared again. Shiro huffed in admission that he was wrong. Once again, Koga took out the detonator, but an instant later, he found it snatched from his hands by an excited Shiro. "Damn it, Shiro-"

"Relax, I know! Don't press it until he's inside. I won't do it too early, I promise!"

Koga didn't say anything, but continue watching as the man opened the car door and just stood there, not entering. A lump formed in Koga's throat. He didn't like this. Something about the whole thing wasn't right. He had a horrible feeling about the entire operation. He didn't like seeing a trigger happy Shiro with the remote, but that wasn't it. The guy was standing there as if he was inspecting something. He glanced round. There didn't seem to be any cars or pedestrians about.

"Yes! Yes! Get in!" He heard Shiro say, which diverted his attention back towards the man, who was finally getting in. As the man slammed the door shut, he heard the guard click open and Shiro shouting, "Yes! Finally you're mine!"

And in that instant, something clicked, and Koga realized what was wrong. "NO!" he screamed as he tried to keep his gleeful brother's thumb from jamming the button.

0555 hrs

The blast shook the street as the van dissolved in a bright fiery explosion, expulsing a plume of reddish black smoke and flaming debris. Despite being sheltered by the car, Ichigo felt the shockwave slam into him as he ducked beneath the dashboard in case a piece came flying through the windscreen. Good thing his car was well insulated against the sound, such that his ears weren't ringing when he exited the car to survey the damage.

Spirals of smoke were rising from the decimated van. Thankfully, no other cars had been totaled, since the van was parked at least one car's length away from the nearest car. Many of the nearby glass windows and windscreens had been blown apart though, and a cacophony of car alarms rang out, piercing through the silent morning.

A horrible wave of nausea flooded Ichigo, making his knees weak and forcing him to sink to his knees. It wasn't because of the bomb; it was because he was almost too sick to stand. If he'd been this sick a few hours ago, he would never have found the bomb.

He silently thanked that he still had the energy to push himself just a while ago. After spotting the man reentering the van, he had sneaked down into the street via the fire escape of the building, which was located on the other side and crawled along the gutter to his car. His night vision goggles had allowed him to spot the bomb on the undercarriage. It was a simple set-up, so he had removed it with ease before making his way to the van with the help of his goggles.

The night was dark, and the two men inside were relaxing, occasionally watching the building, obviously waiting for Ichigo to come out. They didn't spot Ichigo as he made his way closer to the van. With the aid of his goggles, he'd recognized Koganehiko immediately, although it took him a few seconds to recognize the larger man as his brother, Shiroganehiko.

At that point, Ichigo realized that like it or not, they were too dangerous to leave running around. Thwarting them would be useless; now that they'd found him, they won't stop chasing him. So, he attached the bomb to the underside of their van and crawled away. After that, he'd crawled back towards the car to make his presence known.

He wanted it over and done with, but that was when the first bout of nausea had set, forcing him to return back to Karin's house to try and relief the horrible feeling. When nothing seemed to work, Ichigo gave up and returned back to the car, straining as best as he could.

Ok. So this was over and done with. No more bombers to deal with or for Karin to worry about. Speaking of which… Ichigo looked up, and was relieved to find that Karin's floor had escaped any damage. From where he was, he could see Karin looking down at him anxiously, so he waved to her to signal that he was ok, even though he didn't feel like it.

He sat down, wincing as he tried to clear the migraine that was setting in just as a voice said, "What happened?"

Ichigo turned and saw a man wearing jogging attire staring at the wrecked van as he walked towards Ichigo.

"I don't know," Ichigo said. "I was walking then the next thing I knew I was flat on my back."

The man looked at Ichigo and raised an eyebrow. "You don't look so good. Are you ok?"

Ichigo shivered. The chills were back. "Yeah I'm fine. Just shaken up though."

"Anyone called 119 yet?" The man said as he looked around, even though Ichigo was the only one nearby. Just then, the faint sounds of sirens could be heard in the distance, answering the man's question for him.

The man looked back at the burning vehicle. "I think I'll go take a closer look."

"I think I'll stay right here." Ichigo said.

People were starting to filter from the buildings and gravitate towards the van, some bravely while others cautiously. Ichigo slowly edged away, not too quickly, not too slowly, not wanting to draw attention to himself. Now that the brothers were gone, there was no need for him to watch Karin now. He would still talk to her, but right now he wanted to get home real bad. He was in no state to drive, that was for sure.

Eventually, Ichigo reached the subway. The rush hour crowds hadn't started yet, so the carriage he was in was almost empty. Ichigo slumped onto a seat as another chill shot through him. It felt good to sit down and relax.

'How the hell did I catch this sickness?' he thought. The first person that came to mind was Rukia, but he'd only just visited her yesterday; flu symptoms don't surface that quickly.

Then, a sudden chilling thought struck him. Iemura-sensei had mentioned about the viral contaminant, so an infection, though unsettling, seemed entirely plausible. But in the first place, how did he get it? And besides, didn't Iemura-sensei say that the contaminant caused no symptoms? Ichigo definitely had plenty.

He shook his head, trying to clear it. He couldn't think right now. What he needed was a long sleep under as many blankets as he could find.

2 hours earlier 0315 hrs

After being shooed away by Ichigo, Karin decided that her presence would also distract him anyway. So, she decided to heed his advice and turn in.

As she lay there, her thoughts turned to her poor roommate. 'Harribel… What's happening to you?' she thought. She wanted to call Toshiro, someone else to talk to, but doing so at this ungodly hour was plain cruel.

As her eyes drooped, and the room around her faded into the darkness, she found herself floating… No wait, she was flying. She looked behind her. Strange. She was flying, yet there was nothing on her, no wings propelling her forward. Yet here she was, being propelled through a strange hive-like structure, a silver maze of stacked hexagonal tubes stretching away in all directions, as far as the eye could see, an endless sea of them.

As she moved, she could hear a soft hum all around her, like in was ingrained into the air itself; whispers and hums, all echoing in the same note, yet melodious at the same time.

Wait… those tubes… They weren't empty. There were people in them, all staring at her, all calling out to her. Strangers, yet she knew them. Millions, yet only a few.

"Karin…Karin…"

She felt like she knew them, yet in a flash, that feeling was gone. Who were these people? Millions, yet only a few.

And then she saw Harribel in one of the tubes, and she was looking at her, smiling that warm smile she so dearly missed; calling out for her, reaching out for her. Finally, it was the real Harribel. She didn't know how she did it, but she veered towards Harribel's image.

But as she neared, Zommari suddenly burst from another tube, clawing for her. Alarmed, Karin swerved away – and came face to face with Harribel. No wait, there were two, no three, no hundreds and thousands of Harribels calling out to her, and the sound was increasing, ringing, deafening.

"Karin…Karin…"

Frightened, she fled, zipping though the hive as fast as she could, turning this way and that, dodging this and that until she came to an opening in the wall. She zoomed through it – and she was in darkness. Cold, lonely darkness. But she couldn't stop. She had to flee from those frightening voices…

"Karin…Karin…"

Yet they were pulling her back, wrapping a noose round her neck like a leash, letting her free, yet reining her in. Giving her freedom, yet preventing her escape. Then, a flash, void of all colors, and everything ceased. She was floating…

Then, as her world upended, she found herself falling back down, down towards the hive. No wait… She was falling back to the hive, she knew it, yet the image she saw was of the Earth.

She fell.

0200 hrs

Rukia realized she was lying on a flat surface. Comfortable, relaxing, soft. Her head was elevated… It seemed like she was lying on a bed. But had she been sleeping? It certainly didn't feel like it. She was still tired, achy and hot.

She opened her eyes, sighing in discomfort even through this simple action. From what she could make out through the fuzz in her brain, the room was pitched black. She stretched, trying to relief the aches in her body. It worked, but she got a headache for her troubles.

What happened? For one, she knew she was sick, and it was unlike anything she'd felt before. Sweating uncontrollably for an hour, then shivering like it was winter the next. Oh right, not to mention the thirst. Her throat had been constantly dry, and no amount of water seemed to quench it. When the heat came, all the water she drank seemed to leave as sweat, and when the chills came, she spent all her energy trying to stay warm that she had no energy to even sit up and drink.

The last time she'd been sick, it hadn't been as bad; Ichigo had told her to rest, and she had, but not for long. Waking up every hour from a sudden chill or heat wave; that was no way for a sick person to rest. How in the world did she contract this sickness?

The last thing she remembered was a worried looking Hisana sitting by her bedside, holding out a glass of water. Rukia recalled saying something to her, but she couldn't remember what it was. So where was her sister now? Did she leave?

Rukia sat up and looked around the room. It earned her a bit of a headache but it wasn't that bad. The door was shut, and it was quiet. She shivered. The cold was back again, and just as sudden, but somehow… it seemed less intense than before. The last time it felt like someone had chucked her into a freezer for an hour, but now it didn't seem as bad as before.

"You must fight." A rough coarse voice caused her to jump violently. Her heart shot to her throat as she whirled round for the source of the voice. Then, beyond the foot of her bed, an extremely old man seemed to materialize from the shadows. Rukia could have sworn that spot was empty just a moment ago. He was completely bald except for a long beard, moustache and eyelashes, all white in color.

For a moment, Rukia couldn't see a body attached to the old man's head, but as she looked closer, she realized that he was wearing a black kimono, and he had a thick wooden staff with a huge head, both of his hands resting on the head.

Shocked and frightened, Rukia drew back, trying to get as far away from the old man as possible, even though she knew there was no place to go. The old man looked frail, as if a good kick would finish him off, yet he seemed to radiate an extremely powerful aura. But then again, looks could be deceiving. Ichigo looked like a ruffian, and he still did, but he was one of the most decent people she knew.

"Who… who are you?" she croaked. Her dry throat and lack of speech had robbed her of her voice. "What do you want? And how did you get in here?"

"Who I am doesn't matter. Rukia, you must fight the infection and you must win."

She felt too tired to carry on asking. "Infection? It's just a flu-" she said, forgetting about her cold as she stared wearily at the old man. He looked powerful, yet at the same time, he seemed to exude some form of calm. She sensed no malicious intent from him, which made her relax ever so slightly.

The old man shook his head. "If only it were that easy. It's not a flu. It's a virus, the same one inside your partner and his sister, along with everyone you saw near her house. It is in you too."

Wait… Virus? Was it the same one that Ichigo had mentioned to her? "That's not possible. How did I get infected in the first place?"

"It's spread by blood. Do you remember bleeding?"

"No, I didn't-" Rukia paused as something flashed through her mind. She had been scratched by something as Harribel-san had passed her two days ago. Biting back the many questions she had about the old man himself, she said, "No, wait. Ichigo is infected too? Does that mean I-"

The old man shook his head again. "No, you didn't pass it to him. It was spread to him by another of the infected. He is sick, much like you are."

"Hold on. Ichigo said it doesn't cause any symptoms, so how can the both of us be sick? Karin and Harribel didn't look sick to me."

"You are sick," Rukia focused on the old man again. "Because your body is fighting it. Only you and he can fight it. No one else can."

"Why do I need to? I'm feeling better than I was yesterday."

"That's because your body is losing. Unlike your boyfriend, your resistance is weaker, and you have been infected longer. Listen. Don't you hear the humming in your head?" the old man said. Rukia concentrated. It was faint, but she could hear it, ever so faintly, but it was there.

"The virus is slowly overcoming your resistance. Once it does, nothing would stop it. But fear not, you can still fight it."

Suddenly, a white cat leapt onto Rukia's bed, startling her. "Wha-" she said, as the cat sat down at the foot of the bed and stared at her, and she stared back at it.

"Don't speak. Now is not the time. You must save your strength. You must fight. Sleep, and take the fight to the virus."

Rukia still had a million questions at the tip of her tongue, but she found herself unable to tear her eyes away from the unblinking yellow ones of the cat. Rapidly, she began to feel drowsiness slipping through her once again. It was almost as if… the cat was sending her to sleep.

As she did, she heard the old man say, "Fight. You two are the only ones. Fight, for each other." Before she could even begin to consider what that meant, the darkness overtook her.

0800 hrs

He was burning up. Ichigo threw off the covers that he had used in a futile attempt to keep warm from the chills that plagued him an hour ago. Now, his skin seemed to be producing its own heat, and he could practically see his sweat evaporating from his shirt. His bed was soaked and his clothes were wet and plastered onto his skin.

He swallowed, and felt his larynx literally scraping against his dry, parched throat. His mouth was parched and his lips cracked. He ran his dry tongue over his lips, trying to moisten them. Didn't really have much effect. He needed something, anything wet.

He reached for the cabinet by his bed, where there was a bottle of water beckoning to him. The only problem was, it was empty. Wasn't it full just a moment ago? Sighing in frustration, Ichigo knocked the bottle away and flopped back onto his damp bed.

He had many delicious, cold, icy bottles of refrigerated water in his fridge, but that was as good as one kilometer away, and he didn't feel like getting up.

He was weak. Very weak. He had absolutely no energy to even get up and get water for his parched throat. The last time he'd felt this weak was when he had been bleeding to death after getting wailed upon by the last remaining Hollow, and the last time he'd had a fever this bad was after he'd been treated; probably an infection of the wounds or something. He had managed to pull through, obviously, but it had been horrible, and he couldn't believe he had to relive it again now.

This sucked. He was sick and sweating away like nobody's business. If he didn't take water in soon, he could end up dehydrated, and even weaker than he was now.

Ichigo closed his eyes, trying to steady himself for a try for the kitchen.

"Here," a rough voice suddenly said.

Surprised, Ichigo turned, and saw a bald old man standing beside his bed, who Ichigo was sure wasn't there just a moment ago. He was bald, save for long, white facial hair, and he wore a white haori over a black kimono. He had one hand on the large head of a wooded staff, while the other was hidden.

Ichigo started to ask who the hell the old man was and how in the world he'd managed to enter, but the question died in his throat when something materialized in the old man's other hand. It was, thank goodness, a glass of water.

With renewed energy, he wordlessly, he grabbed it without bothering to consider if it was poisoned and gratefully gulped in down in one shot, then flopped back down on his bed, letting the cool, refreshing liquid flow down his throat.

"More, please," he croaked.

"In a moment," the old man said. Ichigo looked at the man. He looked old. In fact, he looked ancient; definitely didn't look like he should be alive. Then, a white cat suddenly leapt from the ground and onto his bed before it sat down and began staring at him. All Ichigo could do was stare wearily at it. Didn't Karin mention something about an old man with a cat who had given her his number? This was certainly weird. The most common stereotype was an old woman with a cat, not the other way round.

He tried to sit up, but found that he was too weak to even prop himself up.

"Who are you, and how did you get in here?"

"It doesn't matter. You need to-"

"Doesn't matter my ass. This is my place and I don't even know who you are, so how the hell did you get in here?"

"I won't repeat myself twice. You're sick. You've been infected. You must fight it and win."

"Infected? What are you talking about? It's just a simple flu or something."

"No, it is not. It is a virus that is in others as well – your sister, her friend, and your companion as well. It is in you too."

Despite his lack of energy, two of the three people the old man referred to shocked Ichigo to no end. "What? Karin and… Rukia? But how did Rukia get infected in the first place?"

"The same way you got infected as well." Ichigo frowned. Infected with what? Iemura's contaminant? That seemed like the only possible cause, but how did this old man…

"Ojii-san, that's not possible. Iemura-sensei said it doesn't cause symptoms, so why am I sick? And he said it could only be passed by blood."

"And did you not bleed yesterday?"

"Since when? I-" Ichigo paused. Oh no, he did. Zommari. Ichigo had no proof it was him, but he had received that scratch when he had passed. And he remembered – Rukia had received a scratch too when they were over at Karin's house.

He struggled as he tried to sit up. "No, not Rukia, not Karin. I need… to go… find them…" he stammered as he strained against his unresponsive body.

"No, you will not," the old man said in a low voice, but it sounded like an order, and Ichigo found his elbows giving way again as he flopped back onto bed once again.

Despite knowing that he was wasting precious water, Ichigo raised his voice in an attempt to prove his point. "They are both sick. I can't just lie here! I need to do something!"

"You are in no condition to help them. It is a fight only your companion can do alone."

Ichigo still wanted to get up again, but found that he had no energy reserves to draw from. "Rukia? Is that why she's sick? But I don't understand. Iemura-sensei said there were no symptoms. So why are Rukia and I so sick, while Karin doesn't seem to be showing anything? In fact, when did she…"

The old man nodded slightly, his face emotionless. "On Sunday. But unfortunately for her, she can't fight it. None of them can. Only you and your partner can."

"You're crazy. If she was infected, she should be sicker than me, not looking all pink and fine. Don't talk rubbish-"

"I'll say it again, and you better listen well," the old man said in a threatening voice. Ichigo blinked, and decided it would be in his best interest to shut up for the moment.

The old man continued. "The virus will spread and infect many, who will in turn infect many others. It will create war and chaos. Who have been infected? Who hasn't? No one can tell. Man will turn against woman, mother against child, brother against sister. All trust and harmony will vanish. The virus will spread wherever the wind goes. War will break out, creating destruction and fear, as uninfected kill infected, or those they merely believe are infected."

"The infected won't take it lying down too, and will strike from within, spreading the disease. It is unlike your wars, your disasters. The deaths and bloodshed will be nothing compared to this. It will be on a scale so large that no one – no one – will be spared."

"But what's the whole point of this virus? To create war and bloodshed? Who the hell wants that?"

"The Enemy does. Or more specifically, the Adversary."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "The Adversary? Sounds like some video game boss character. Who is that?"

"You know. You've already met him once. He enjoys pain, chaos and bloodshed. He's responsible for this."

Ichigo frowned. He'd met this 'Adversary' guy once? That wasn't a lot to go on. How would he know this guy when he saw him? "Responsible? You mean that 'Sozen' guy who probably sabotaged the virus?"

"It is but a disguise," was all the old man said.

Ichigo shook his head. All this sounded like talk only crazies could come up with. This old man had broken into his home and had started ranting about things Ichigo didn't understand. And would that cat stop staring at him like that? It had been doing so all this while, not even moving a muscle except to swish its tail. And the worst part was, Ichigo did not have the strength to make him leave.

"Here. Another glass of water would help." Ichigo turned and saw yet another glass of water in the old man's hands. He looked back at his bedside drawer and saw that the glass he'd left there was gone. Huh? The old man didn't move from his spot. 'But,' Ichigo thought. 'Who am I to resist such a beautiful drink right now?' So he grabbed it and drained it instantly.

He licked his now moist lips, trying not to waste precious moisture. "Why are you telling me this? Go to the government."

The old man shook his head. "They can't stop it. Only you and your partner can. Only you two have been equipped. You two must stop the virus."

"Stop it? I can't even stop a moving snail right now."

"Then figure out a way. You must. This is only the start of a war, and as for you and your partner, you two are warriors."

"Me? And Rukia? Hell no. No way I'm letting Rukia of all people take part in any wars. Not to mention I don't do armies."

"There isn't an army, and one does not simply join. One must be chosen. And you, Kurosaki Ichigo, are one, along with your partner, Kuchiki Rukia, and you are the frontrunners."

Ichigo felt a chill that had nothing to do with his sickness. "How do you know who I am?"

"It doesn't matter. I am always watching."

"The hell it does. I refuse."

"This is not a choice you have. Stop it before it spreads, or everything will perish." At the, the cat suddenly turned and leapt from Ichigo's bed. "I'll leave you now. Fight, or lose. It's your choice," the old man said as he turned towards Ichigo's bedroom door.

The temperature dropped further. Oh great, just what he needed. More chills.

"Ojii-san, who in the world are you?"

The old man paused before turning back to Ichigo. "Who I am, doesn't matter for now. In time, you will know. But know this; I'm watching. I'm always watching."

Ichigo blinked, and the old man was gone. What the heck just happened? Who was that old man? He had no time to think as the chills started a fresh onslaught, just as the phone rang. Ichigo reached for the phone by his bedside with a shaking hand, too tired to wonder who could be calling him at this time, too distracted by the old man's weird cryptic warning.

Ooh, taking out the game! Lol, but what was the whole point of the two brothers? Well, you'll find out at the end. You're welcome to guess though.

What kind of dreams do people have? I personally have experienced nightmares, life-like dreams, 'too good to be true, pinch me,' kind of dreams, and the downright weird ones.

119 is Japan's police hotline, if I'm not mistaken.

Anyway, the primary plot shall take a major step forward in the next chapter, which should be out on Sunday evening, assuming I'm not griping about a lack of reviews.

So, you know how to prevent that! Press the button that says 'Review'! It will be greatly appreciated!