I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.
Beta: lilarin
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Gin was looking forward to the approaching Spring Break. He was swamped with papers to read and looked forward to locking himself away in his office at home with no distractions so that he could get them all graded before the students returned. He had even left early today, dismissing his students with the assignment to live life fully, and come back ready to learn. Now, with a bottle of sake beside him, he intended to enjoy at least one night with Ran doing unspeakable things, before he settled down to the task at hand.
His cell phone began to ring, Ran's ringtone, and he picked up the call using a seductive voice and answered, "I was just thinking about you. Got a bottle of sake right here for tonight."
"Oh," she sounded distracted. "Oh that's right, tonight…"
Instantly alarm bells went off in his head. Something was wrong. "Ran, what's going on? Is Sadie okay?"
"Yes, Sadie is fine," she replied. Then she lowered her voice, "It's just that I'm here at school, and Reiko is with me, because Ulquiorra hasn't shown up yet…"
"As late as you usually are, he should be home with the kid already," he teased in an attempt to quell the uneasiness rising in his gut.
"Are you close to home?" she ignored his taunt.
"Turning onto our street now."
"Could you run by the house and see if he's there? Make sure all is well?"
He was coming up on Ulquiorra's house just as she spoke. The car was out in the driveway, so he must be home. Still the guy would never willing be late to pick up his kid.
"Car's in the driveway," he pulled in behind it. "Let me see what's going on. I'll call you right back."
He kept the phone with him as he walked up to the front door. He knocked, but no one answered, so he tried the knob and was surprised to find it open. Gently he pushed, but after only a short distance met with resistance. He pushed again, just enough to peek his head inside cautiously, and let out a gasp. There lying on the floor unconscious was his neighbor.
He wiggled his way through the opening and rushed to the man's side. Quickly assessing the situation he noticed no outward injuries, so he tilted Ulquiorra's head, clearing the airway, and bent down so that his cheek was close to the man's mouth, and his eyes could watch his chest. His other hand went for Ulquiorra's wrist as he felt for a pulse.
Both were barely there and he sat back up and quickly dialed his phone.
"911, state the nature of your emergency," a calm voice came on the line after a few seemingly endless rings.
"It's my neighbor," he began, but paused to take a deep breath to calm himself. "I found him on the floor of his house. He's unconscious, and his breathing and heart rate are very low."
"Do you know the nature of the incident?" the voice asked with methodical precision. "Does it appear that he fell or hit his head?"
Gin scanned the room surrounding his neighbor and his eyes fell on the pile of clothes close to his body. Woman's clothes. Orihime's clothes to be exact. If he had been a religious man he would have thought maybe she had been raptured, but he wasn't, and his mind saw only one explanation. And that explanation still blew his mind.
"Sir?" the voice persisted. "Sir is there any injury that is visible?"
He gripped the phone tightly as a cold fear encompassed him. It had always been meant as playful teasing. Amandan Mar and the Sprites were just a way to mess with Ulquiorra's mind. And even if he personally never dismissed anything that could not be explained, he also never truly believed in fairies.
"Poc sídhe," he whispered without thought.
"What was that sir?" the voice asked.
He shook his head to clear his thoughts and said, "There are no injuries that I can see."
"Okay then," the voice began to run through a list of protocols and reassured him that the paramedics were on there way.
Gin listened, but his mind was a flurry with thoughts. Could Ulquiorra truly have stumbled onto something mystical? Was the back and forth banter between them actually based in reality? And if he had confronted Amandan Mar, well no one recovered from that.
"Shit," he cursed softly. He liked Ulquiorra. The man had many good qualities, even if he had a stick up his ass. For all his odd quirks, he was a good father to that little girl.
When the ambulance arrived he called Ran and explained the situation. He would ride with Ulquiorra and remain until family arrived. He suggested she have the school call Reiko's emergency contacts. They would be able to take her and they would also know how to get a hold of the next of kin. He only hoped the poor souls would arrive before it was too late to say goodbye.
Grimmjow cradled Reiko in his lap. Ulquiorra's parents had finally arrived and the doctor was preparing to go over the results of the scans that they had run on Ulquiorra. It had been excruciating waiting the past few hours for answers, but now that they were about to get them, he wasn't sure if he was ready.
The doctor sat down on the chair opposite the gathered group. It was obvious he was choosing his words carefully because of the child, and Nelliel interrupted him and said that she would take Reiko to the cafeteria for a drink, and that they would return shortly. Ulquiorra's father smiled appreciatively, and the doctor waited until they were out of earshot before continuing.
He looked directly at Ulquiorra's parents. "Your son has suffered a stroke, a subarachnoid hemorrhage to be exact."
"Could you put that in simple terms," Grimmjow's voice was raw, the usual sarcastic manner gone. He simply wanted to understand better the situation.
The doctor went on to explain that the MRI and other tests concluded that Ulquiorra had suffered an aneurysm. A blood vessel had exploded in his brain. The prognosis wasn't good. Most people with this severity of damage most likely never recovered. They would continue to treat him aggressively, but the next two days were critical to any chance of recovery, and even then, the doctor had cautioned, his quality of life would most likely never be the same.
The doctor continued, asking if Ulquiorra had had a living will, but at that point Grimmjow was no longer listening. He stood and began to pace the room, stopping at a window that overlooked the campus of the University. Six weeks ago they had gathered here to celebrate Alicia's birth. Now he may lose his friend in this exact same place.
Damn it! It wasn't fair.
Ulquiorra deserved better than this.
Reiko deserved better than this.
He scanned the University grounds. And where the hell was Orihime? Was she really the money grabbing bitch he had feared she would be when Ulquiorra allowed her to move in with him? Grimmjow had honestly begun to think that he had been wrong about that first assessment, but he wasn't sure anymore. The first sign of trouble and she was gone.
Well good riddance. Ulquiorra would need his true loved ones around him now, not some flighty, money grubbing…
Shit, he felt in his heart that wasn't fair either. Yet he had no other explanation. He walked back over to Ulquiorra's parents and sat down next to his mother. Grabbing her free hand he gave it a squeeze. She looked up, tears on her cheeks and mouthed the words, thank you.
The first forty-eight hours had almost passed and still Ulquiorra lay unresponsive. The brain scans had shown extensive damage and none of the treatments seemed to be working. All that was left to Nanami Schiffer was prayers. But she was no stranger to that when it came to her children. She had been doing it all her life.
She sat beside his bed in the intensive care unit. She gripped his cold hand with one of her own; in the other she held her prayer beads. Silently her lips moved as she chanted her prayers over and over again. The doctors had done all they could. Ulquiorra needed a miracle, and she would do everything in her power to bring one about.
It was almost dawn of the third day when that miracle came. The hand in hers squeezed weakly and she looked up from her restless dozing to find her son staring at her. His green eyes lacked their usual clarity, but he was awake.
"Ulquiorra?" she whispered. From across the room Jefferson got up and walked over to the bed. He reached for Ulquiorra's other hand. "He's awake," she cried and to her son, "Ulquiorra, can you understand me?"
His eyes only stared back blankly causing her heart to clench painfully. She motioned for her husband to call for the nurse. All the while she caressed the hand in hers. "Everything's going to be okay," she reassured him. "You're going to be fine."
Ulquiorra tried to make sense of everything that was going on around him. The woman beside him holding his hand – he should know her. In fact he knew she was special to him, but he couldn't place her exactly. The same was true for the man that was with her as well. He stood a distance from where he lay, talking with another man, someone called doctor. Their conversation left him confused as well.
"Honestly I'm speechless Mr. Schiffer. Something like this…well the extent of his recovery remains to be seen, but the fact that he is conscious," the man looked to the woman still holding Ulquiorra's hand, "Someone has the ear of the man upstairs."
"Nanami has been praying for a miracle since we arrived," the other man, the one he should know, replied.
Ulquiorra stared a moment more and then it came to him, images of this man, not as old as he appeared now, and a word began to form in his head.
Father.
Yet as he spoke the word aloud it came out slurred and incoherent. Everyone in the room looked at him. The woman gripped his hand tighter. The other man, the doctor, spoke again, "The speech therapist will be here in a few hours. She'll be able to assess the situation better. Also expect the physical and occupational therapists as well. Now that he's awake we can better determine the scope of his loss and the services he will require to live as normal a life as possible."
The man left, and as he passed through the door more people entered. Another man, a woman, and a child. His child. Reiko. The little girl ran over to his bed and his father lifted her to sit carefully on the space beside him. She reached out and touched his face tenderly and smiled.
"You're awake," she said with glee.
He opened his mouth and said her name, Reiko. But the word that actually came out was Hisae. The adults in the room looked stricken, but the child laughed and said, "Silly Papa. I'm Reiko."
He spoke again, focusing harder, but once more the name was that of his sister. The younger woman came over beside the bed and laid her hand on his arm, "It's okay Ulquiorra, I know what you mean."
Her smile comforted him, but his inability to say what he meant left him frustrated. It continued like that for the rest of the day, but by the next morning his speech had improved significantly, and his mind was better able to focus.
Still it was difficult. He knew he should be able to do the tasks placed before him, but even the simplest things like standing, and going to the bathroom required assistance. In fact it had taken him most of the previous day before he was able swallow the small sips of water that came from the ice his mother held to his lips. Still the doctor went on about the miracle that was his recovery.
"Not a miracle," he finally interrupted the doctor, "Magic."
"Magic?" his father asked as he walked closer to his side.
"Magic," he stated firmly. He knew that magic was at play. It had to be. Orihime. He remembered her now as well. In fact he remembered all that had happened that day when Amandan Mar paid him a visit. He wasn't sure what had happened after he lost consciousness, but he knew one thing with certainty, magic had saved him. Orihime's magic.
"Well you were never the most religious of people," his father laughed.
"No," he reached up and grasped his father's arm. "Orihime," he started and then paused as the words escaped him. At the mention of her name both his parents stiffened. "Orihime's magic," he continued regardless.
His mother glanced at his father and a look passed between them.
"She saved me," he tried again, not sure if his words were coming out right. "The Fool. I touched the Fool and his magic caused me to die, but Orihime…Orihime must have used her own magic. It's in me. It's healing me…"
The doctor came closer and said, "Ulquiorra, you suffered a stroke. For quite some time your brain was starved for oxygen. It is quite common for people in such situations to believe they see things…"
"I am not making it up," his voice grew louder.
His mother reached out and rubbed his arm, "No one is saying that."
"He is," he glared at the doctor.
"I'm sorry," the man replied, "I'm only trying to help."
But Ulquiorra refused to hear anymore. He knew it was Orihime that saved him. The others, Grimmjow, Nelliel, and Reiko… they would too.
Grimmjow left work and headed to the rehabilitation center that Ulquiorra had been staying in since his release from the hospital a week ago. It had been decided that the best place for him to receive the treatment he would require would be an impatient facility. Fancy terms aside, it was nothing more than a nursing home to him, and he hated these kinds of places with a passion. The sooner Ulquiorra could recover enough to receive care on an outpatient basis the better.
Still what kind of a friend would he be if he stayed away? So each day after work he would make a stop before he headed home to Nelliel and Alicia. Today he found Ulquiorra sitting in a chair in front of the TV in his room. He looked so frail, just the shell of the man he had been only two weeks earlier.
Ignoring that fact he tossed the bag with the bagels from Ulquiorra's favorite deli at him as he walked through the door. His friend's gross motor skills still needed work, but he managed to catch the bag after some fumbling.
"You're looking better," he lied as he took a seat on the bed facing Ulquiorra.
"And you're full of craft," his friend replied.
"I think you mean crap," he corrected. "And yeah I am. You look like shit. But hey, two weeks ago you were close to being six feet under, so shit is definitely an improvement."
"Please," Ulquiorra said evenly, "Don't hold back how you really see it Grimmjow."
This caused him to laugh. Ulquiorra merely turned his attention back to the television.
"So," he tried again, "Any cute nurses I should know about?"
Ulquiorra's eyes never left the screen. "Only you would look to pick someone up in a place like this."
"Well you've got an excuse to let them see the goods."
"I am able to toilet on my own thank you," he turned and glared at his friend.
"Yeah the miracle boy," Grimmjow teased.
"It wasn't a miracle…"
"That's all it could be," Grimmjow's teasing manner ceased.
"You know better than most it was Orihime's magic."
Grimmjow stood abruptly, "I think I already told you that I was not having this conversation again."
"But you were one of the few people who knew who she truly was," Ulquiorra persisted.
Grimmjow placed his hands on the arms of Ulquiorra's chair. Leaning in he said calmly, "You suffered a massive stroke, Ulquiorra. Your brain was completely fucked up, and in the process of reconnecting the wires a few got crossed. Orihime was a woman, just like every other woman on this planet. She was not a sprite, and she did not leave you to return to the forest with all the other fairies."
"She didn't leave," Ulquiorra corrected, "The Fool took her…"
"I repeat Ulquiorra, your brain is trying to make sense of things, and it's messed with your sense of reality."
"No!" Ulquiorra reached up and placed both hands on Grimmjow's chest. He pushed as hard as he could, but Grimmjow refused to budge.
"I'm sorry man," he shook his head. "I know this is hard for you. It's hard for us too because we really thought Orihime was the perfect fit for you, but we were wrong. She left, and you need to understand that this illusion that she was a fairy tale creature is just your brain trying to protect your heart."
"Do not treat me like some kind of idiot," Ulquiorra's voice rose.
"I'm not," Grimmjow softened his tone. "I just can't take anymore of this shit. Your stroke was hard enough. And then Orihime takes off. Now you insist she is some magical fairy," Grimmjow sat back and ran his hands through his hair. "It scaring Reiko, and upsetting your parents. Please Ulquiorra, try to see reason."
His friend pushed himself to the edge of his chair. "I need to use the bathroom."
"Do you want some help?" Grimmjow asked.
"Just get me my walker," Ulquiorra stated coolly. "I can manage the rest on my own."
Grimmjow did as he was asked. Ulquiorra slowly made his way over to the bathroom and then shut the door behind him.
"Damn it," Grimmjow said as he sat back on the bed. He hadn't wanted to get into this today, but he really couldn't take it anymore. Ulquiorra had always been so practical. This insistence that Orihime had been a sprite was so unlike him, and if he didn't come to terms with the reality of the situation, it was going to present problems down the road.
Ulquiorra stood in front of the mirror in his bathroom. Grimmjow was right about one thing, he did look like shit, but his friend had been wrong about Orihime. He had listened to the doctor in the hospital. Hell even Ukitake had come by and talked at length about the psychology behind his insistence that it was magic that had saved him. Yet none of it made a difference. He knew better.
With great effort he pulled the t-shirt he was wearing over his head and tossed it in the sink. He then stared at his naked chest. There, above his heart, stood the mark in cool contrast to his pale skin. It was the same blue as the one Orihime had had on her back; the same hibiscus shape as well. To anyone else it would look like a tattoo. Of course that would be anyone who could actually see it. So far he seemed to be the only one who was able to.
He was at a loss as to why Grimmjow, Nelliel, and even Reiko could not remember Orihime as anything but an ordinary human, but he began to believe it had something to do with this mark.
It was a seal, just as Orihime's had been. He had no idea how he had come about it, but he knew it must have happened after he had touched Amandan Mar. He could feel Orihime's magic in his veins, and he knew it was that magic that had saved him. It had to be. For him it was the only explanation that made sense.
Ulquiorra stood at the foot of the stairs. He was finally home, and he wanted nothing more than to rest in his own bed after over a month away. He still required outpatient treatment, but he no longer needed it on the daily basis he had before. As a result he was released to come home, and his parents made the decision to stay with him, helping to get him to and from his appointments, and assisting in Reiko's care until he was fully recovered.
"Do you need help?" his mother asked as she came up next to him, a bag of groceries in her hands.
"No," he reached out to grab the stair rail. "I can make it."
Slowly he began his climb up the stairs. By the time he made it to the top his hands were trembling and his breath was coming in ragged gasps. He paused until his breathing became steady again and then continued on. Outside of Reiko's room he stopped and looked in at the mural. Needing to see it close up, he headed into the child's room.
He approached the wall and reached out his hand to touch the tiny figure of Orihime as she danced above Reiko's outstretched hand. She was as beautiful as she had been in real life, and suddenly he found it impossible to breathe. He let out a pained cry as he fell to his knees, his hand trailing down the wall.
Once the tears began, he found he couldn't stop their flow. Loud sobs tore from his throat as the reality of his loss hit him full force. She was gone. They had planned to spend the rest of their lives together and now she was gone. And once more he was alone. Only this time he was really alone. No one believed him. No one understood that Orihime had not left on her own volition. No one remembered her for what she was, a beautiful and mystical creature that had captured his heart.
His chest hurt painfully as he felt her loss more profoundly than he had since this whole ordeal had begun over a month earlier.
"Why?" he cried. "Why did you take her from me?"
"Ulquiorra?" his mother's concerned voice called out from the doorway. She rushed over to him when she caught sight of him on the floor. Kneeling down she pulled him against her own body and rocked him gently. Her words were soft and soothing as she told him that everything would be alright.
"How can it be?" he asked. "How can my life go back to the way it was?"
"I can't promise that," his mother ran her hands through his hair, "But I can promise that I will be here for you every step of the way."
"I miss her so much," he wrapped his arms around his mother and buried his face in her hair. "I don't think I can do this without her."
"You are stronger than you think," his mother crooned. "You survived Hisae's passing. You will survive losing Orihime as well."
But how would he. Hisae was dead, yet Orihime was somewhere out there, alive and without him too. The fact that she had not returned to him made him fear that something was preventing her, or more so someone. But until he was completely healed, he couldn't even begin to look for her.
The frustration shook him and he clung to his mother. He needed her right now, and for the first time in his life he accepted her touch without hesitation.
Author's Notes:
I based much of this chapter from my experiences when my mother had a stroke about three years ago. It was minor, her recovery rapid, and she bears no real signs that she ever had one, but those first 48 hours were scary, and much of what I wrote here stemmed from actual events. In Ulquiorra's case it is magic of coarse at work, and that magic is slowly counteracting the power of the Fool's touch.
Today I finished the last chapter and will debate an epilogue. I hope to edit and post the rest of the story (3 chapters to go) through the next week, but I have a ton of work demanding my attention, so no promises.
Thanks again to all who have reviewed. Your kind words and encouragement make a difference. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter.
