~.X.~ ~.X.~ ~.X.~ (Ryuuken's POV)
It had been almost three days since Uryuu was admitted to the critical care ward, and Ryuuken found himself working on almost no sleep. He'd managed to catch maybe an hour at most when he'd sat down beside Uryuu's bed, but other than that, his brain was too wired to even think about sleep at that point.
Of course, then and now were two entirely different situations, and even five cups of black coffee hadn't helped the weight of his eyelids. He stood in the break room, over the coffee machine, trying to gather the will to go back and check Uryuu's fluids, when he heard someone walk into the room with him. He thought nothing of it, though; most of his underlings wouldn't dare to approach him, especially now that these events were wearing down his patience and temper.
Ryuuken stood there for a few more moments before pouring himself his sixth cup of coffee, and downing the now luke warm liquid in one go. When he turned around, however, it was one of the more senior doctors who was standing there, staring at him. For some reason, that just pissed him off even more. Ryuuken parted his lips, ready to volley an insult and demand when the man's words cut him off.
"It's getting late again. Even if you don't go home, you should get some rest."
The man paused for a moment, as if testing his next words on his tongue, but for some reason, Ryuuken let him talk.
"Look. I have a kid too; I understand why you're doing what you're doing, but you're not going to be any help to him if you push yourself to the point where you start making mistakes. Get some rest. Take a shower. Eat something. If not for you, do it for your son. I'll make sure he's taken care of in your absence."
Ryuuken closed his eyes to mask the constant droop of his eyelids. Sleep did sound appealing, despite everything else. Opening his eyes back up and glaring at the doctor before him, he began a barrage of medications, making sure the man knew exactly what Uryuu was on, when the next doses were, and what to do with them before hand. Surprisingly, he just stood there and nodded his head.
"I know. We'll call you if he wakes up."
Ryuuken hardly remembered walking out of the break room, let alone the drive home. When his head hit the pillow, he was out.
~.X.~ ~.X.~ ~.X.~
Five hours and a cold shower later, Ryuuken was the one to call the hospital, only to be told there was no news to be spoken of. Uryuu's condition hadn't changed; he was being medicated as per Ryuuken's instructions, and had shown no signs of coming to. With a frustrated sigh, Ryuuken thanked them and hung up the phone. Raking a hand through his hair, he paused on his way past Uryuu's door, not quite shut but not open, either. Steadying himself with a deep breath, he pushed the door open slowly, and his nose was assaulted by the smell of blood.
Of course it would still be there; he hadn't been home since taking Uryuu into care. He grimaced at the bedroom, his mind flashing with images of what might have happened. It was still hard to take in, but in the depths of Ryuuken's mind, he felt somewhat responsible for turning a blind eye. So it was with a heavy sigh that he set his mind to cleaning the room before returning to the hospital.
~.X.~ ~.X.~ ~.X.~ (Ichigo's POV)
Two weeks. It had been two weeks and Ichigo was driving himself crazy. According to Rukia, who was still allowed to visit Uryuu, he wasn't doing much better, but he hadn't taken a turn for the worse, either. So it was all Ichigo could do to sit through class, trying and failing to keep his eyes from wandering toward Uryuu's vacant desk.
Coming home after being booted from the hospital was a strange matter, especially how understanding his dad had been. Ichigo had told him everything; all the way back to the day Uryuu had started acting weird, to the seven hour gap and Ryuuken's threat. Honestly it had felt good to get some of it off his chest, but no matter how many probing questions Isshin threw at him, he still couldn't remember anything.
So he was reduced to waiting it out. While they didn't have that much money, Isshin went ahead and paid Uryuu's dad the money for the glasses, and the two had supposedly been in correspondence since. Of course, he'd heard nothing from either of them on the subject, so he was left to ponder and worry at what was to happen. Should he try to talk to Uryuu's dad again? Should he just sneak into the hospital?
... Actually. That might not be such a bad idea. He'd have to figure out a viable way of doing so, and he'd have to deal with the fact that Uryuu's room might be guarded. However, Rukia might know a little more on exactly what was going on with Uryuu's room and how to get around those factors. But he'd have to ask her without letting her know why he was asking, or she'd probably try to stop him.
He glanced over toward where Rukia was sitting, making a mental note to catch her at lunch today, and figure out how he was going to have to do this. Then he'd go see Uryuu finally. What he would say, he wasn't so sure of, even if Uryuu was awake. If he wasn't... well. He needed to make it into the hospital first. He'd figure out where to go from there.
~.X.~ ~.X.~ ~.X.~ (Meanwhile, Uryuu's POV)
Uryuu's legs jerked out from under him, sending him spiraling into the ground. It came up to meet his shoulder, popping it out of place as an intense flash of pain wrapped around him. His mouth opened to scream, but the only thing that came out was blood as he coughed. His eyes widened, and he chanced a glance behind him, but the only thing behind him was the orange hair that was chasing him everywhere.
His heart seized up, knowing what was coming, and he tried to pick himself up off the ground as quickly as possible, only to have his hands sink down into the mud that was suddenly encasing his entire body. Struggling, he shifted his entire weight, trying to find some kind of leverage, but only fell further into it before the air rushed from his lungs and he found himself tumbling head first into nothingness.
~.X.~ ~.X.~ ~.X.~
His eyes snapped open without registering what was actually before them, a high pitched, rapid beeping assaulting his ears, and frightened, his hands tried to lift to cover his ears before a sharp pain pulled at the crook of his arm, and he hissed in pain. It took that single sensation to bring all the pain in his body back, and for a moment he stiffened, unable to move for the pain that assaulted his body. This breathing hitched, and as he blinked, colors started to swirl in his vision, mixes of white and other colors flooding in front of him, but what finally calmed him was there was no orange in sight.
Relaxing slightly, Uryuu found his head falling back on a rather soft pillow, his upper half slightly elevated. His head was still groggy, and every now and then his vision would spin, making him want to just close his eyes and return to the darkness before he remembered what he'd woken up from. Grimacing, still hearing the quickened beeping trying to pound its way into his skull, he heard a door open. Just as his vision spun again, he saw some of the white around him moving, and suddenly there was a hand on his arm, startling him.
Trying to focus through the haze that was coming and going, he saw that familiar white coat, and for a moment, Uryuu was relieved, despite himself, that his father had come for him. He would deal with the yelling and fighting and disappointment when he felt better; for now, he took solace in the fact he was still being cared for, and let the cold feeling in his arm numb his body, listening to the beeping slowly even out as his vision faded once more to black.
~.X.~ ~.X.~ ~.X.~ (Ichigo's POV)
Lunchtime came Ichigo finally managed to catch Rukia's attention, calling her over for lunch together. As far as he knew, the questioning went off without a hitch; he managed to find out that Uryuu's room didn't actually have a guard. He could only speculate that they were looking for his orange hair, and without seeing it, they weren't on guard. So as long as he wore like a hat or something, he could get in to see Uryuu without any problems. Or at least, not so many problems as he'd first thought.
There was also the fact that Uryuu's dad was constantly hovering around Uryuu's room, which was understandable, but entirely frustrating, since he'd decided he knew everything about the situation without actually understanding it.
Ichigo had to fight off a sigh as he tucked the last stray wisps of his hair away, under the black ball cap, looking at himself in the mirror. Wearing regular jeans, a simple grey hoodie, and a black hat, he should look normal. None of his orange hair was showing, and if he managed to get in without Uryuu's dad noticing him, he should be okay. According to Rukia, Uryuu's dad visited in the mornings, and before he left in the evening, ever day. So as long as he managed to get in after the guy was leaving, he shouldn't have any problems.
At least Rukia had said she thought Uryuu was close to finally waking up. From the times she'd visited, she'd told him he was moving, making small noises in his sleep, so on and so forth. It gave Ichigo hope that Uryuu would come to, soon. And maybe... Uryuu would be able to help him make sense of what happened during that seven hour gap. If he actually had...
No. He wouldn't think about it right now. Right now, he had a mission to complete, and that's exactly what he was going to do. Setting his will, Ichigo took a large breath, and turned away from the mirror. He had to get going if he was going to make it to the hospital on foot before evening.
~.X.~ ~.X.~ ~.X.~ (Uryuu's POV)
When Uryuu awoke the next time, it was from a dreamless sleep. He felt a little more aware of his surroundings, and it didn't take him too long to remember the events that had led him there. When he did finally manage to think about what had happened at length, he found himself almost numb to what his body had endured. His vision was still a little blurry, but he finally recognized it as the fact of he didn't have his glasses.
It took him only a few seconds to remember why he didn't have them. Closing his eyes, he leaned back a little more on the pillow behind him, his mind drifting off to various places. He was aware of the slow beeping of the monitor beside him even as it felt like he was living through some of his past memories. Thankfully none were too traumatizing; he found himself almost laughing at memories of the entire group. Of memories in the Soul Society. Of memories with his grandfather. In fact, without really thinking about it, his mind seemed to be trying to cheer him up, and was somehow managing it, too.
Closing his eyes, Uryuu was happy to let himself lay there and let his mind wander, his body feeling heavy and weary and wanting more sleep. It was just when he felt the vestiges of sleep tugging at his consciousness that his ears picked up the sound of the door opening.
The door to his room.
For a moment, Uryuu wondered if it was one of the doctors here to change the fluid bag, but the hesitant footsteps and the very quiet closing of the door told Uryuu otherwise. No one he knew that visited him was ever... quiet. Instantly his mind raced, flashes and images of Ichigo having found him, come back to finish killing him struck fear into his heart, and he could hear the monitor's beeping sounds slowly begin to climb.
This was bad. If he reacted badly, Ichigo would know he was awake and kill him. Maybe if he pretended he was already in a coma... maybe if he acted like he would never wake up... maybe he would be left alone.
Uryuu tried to swallow softly, before taking a very slow breath, trying desperately to calm his heartbeat, only to hear the sounds of the monitor begin to slow. Despite this fact, he heard a chair pulled up beside him, and it was all he could do to struggle to keep his breathing even, especially when his free arm was gently grasped, and pulled off to the side.
It was definitely Ichigo; the hands were rough and calloused, and Uryuu knew their feel like no other. But... the touch was much lighter than usual. Gentle and soft, even. It gave him pause, even when the words drifted to his ears,
"Uryuu... I'm so sorry."
Sorry...?
"I don't know what to do."
You're... sorry?
"I wish I could help."
Ichigo... was sorry...?
"I just don't want to lose you."
If Uryuu's eyes had been open, they would have widened greatly, but in his faked state of sleep, Uryuu found it difficult to react to Ichigo's words, as if the drugs were actually trying to pull him back into his deep slumber.
So he could do nothing but sit there, listening to Ichigo's voice, talking to him comfortingly, saying words he'd never imagined he'd hear from the man. And listen he did, all the way up to the very last words...
"Uryuu... don't leave me. Don't go before I can tell you..."
A/N: Thanks again to all my viewers who take time out of their day to review my story. All of you really help me along, and I appreciate your feedback more than you realize. A special shout-out to baerbelhaddrell for your in depth thoughts on how the story is progressing, as well as Isame Kuroda for your passionate ideas and for sticking with this story even despite its long hiatus a while back. Thank you all! Next chapter is going to be fluff, just as a warning.