Chapter 15
Toshiro could barely feel the cold cement ground beneath him. He kept going in and out of consciousness after Shiro left. Even the pain was diminishing. One minute all he could feel was pain and then the next Toshiro was numb. While he was fading in and out he vaguely registered the sound of people talking.
"Hey! Kid! Are you alright?" "What happened to him?" "Oh my god, is he okay?" "Someone call 911." Toshiro could hear numerous voices around him but he couldn't make sense of what they were saying. But the one voice Toshiro wanted to hear was not there.
"Ichigo." He mumbled weakly. "Where's Ichigo?" Then the blackness closed in.
The sound of his feet seemed to echo in Ichigo's mind. He knew he was running but he wasn't moving fast enough. All he could think about was Toshiro being at the mercy of Shiro and Grimmjow. Ichigo didn't know what he'd do if he lost Toshiro. Finally as Ichigo rounded the corner he saw an ambulance. He felt his stop. "Toshiro!" Was his fear induced yell.
"Sir you can't be over here." A man blocked him. Blocked him from Toshiro.
"Get outta my way!" He yelled in the man's face, but the man didn't move.
"Now look here, he's being loaded into the van. You're just going to get in the way." The man replied with an attitude. He seemed to think he knew how to 'handle' Ichigo. The rational part of Ichigo's mind thought this understandable but the part that was concerned for Toshiro demanded he get out of the way.
"No you see here asshole. That man is my boyfriend and if you don't get out of my way-" Ichigo started to tell him but he was interrupted.
"Ichigo." He heard the weak word from in the van. It seemed to surprise the asshole paramedic too as he stopped preventing Ichigo from getting to the van. Immediately Ichigo was by the small injured man's side. The sight that greeted him brought tears to Ichigo's eyes. The right side of his face was incredibly bruised and the left side was marred by four long scratches, all which were slightly bleeding. The worst for Ichigo, however, was Toshiro's neck. He could easily see the hand marks. Ichigo could feel his heart shatter. Toshiro had been strangled. Ichigo had almost lost the person he loved. He buried his head in his hands, fighting tears. He had let this happen. "Ichigo." The sound came from the stretcher, but Ichigo didn't respond. "Ichigo." The voice was cracked but it was getting stronger. This time the voice was accompanied with a light touch to Ichigo's hands. Ichigo finally looked at Toshiro.
He was smiling. Toshiro was lying there, bruised and bleeding and he was smiling. Ichigo felt his already tremendous guilt skyrocket. That small hand slowly pulled his down, revealing his face. Ichigo felt the hands touch the bed and expected Toshiro to let go but he didn't. He kept that grip as if it was Toshiro's lifeline. "Are you alright Ichigo?"
Ichigo choked. "You're the one lying there beat up and you're asking if I'm okay?" He asked incredulously. He watched as Toshiro chuckled a little before nodding. Ichigo sighed glancing down at their intertwined hands. He clenched his hand tighter, feeling the warmth and heartbeat in that small hand.
"I assume you're riding with us to the hospital." The statement drew Ichigo's eyes away from his hand. He looked up to see the asshole paramedic smirking. Ichigo nodded, thinking that maybe the man wasn't really that much off an asshole. He looked back up to see Toshiro watching him worriedly.
"Yeah. Toshiro seems to always get into trouble when I'm not around." Ichigo said smiling a little, trying to diffuse the tension with humor he didn't really feel. He felt a slight pinch on his hand in reprimand. Toshiro obviously was too weak to hit him like usual. As the ambulance finally left and made its way to the hospital, the guilt came back.
Ichigo swore to himself, his family and Toshiro that he would do everything in his power to ensure this never happened again.
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