Disclaimer: Don't own it.
(Rukia POV)
After visiting with Ichigo, I returned to Soul Society a little regretfully. Ichigo looked unwell. The most obvious was the dark bags underneath his dull, lifeles eyes. He seemed to be suffering but he was so good at hiding his feelings I could never decipher them without help from an outside source.
What really worried me was the fact that I wasn't the only one that noticed Ichigo's odd behavior. I had originally planned on bombarding him before school and then dragging him back to Seireitei to hang out with Renji so he could stop worrying about the kid but when Ishida intercepted me and warned me I decided to change my plans.
It was early morning and before I could jump out and grab Ichigo, from where he previously was leaving his house, Ishida grabbed me by the back of my hakama.
"I don't think you should do that Rukia," He said gravely, pushing his glasses up with his finger. "Kurosaki has been sick lately."
I turned around and gave him a confused look. "Sick? What do you mean? What's wrong with him?" The questions spewed from my mouth before I could rein them in.
"Just watch him today and you'll see what I mean. Everyone's noticed but we just assumed that he wasn't getting enough sleep because of all the hollows but I've taken over half of them so he should be getting more but it appears that he is continuously getting less. He's also been very evasive and is always finding a reason to leave whenever anyone tries to start a conversation with him. We're all worried about him."
I nodded, accepting him advice and found a place to hide where I could watch him.
And watch I did.
I spent the day lurking outside of his school, peering in through the windows like the creeper I felt. The more I watched, the more I wished I hadn't. It was obvious to anyone who looked that Ichigo was different.
He was withdrawn and reclusive throughout classes and free time. Any former boldness that had been within him before had disappeared. A couple of times I found him falling asleep at his desk—something he never does because he believes he has to pay attention when he's actually in school to make up for the time he's out of it because of Hollows and Shinigami business. Ichigo's normally vibrant complexion was sallow and sunken in reflecting his lack of sleep and his uniform that used to fit him perfectly now hung limply on his body.
The more I watched him the more I began to wish I had just stayed in Soul Society. His sickness, for lack of a better word, saddened me more than I could have ever imagined it would. I didn't realize how attached I had become to the loud, obnoxious strawberry until I saw him in such a weak and melancholy state. I could tell something was wrong with him immediately; Ichigo was never so inaccessible to other people, especially to his friends.
Something must be seriously wrong with my little strawberry for him to be acting this way and I was determined to get to the bottom of it. After checking in with my captain, I flash-stepped to the sixth's barracks, hoping to find Renji. As I neared his office I saw Nii-sama out of the corner of my eye.
"Rukia," Nii-sama appeared in front of me before I could blink. "What are you doing here?" His voice was low and cold as usual but it wasn't filled with annoyance like it once was—I could thank Ichigo for that.
"I was here to see Abarai-fukutaichou if he wasn't busy."
"He is finishing up some over-due paperwork that he neglected to do earlier."
I nodded. "I see. Thank you Nii-sama, I will just meet up with him later then." I bowed to him and made to leave before his voice stopped me once more.
"If you have a problem Rukia, you may always come to me for guidance." My eyes widened in shock for a moment before I nodded.
"I don't believe you would want to help with my problem if you knew what it is about, Nii-sama, because it has to do with Kurosaki Ichigo."
His eyes narrowed. "Did he do something to hurt you, Rukia?"
"No, nothing like that. He has been very kind to me." I said shaking my head fiercely.
His eyes become less hostile, softening to a degree. Nii-sama led me over to a nearby bench and sat down next to me. "What could have happened to Kurosaki Ichigo to make your eyes become so filled with sadness?"
My eyes widened slightly at his observation. "I believe he is sick, Nii-sama." At his questioning glance I continued, "He hasn't been sleeping or eating and he's completely isolated himself from everyone. When I went to check on him he acted like everything was fine but it was so obvious he was hurting. I'm worried about him Nii-sama. If he is sick he won't admit it and that will only make it worse." I hung my head and rested my hands lightly on my thighs.
Surprisingly, Nii-sama laid his hand on top of my shoulder and squeezed it lightly. "I'm sure whatever is happening to Kurosaki he will be fine. A simple sickness cannot take down something that stubborn."
I nodded and thanked him before taking my leave and returning to Ukitake-taichou.
Nii-sama's response to my problems was truly astonishing. I had expected him to scoff and tell me that the health of an insignificant human was not worth my worry. Nii-sama almost seemed to care about Ichigo.
It wasn't until a few weeks later that I became truly fearful for Ichigo's life. Urahara-san had sent word to Soul Society, asking Renji and I to come to Karakura as soon as possible. We both immediately got permission from our captains and ran through the Senkaimon as fast as we could. When we arrived we came face to face with Yoruichi, who had a very worried expression on her normally playful face, and she led us to Urahara's shop.
The atmosphere was thick around the shop; it suffocated me with every breath I took. Jinta and Ururu were nowhere in sight; their broom and baseball bat were lying haphazardly on the ground and the front door to the shop was wide open. Renji and I went in cautiously, keeping an eye out for anything that might produce danger. We didn't sense anything bad as we entered the shop but that didn't calm our raging hearts any. I could feel Jinta and Ururu in one of the back rooms along with Tessai and Urahara. Then I sensed Ichigo and felt my bones chill to the core.
It was weak, much weaker that it had ever been before. I pushed passed Renji as I ran to the faint reiatsu of my friend. When I entered the room I couldn't help the gasp that escaped my lips.
Ichigo was lying on a futon completely motionless. The only sign that he was still even alive was the slight up and down of his chest. I walked slowly over to the broken man and knelt down next to him.
"Ichigo," I whispered, "What's happened to you?" I closed my eyes and grasped his hand tightly, hoping that he would squeeze back.
His fingers didn't even twitch.
Urahara cleared his throat slightly, gaining my attention. "As I'm sure you know, Ichigo hadn't been feeling well lately but he went off and fought a group of hollows. He collapsed from exhaustion and the hollows attacked him. If it hadn't been for Sado-san and Ishida-san, I don't think Kurosaki-san would still be with us. Inoue-san and Tessai healed all of his physical wounds so I he should be fine but he hasn't woken up yet and he should have a while ago. I'm not quite sure that I know what is wrong with him but I have a feeling that it would be most beneficial to him if he were in Soul Society where Unohana could look after him and hopefully heal him—she is the best healer I know. Inoue-san tried to heal him but without knowing what was wrong she couldn't reject the damage.
"I believe whatever is keeping him asleep is connected to Seireitei. I think it would be best if he were with you. Whatever's happened to him has seriously hurt him, both mentally and physically, and if anyone could get to the bottom of this it would be Unohana-taichou."
I nodded my head and looked to Renji who was already pulling out his soul pager, "I'm on it." He walked out of the room with his cell already pressed against his ear.
I looked back down at Ichigo and smoothed over the wrinkles on his forehead that seemed to be present even in sleep while still keeping one hand firmly in his.
Slowly his facial expression began to change and he squeezed weakly on my fingers. "Rukia?" His voice was crackly and broken sounded from disuse. I briefly wondered when the last time he actually spoke was but quickly let it pass.
"Yeah, I'm here Ichigo," I my voice was quiet, not like my usual loud, boisterous tone. "How're you feeling?"
He gave me a weak smile. "Don't look so sad, Rukia, I'm fine."
My frown deepened and I pulled my hands away from him. "Have you seen yourself lately, Ichigo? And I don't just mean today! You were acting funny the last time I visited too! What has gotten in to you Ichigo? You're one of my best friends and I hate seeing you like this. I want to help you but I can't unless you tell me what's wrong so I can help fix it." I started out yelling but by the end my voice became tiny and sad. "Please, tell me what's wrong, Ichigo." I whispered brokenly.
He looked at my hands that were placed in my lap, "I don't think you can help," His voice was so small I could barely hear him when he spoke. "I don't think anyone can. I think I know why I'm like this, but I could also just be using it as an excuse. And I can't tell you what I think is wrong because… it's too personal and I don't want to find out what you would do if you found out. You're too important to me, Rukia, and I don't want to lose you over this. Please, just let it be?" He pleaded. He was so small and weak sounding, I felt my heart break into tiny pieces. The fire that used to burn brightly in Ichigo's eyes was nearly extinguished. Ichigo looked so helpless and frail, lying on the futon with the large blanket covering him; even my hand appeared to be bigger and stronger than his.
I closed my eyes, "For now," I said in a half whisper. "I'll leave it be for now, but you are going to tell me eventually. Renji and I are going to take you back to Soul Society with us." He opened his mouth to protest but I held up a finger, stopping whatever words might have come out of his mouth. "No exceptions, Ichigo. You may have deluded yourself into thinking that you're fine but anyone with eyes would plainly disagree. We're taking you back because we care about you and want you to get better."
Ichigo scowled but the normal ferocity that usually came with it was nowhere in sight. When he spoke, his voice only held a small fraction of the volume that normal, irate Ichigo would have produced. "Do I even have a say in this?"
"Nope," Renji stated loudly, walking in to the room. Then in a quieter voice he turned to me and said, "Yamamoto-soutaichou approved. He's sent some hell butterflies for us; they'll be there when we open the gate."
I nodded my head and looked over to Ichigo. Urahara handed me Kon and I roughly yanked the mod-soul out of the stuffed lion, ignoring his enraged protests. I walked over to Ichigo and opened his mouth, holding his jaw firmly so he couldn't jerk away. When he finally swallowed Kon, he fell out of his body and rolled a few feet across the floor before coming to a stop.
"Nee-san! How could you? I thought you loved me. Why do you treat me so cruelly?" Kon yelled as soon as he entered Ichigo's body. He went to get up but only managed to rise a few feet before he collapsed in a huff. "Damn it Ichigo. What the hell did you do to your body? It's like you have no muscles left."
"Kon," I said, drawing his attention back to me. "You stay here and do whatever Urahara-san tells you. Got it?"
Kon looked down, "Hai, Nee-san."
"Good," I said as I nodded my head and walked over to Ichigo. Renji followed close behind and picked up the teen bridal-style.
"What the hell, Renji?" Ichigo weakly protested, trying to push away from his chest. "I can walk."
Renji laughed before unhooking Zangetsu and putting him on his own back. "Like hell. I can barely even feel you pushing on my chest right now, and knowing you, you're using a good amount strength to do it. Face it kid—you're too weak right now. Let us take care of you for a change." Ichigo fought for a moment longer before dropping his hands in his lap and nodding dejectedly. Renji repositioned the substitute so his head was more comfortably on his chest before remarking, "Damn kid, you've lost weight. You probably weigh less than Rukia."
Ichigo grunted but didn't say anything, settling for resting his head more firmly on Renji's chest and closing his eyes, clearly done talking. I shrugged and headed outside with Renji and Ichigo close behind me. We thanked Urahara-san and walked through the Senkaimon.
By the time we reached Seireitei Ichigo was already fast asleep in Renji's arms. I giggled softly, making sure not to wake the slumbering teenager. "You two look so cute together. I wish I had my camera; I'd take a picture. It's so rare to see both of you so close and not trying to kill each other."
A red tint spread across his face, "Shut up, Rukia. We don't always try to kill each other."
I snorted and rolled my eyes but let the subject drop. "Come on, Renji, let's get going. I'm sure Unohana-taichou is waiting for us."
Renji nodded his head and together, he and I flash-stepped all the way to the fourth, being very careful of our fragile package.
Unohana-taichou was waiting for us outside of the division four barracks. When we got close enough to see her face the smile that was normally spread across her face was nowhere to be found, instead, a small frown played across her lips that made her forehead crinkle. "Oh dear," She said walking up to put a gentle hand on Ichigo's forehead. "He does not look well at all." She tenderly took Ichigo from Renji's arms and situated him in her own. "I'll take him and see if I can find out what's wrong with him. You two need to go check in with your captains right now and I will send word when you can visit him. I'm sure Ukitake will want to know what you know about Ichigo, Rukia-san."
I bowed, "Hai, Unohana-taichou. Thank you for doing this."
"Kurosaki-kun means a great deal to a lot of people. I'm happy to do this, though I wish there wasn't a need." She nodded to Renji and I before walking into the building with the slumbering Ichigo held tightly to her chest.
With a final bow Renji and I parted ways, returning to our respective captains.
AN: Thank you to everyone who reviewed—it means a lot to me. Please continue to review so I know what you are thinking of it. The more you review the faster I update. :)