Third Story – Time Stands Still
Rating – PG 13 (safe side thing...)
Summary – In one moment...everything can change
Note – Yes, this is indeed the story this collection was named for. You're very smart :)
Note 2 - Yes, this is a new Story Three. I decided to take down the old story because, well...I'm the author and I can do that XD
Kurosaki Ichigo dropped his head into his hands, his mind blissfully numb. He was still trying to comprehend exactly what had happened. It had been so fast...
Next to him, Kurosaki Isshin was talking to a doctor, looking grim. Ichigo tried to hear what they were saying, but their voice were low, and Ichigo didn't exactly care.
"Ichigo," he looked up, "I'm gonna head home, pick up Karin and Yuzu. You gonna be okay by yourself?"
Ichigo nodded and dropped his head back into his hands. "Yeah. I'll be fine"
"Ichi-nii!" Ichigo looked up from the book he was reading. Before he could stop himself, he groaned loudly.
"Nice to see you too, Ichigo," the girl standing with Yuzu laughed. It was their cousin, Yukiko. She was two years older than Ichigo, and a complete pain in the ass. Ichigo hated her
"Ichigo?" he looked up.
"Yukiko. What are you doing here?"
The older girl sighed as she sat down. "Just wanted to know how your friend was doing. Ichigo, is she...?"
Ichigo shook his head. "Damn Ichigo, I'm sorry. I just thought it would be fun to come for a visit. I didn't know I would cause so much trouble"
"Come on, at least pretend you're happy," Yukiko chirped as she bounced around Ichigo's room. Ichigo wasn't in the mood to pretend though. "Ooo, what's this?" she stooped down and grabbed something out from under Ichigo's bed. It was Kon. Ichigo's eyes widened, and he silently begged Kon to stay quiet. "Aaaaw!" Yukiko grinned, "How cute!"
Kon stayed mercifully silent, but Ichigo caught the stuffed lion's eyes drifting towards Yukiko's chest. Ichigo made a mental note to pummel later on. "Ichigo, I didn't know you still played with stuffed animals!"
Ichigo turned beet red. "I don't!"
"Kurosaki-kun?" Ichigo looked up. The doctor was looking down at him. Ichigo jumped up, adrenaline spreading through his body.
"Is she okay?"
The doctor looked grim. "I won't lie, it's not good. She lost a lot of blood, and to be honest, I'm amazed she's still alive. Her left wrist is broken, the bone in her right ankle is broken, and one of her ribs is broken as well. If and when she recovers, she's going to be in pain"
Ichigo ran a hand through his spiky orange hair. A little pain was a small price to pay for her life
"Thank God," Yukiko whispered, taking Ichigo's hand. He didn't reject the comfort
"Stop, stop!" Ichigo howled.
"Sat uncle!"
"No!"
Yukiko continued her merciless tickling, attacking every part of Ichigo she could reach. "Stop it!"
"Say uncle!"
Neither of them noticed the door open. "Ichigo, I-"
Ichigo's head jerked up, and he saw Kuchiki Rukia standing in the door, her eyes wide. And that was when he realized how easy it was to misinterpret the position he and Yukiko were in.
Ichigo shook like a leaf as he stared down at Rukia's small, battered form. She looked as if she had been thrown off a building. "Oh God," Ichigo whispered as he sat down in the chair next to Rukia's bed. It was scary, seeing Rukia look so...hurt, weak. "God...Rukia, you wait until you get better. I'm gonna kill you. What the hell were you thinking?"
He reached out and took her small, pale hand into his own large one. She didn't stir, even the slightest. Ichigo wished she'd move, even a little. Just enough to know she was really alive. The beep of the machine monitoring her heart, the word of a doctor, wasn't enough. He wanted to know for sure, he wanted her to open her eyes, wanted to see the vivid violet, wanted her to start yelling at him. That was the only way he'd believe she was truly okay.
"Rukia, wait!" but Rukia wasn't interested in waiting, apparently. But she kept running. She bolted downstairs and out the door. Ichigo took off after her, not even bothering to put his shoes on. He ran past Yuzu, who started to say something, but he didn't pay attention. "Rukia!"
She was already halfway down the street. "Shit," he swore furiously, "Rukia, hold a second, wait!"
If she heard him (and Ichigo was sure she had), she didn't pay attention. Ichigo was glad the street was empty; he must have looked like a real maniac, chasing her like that. "Rukia!"
She finally skidded to a halt. The problem? She was in the middle of an intersection
"Next time when I say wait, maybe you'll wait," Ichigo said, trying to laugh. His voice was choked with tears though. His grip on her hand grew tighter, and her finger twitched, just a little. Ichigo waited, his breath held, but she slept on. Probably under the influence of drugs, he decided. They'd probably given her something to keep her knocked out for a bit...
Ichigo heard the horn blare, so the car speeding down the street. Rukia saw and heard it all too late, she didn't have time to move...And Ichigo wasn't nearly close enough to push her away...
And for a moment, just before the collision, time stood still. Ichigo saw it all, the car inches from Rukia's small, unprotected body...and he was unable to move quicker, to do anything...
Time sped up again
"NO!"
The time between the moment before the car hit and Rukia was sprawled on the ground was a blind time. Ichigo could never recall seeing the car actually hit her. But the next thing Ichigo knew, Rukia was on the ground, a pool of blood was forming under her.
Ichigo darted forward, his breath caught in his throat. He was at her side in a instance, kneeling down next to her and and searching desperately for the wound. He didn't want to move her, afraid of hurting something, but he couldn't just sit there.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" the driver had jumped out of the car shouting apologies.
"Shut up!" Ichigo bellowed, "If you have a fucking cellphone then call an ambulance, you useless son of a bitch, or get out of here!"
The driver complied at once and fumbled as he dug a cellphone out of his pocket. Ichigo tried to push back his tears as he took Rukia's hand. "Rukia," he whispered desperately, "Rukia..."
Ichigo sighed as he reached out and pushed a strand of black hair out of Rukia's too pale face. "Why did you have to run out like that?" he muttered, "I know it looked bad but...jeez Rukia..." he took a deep breath, trying to get himself under control. "Don't leave me," he threatened, "Don't you dare leave me"
Rukia felt as if she were suspended in mid-air. She looked around, but there was nothing but darkness pressing in on all sides. It felt suffocating. She tried to speak, but quickly found that she couldn't.
How long she stayed in that space, floating, she never knew. But the next time she became aware of anything, she was on solid ground again. People were whispering around her, but she couldn't make out any words that were being said. She tried to open her eyes, but that involved too much work, and her body felt heavy. So instead she let the darkness consume her again.
"Will she be okay?" Inoue asked in a terrified voice. Ichigo had called her to let her know what had happened – she and Rukia were close, after all.
"The doctor said she'd be fine," Isshin said, his voice low and calm, very unlike him, "I know that's not much help until she actually wakes up..."
It had been almost twelve hours. Rukia hadn't woken up once. "She'll be okay," Yukiko said in a confident voice. No one bothered to question her on it. "Sorry about this, Ichigo," she went on, keeping her voice quiet, "I didn't realize my visit would cause something like this"
"It's all right," Ichigo muttered without taking his eyes off of Rukia. Yukiko smiled, then stooped down and wrapped her cousin into a tight hug. Before he could protest, she let go, gave Isshin a hug, then started out into the hall to say goodbye to Karin and Yuzu.
When she was gone, Inoue stepped up next to Ichigo. "I could try and heal her," the girl whispered so Isshin couldn't hear, "Not a lot, where I didn't see what actually happened, but enough. I can try when your father leaves, if you want"
Ichigo shook his head. "And how would we explain that?" he muttered back, "I mean, we could modify their memories, I suppose, but that's a lot of people to take care of. It wouldn't just be my family, but the doctors here too, it would get messy"
"Yeah, it would," Inoue agreed, looking down, "Sorry, I was just trying to help"
"I know you were, it's all right"
"We should get going," Isshin cut through the whispered conversation, "It's getting late. Orihime-san, do you want a ride home?"
Inoue shook her head, smiling. "No, it's a nice night, I think I'll walk. Bye Kurosaki-kun," she waved as she left. Isshin looked over at Ichigo, who's face was set.
"I'm not leaving"
Isshin looked as if he had expected that. "See you later then," he left with a small wave of his own. Ichigo didn't look away from Rukia. It was late, Isshin wasn't kidding, and Ichigo was tired. He laid his head on the bed next to Rukia, still holding her hand. He'd rest his eyes for just a second...
It was several hours later when a small groan brought Ichigo back to reality. He bolted up at once. "Whazzgoinon?" he asked, his voice thick with sleep. He looked over at Rukia. She was stirring. Ichigo's heart skipped a beat. "Rukia?"
Slowly, her eyes started to open. "Mmm...Ichi..." her breath caught in her throat, and she started coughing. Ichigo carefully slid a hand under her chest and sat her up a little, allowing her lungs to expand. She coughed a little more, then took a deep breath. Ichigo allowed relief to flow through him.
"Good. You're okay. 'Cause now I'm definitely going to kill you"
One Week Later...
Kuchiki Rukia pouted deeply as she flopped back onto the couch. "Quit pushing me," she grumbled as a certain orange-haired teen sat down next to her. Kurosaki Ichigo regarded her angrily.
"The doctor said don't move. So don't move"
"I'll move all I want, thank you," she started to stand up again, trying to work around the sling that her left arm was currently in. Before Ichigo could grab her though, she winced in pain and fell back, her hand holding her chest. Ichigo hated seeing her pain, but of course, he would never admit it. He wouldn't submit himself to such torture.
"Nice going, baka," Rukia scowled furiously as she glared at Ichigo, but didn't make any move to respond. Ichigo was glad. It was easier to keep her quiet when she didn't argue with him.
It had only been a week since the accident. Normally, the doctor had said, they would have kept her for much longer. But as there was nothing more to do then what had already been done, and Isshin had promised to take good care of her, she had been allowed to go home. They'd set up a temporary home for her on the couch, as there was no way she'd be able to climb the stairs on crutches. And she wasn't allowed to do anything – especially not when it was Ichigo's turn to take care of her, which came right after school.
"So she was your cousin?" Rukia filled the silence. Ichigo rolled his eyes.
"For the millionth time, yes," he grumbled, "You ran out because my cousin was trying to tickle me to death"
Rukia turned so that she was looking away from him. She didn't want him to see the tears that were welling up in her eyes. Didn't he understand what it looked like she had walked into?
Rukia cocked her eyebrow as she leaned against Ichigo's door, her hand on the knob. What the hell was going on in there? She took a chance and stepped in.
"Ichigo, I-"
And she froze, blinking a few times to make sure she really had the scene right. Ichigo was laying on his bed. There was a girl on top of him. Rukia wasn't imagining things.
"Shit," Ichigo pushed the girl away, "Rukia, what are you-"
But she didn't want to hear it. She whirled around and ran out.
"Rukia, wait!" she banged downstairs and out the door, ignoring Ichigo's persistent voice. She took off down the street. "Rukia!" his voice reached her again, "Hold a second, wait!"
She didn't even notice as she started to cross the street. Part of her didn't want to hear what his lame excuse was. But then again, part of her did. "Rukia!"
She skidded to a halt, barely noticing where she was. It wasn't until the horn blared and she looked around that she realized she was in the middle of the street. The last thing she remembered was hearing Ichigo yelling something. Then pain...and then the world went black
A large hand reached over and brushed away the tear Rukia didn't even notice had slipped. Ichigo had moved up right behind her, his left hand on her shoulder. His right one was caressing gently over her cheek. "What's up?" he muttered, "You in pain?"
Not the kind medicine can fix, she thought bitterly. "No Ichigo. I'm fine"
But he knew she wasn't. So he did something he didn't do often; careful not to jostle her left arm too much, he wrapped his arms around her small body. She was surprised for a second, but relaxed almost instantly, resting her head against Ichigo's chest. It was a small comfort, but something she needed.
Author's Note: Aw...the IchiRuki-ness...
