Edited: 29/11. Sorry about the mistakes, I'm trying to finish this fic asap so I can start a new one. Stay tuned!

Ichigo's POV

Two weeks had passed since the whole incident. I was finally able to walk around by my own feet because the damage my head took wasn't so severe. Luckily my arm wasn't broken either but I shouldn't strain it much. I was walking through the corridors in the first floor of the hospital until something colourful caught my eye. An old woman was selling very colourful plastic flowers as a gift for patients I guess. It made sense they were fake ones in case anyone was allergic. I approached her, seeing she was smaller than me when I stood in front of her.

"Good morning young man," the woman greeted me. "Can I help you?"

I shook my head. I only wanted to give the flowers a closer look. There were a lot of colours… I saw a white one next to an orange one and I sighed. They reminded me of me and Shiro but no one was permitted to visit him yet. I tried to ask the doctor about his condition but I could not talk and he didn't understand me when I tried with sign language.

I was still devastated.

"Here." I shook my head as the old woman took the flowers in her hands. "You can have them." I shook my head because I had no money to pay her. She giggled and pushed the flowers towards my chest. "Come on, take them." I smiled at this woman and she smiled back. "You look like you need some more colour in your world right now. I hope these flowers help a little."

I stared at her, surprised by her words. Honestly, old people are so wise. I thanked the woman by bowing my head and she waved me good bye. I walked through the corridors once again until I found the elevator. Getting inside, I pressed the button to the fifth floor and waited. I got down in that floor and started looking at the numbers on the rooms doors. 513… 514… 515. There it was. Room 515. The door was closed unfortunately. I had hoped that I could visit my boyfriend already. I sighed. I went to sit on the chairs in front of the rooms but there was already someone there. It was a tall guy with shining blue eyes and an incredible blue shade of hair. Wait, blue? Where have I seen this guy before?

My eyes fell first in a picture lying flat on the living room's table. Picking it up carefully, I stared at it. The photo showed two boys, one was Shiro and the other was a taller guy with blue hair. And I had thought my hair had a strange shade of colour!

"That's my stepbrother" The pale teen explained as he took the picture gently from my hands to put it face-down again where it was. "We lived at the same orphanage when we were kids and later we were adopted by the same family."

Ah! Now I remembered, it was Shiro's stepbrother. I guess he had come to visit him as well. I glared at him and he noticed my stare because he glared back and frowned.

"What?" He asked angrily. I fidgeted under his gaze. What was up with him? "What do ya' want?" He sounded so much like Shirosaki…

I took a deep breathe. I had to talk to him… Somehow. I had to tell him I was there for Shiro as well. I broke visual contact with him to stare at the closed door again.

"Are ya' 'ere to visit Shi?" I nodded. "Are ya' a friend or something? Ya' look in bad shape yerself." It had been two weeks but I still wasn't fully recovered. Sleeping had been a hard task and the long sleeved shirt I was wearing looked even bigger and baggier than the last time I wore it. I finally sat in the chair next to him, flowers in hand. I had nothing else to do but sit there everyday since I was able to stand up. Minutes ticked by in silence, only the soft murmurs of doctors could be heard through the empty corridor. That until the guy next to me yawned loudly and stretched his arms. "Ya' don't seem to be the talkative type." He suddenly said.

I stared at him. "Are ya' mute by any casual?" I felt like I should nod but at the same time I wanted to say no. Still, it was hard to talk around anyone that wasn't Shirosaki. I had been silent for two weeks and it was killing me a little. I really wanted to talk to Shiro. Deciding that there was no way I would find the willpower to talk to a stranger, eventually I nodded in response. "Oh… Ya' must be Berry-tan then." I frowned at the nickname. Someone told him about me…? He smirked. "'M just teasing ya'. Ichigo, right?" I rolled my eyes. "Urahara told me 'bout ya'."

I arched an eyebrow towards him, inquiring him to explain that part. He knew Urahara too? I had never heard of this guy before and I almost knew every usual customer. I stared at him until he continued. "Yeah, I came to this town just some days ago to visit my brother but I didn't expect him to be here ya' know." I felt a pang of guilt in my chest from his words. It was my entire fault he was there in the first place… I grabbed the hem of my shirt and played with it between my fingers nervously. "I hate hospitals and I was unable to see him so I went for a walk around the town. I've been thinking to stay here for a long time so with nothin' else to do, I looked around for a job. That's when I came across Urahara's shop." Ah yes, Urahara had been looking for someone for quite sometime now but he hadn't found anyone of his liking. "He seemed to like me and showed me around. Also he told me 'bout an orange haired kid that usually visited him. He told me a bit 'bout ya'."

So that was what happened. I guessed Urahara left out the part where I and Shiro were going out. No need for this guy to know to be honest but since he was Shiro's brother… I guess Urahara didn't tell him about Shiro visiting him either for the sign language classes. Silence fell upon us since the guy did have nothing else to say. I would have liked to at least know his name but he seemed to have forgotten that part. It was all silent again until the door from the room was opened. We both stood up at the same time at the mere sound of the door opening. A doctor came out from it, glaring instantly at us. I had seen that doctor around my room as well… Maybe he was taking care of our case since we were brought together.

"Well hello Kurosaki-kun, how are you doing?" I shrugged my shoulders. "And you are?" He asked referring to the blue haired guy.

"Grimmjow, Shiro's brother." The doctor nodded flipping through some papers he had on his hands.

"Ah yes, we contacted you. May I speak to you in private?" The doctor opened the door of the room again and let Grimmjow inside while throwing me an apologetic look, knowing I had wanted to visit Shiro.

I had no idea how long they were inside the room. I could hear nothing and it felt like hours until a nurse passed by to come and retrieve me to my room. I shook my head no, looking down to the flowers in my hands. I wanted to wait and see if Grimmjow could tell me at least a little bit of Shiro's condition. It was eating me inside to not know. I couldn't sleep at nights because of it. Usually a nurse would have to sedate me in order to make me rest. The nurse tried to get me to stand up and follow her back to my room but yet again I refused. She was about to repeat the same thing but then door was opened, interrupting her. First Grimmjow came out, then the doctor. He glared at the nurse, like asking her why I was still sitting there. Then the doctor sighed. I looked at Grimmjow. He looked tense, a frown on his face and his fists closed so tightly his knuckles were turning white. I had to swallow a bad feeling down my throat.

"Kurosaki-kun, " The doctor called. "I see you are not going back until you see Shirosaki, am I correct?" I nodded. "I guess I can make an exception but only five minutes, understood?" I stood up and nodded. He accompanied me inside and closed the door behind us.

I felt my heart break a little the instant my eyes fell on Shiro. He still looked sickly pale. The echo of the heart monitor thrummed in my ears like it was the loudest sound ever. He had all type of IVs connected to him. The picture I was seeing felt like it came from one of my worst nightmares. I almost dropped the flowers, but I managed to grip them tightly and then leave them near the window. They were fake but they looked good there anyway. The doctor stood by the door as I walked through the room before I sat next to my boyfriend. I caressed his right hand and I felt tears running down my face. I felt like I was slowly drowning in a sea of despair, so far into it I had no way to emerge from it. My chest was constricted so tightly I thought my heart would stop beating right there. And it might had if the doctor hadn't talked right at that moment.

"Time is up, Kurosaki-kun. Let's get you back to your room." He said putting a hand on one of my shaking shoulders. I didn't want to leave Shiro's side… It hurt so much I was feeling dizzy. "You need to rest as well."

I finally nodded and got up. I followed the doctor outside the room and I released a breath I didn't know I was holding. Grimmiow was still sitting outside the room with his elbows resting on his legs and his head on his hands. He seemed to be deep in thought until I approached him. A nurse came back to retrieve the doctor and he excused himself; he had to go to attend something important. That left me more time to stay beside Grimmjow. They were brothers after all… he must have been hurting as well.

"I came back to town to apologize to my brother…" He suddenly said. I sat next to him and stared at the bedroom's door I crossed a few minutes ago. Thinking that Shiro was inside made my chest tighten painfully again. "I've been such a shitty big brother since my parents died… I never apologized for what I did to him." I diverted my attention from the door and looked at Grimmjow. He had a neutral expression on his face bordering in what seemed like a frown but his eyes told me he was deeply sorry about whatever he did. "I hope he found a bit of happiness when he moved here."

I put a hand on his shoulder and he looked towards me a little bit surprised. I nodded my head and he looked relieved some seconds later when he understood my message. "He did? Lucky bastard." He snickered. I managed to smile if only a little.

I guessed Shiro and me… We healed each other's wounds. Just spending time with the other seemed to be enough, at least for me. I found myself silently crying again, tears streaming down my cheeks and I couldn't help it. The guy sitting next to me didn't cry but I could feel sadness waving from him. A soul that prays for forgiveness…

And a soul that prays for something to be returned.

x.x.x.x

Grimmjow said he would come and visit me tomorrow because we couldn't visit Shiro yet. I nodded and waved goodbye to him with my hand. He ruffled my hair and muttered a low 'stay strong Berry' before disappearing down the corridor. I couldn't be mad at the nickname that time. I turned around in the other direction to head towards my room when I heard a nurse say something that caught my attention. I didn't double the corner and stayed there to listen to what she had to say.

"What is your diagnosis about that patient, doctor? Shirosaki Ogichi, I mean." There was a pause in which I felt my heart beat unusually fast. I clenched my shirt over my chest. "By these tests…"

"It's hard to tell." The doctor answered with a sigh. My eyes were already wide open. "He might not make it."

When I heard those words, my heart sank. More like it shattered and then it sank to the pitch of my stomach. I clenched my jaw tight, fighting to not scream and cry right there. I ran away.

I heard nurses scream behind me as I passed by them, trying to stop me or yelling to me stop running in the corridors. I couldn't stop. I didn't know where I was heading towards but everything was so blurry by tears and dizziness that I couldn't see straight. I noticed I ran out from the hospital when the cold rain hit my skin, drenching me in it instantly. I felt the cold cruel drops fall in my skin like ice daggers. I fell to my knees, exhausted. I stared at the wet concrete, unable to think of anything that wasn't the doctor's words echoing cruelly in my mind. No amount of beatings I took from my dad could compare to the pain I was feeling right then.

I screamed. Let all my feelings out. I continued screaming until my throat became sore and the screams turned into harsh breaths and whimpers. I gripped my shirt over where my heart was with all the force I had at that moment that almost counted as nothing. It hurt so damn much. I couldn't bear with the thought of losing Shirosaki now.

"Kurosaki!" I heard someone scream my name but I couldn't distinguish their voice as my ears were ringing. Something was dropped into the floor before I felt like being embraced. "Hey are you okay? What are you doing out here?"

"It hurts… Why… Why are they trying to take him away…" I wasn't even sure if I said that out loud or not. I didn't care. I just wanted to hold Shiro again. Tell him how much I love him again and hear that he loved me back.

I just dreamt…

x.x.x.x

Another person's POV

I sighed for the umpteenth time that day. It wasn't usual in me to be like this but yesterday's events had left me so shaken. I was in my way to the hospital to give my father something he had forgotten at home –talking about unusual things-. It was raining and hard, I was even carrying my umbrella because of it. I was almost at the entrance when I saw someone kneeling not far from the main doors. I would have rushed to aid this person anyway but what caught my attention first was a colour. Orange. "Kurosaki!" I immediately recognised him. I dropped my umbrella and ran to him. He was screaming his throat raw, no doubt he was crying as well. I hugged him to keep him warm until a nurse heard the commotion and stepped outside.

"Hey are you okay? What are you doing here?" By the clothes he was wearing I could tell he was a patient at the hospital. So that was why he hasn't been coming to school the last two weeks… What made my eyes widen more so was when I heard him talk. It was barely audible with the rain falling so hard and his voice sounding so rash.

"It hurts… Why… Why are they trying to take him away…"

He dropped unconscious right after that. As best as I could I dragged Kurosaki inside and immediately nurses came rushing to me. I told them to carry him back to his room and to change his clothes before he could get worse. They nodded and carried the unconscious boy away. I sighed deeply as I took a handkerchief from my pant's pocket to clean the droplets from my glasses. It was soaked as well. I sighed again. From the corner of my eye I could see my father walking towards me.

"What was all that commotion about, Uryu?" I adjusted my glasses to my nose and shook my head. I wasn't sure myself. I just found Kurosaki crying his soul out in the rain. I didn't even know how to react yet. "Anyway, did you bring what I told you to?"

I looked inside my backpack and hoped the papers didn't get soaked in the rain as well. Fortunately, they didn't and I gave them to my father. He took them and walked off away from me. Tch… As cold as always. I stared off the corridor and frowned. Why was Kurosaki hospitalized in the first place? I put fingers to my chin. Maybe it had to do with those bandages I've seen on him from time to time when he thought no one looked when his sleeves slipped back. Still what he said didn't make sense to me and… Wait.

Kurosaki had talked.

x.x.x.x

"WHAT?!" I put the palm of my hands over my ears as all my friends shouted the same response at the same time after some seconds of shock as I told them about Kurosaki talking yesterday.

"Are you sure you heard well?" Kuchiki-san exclaimed as her violet eyes were wide open in bewilderment.

"I'm absolutely sure though his voice wasn't above a whisper at the moment…"

"And where is he?" Inoue asked more calmly than our other female friend.

"He is hospitalized…" General gasp. "But I do not know for what reason he is there." I added before they could start asking.

"We have to go visit him!" Kuchiki said. Sado nodded in agreement. Everyone started talking about how they should meet up in the afternoon to go see Ichigo.

I noticed that while everyone was trying to came out with an hour for all of them to meet –I had to tell them that visits were permitted only two person at the same time…-; Abarai hadn't said a single thing about the topic but in his eyes I could see he was slightly worried. I understood everyone's worry but I didn't feel that visiting Ichigo right at that moment would be a wise thing to do. I voiced out my thoughts.

"What are you saying Ishida? Why wouldn't we visit him?" Rukia frowned. "Things has been rough between us and him but…"

"That's exactly why Kuchiki-san," I interrupted her. She clenched her teeth. "We've been neglecting him for a long time… He pushed us away but we did that to him as well. Think about how he would feel if we suddenly show worry for him after this long."

"We've been worried about him all this time…" She said the frustration evident in her voice. "But I understand what you say. He would be mad."

Everyone fell silent for the rest of the lunch hour. The atmosphere was tense between us, as if millions of things wanted to be said but no one did. It was then that for the first time since all this matter started that Abarai talked. "I think we should visit him only one per day."

Everyone stared at the red haired for some seconds before everyone nodded in agreement. It sounded like a good idea for all of us. We had to go slow on him. We didn't even know what happened for him to be in the hospital so we had to try to not mention or ask about it. If he wanted to tell us then we would hear him out. If he didn't we would support him. Losing him was tough for all of us, even for Abarai that acted like he hated Kurosaki. But Kurosaki was still our friend.

"Kurosaki-kun helped me a while ago… " Inoue said almost too quiet for us to hear. "I was having trouble with my biology tests but he lend me a hand and thanks to him I managed to pass. Kurosaki-kun didn't even need to talk to make me understand."

"He helped me too," Rukia nodded her head. "I had the bad habit of biting my nails out of nervousness so he would always approach me and tear open the straw plastic so I could drink my juice."

"Ichigo helped me with guitar lessons from time to time…" Sado added.

I guessed it was my turn to confess. I coughed and said as low as I could. "He brings me some sort of sweets when I have to over stay because of Student Council matters."

We fell silent after that, realization sinking in. Kurosaki had been still there, helping out with small things when we needed… And no one did something for him back. By the faces everyone made, we all felt guilty about this. I felt like we should apologize to Shirosaki-san as well, but I haven't seen him around. Did he move out again? Kurosaki and Shirosaki seemed to go along so well.

Everyone agreed that I should go first. I sweated nervously at this. Why me? Only because I was the first one that found him yesterday? I adjusted my glasses. It sounded logic to me but still… If I refused they would drag me there. I guess I had no other option.

x.x.x.x

I preferred to stay off the hospital as long as I could. It was a hard thing when my father worked there. That day I had to do it for a friend. I, Ishida Uryu, calling Kurosaki a friend. I sighed. There was a time where we would compete to see who got better scores –he was smarter than he let on-, but I guess things got complicated for him. We were enemies but we eventually considered ourselves friends. He insisted all the time since the competition that we were friends but I still denied it saying he was my enemy. Inside I considered him a friend too. I still do.

After asking the receptionist where Kurosaki's room was, I slowly walked there. I was feeling more nervous than I let see. I stopped in front of the door and after taking a deep breathe, I opened it. No one else was inside the room, just the figure sitting on the hospital bed.

"Kurosaki…?" I murmured closing the door behind me. He flinched at the sound of my voice and looked towards me. "Hey."

He was glaring at me confusedly, probably wondering why I was there, in his hospital room. "I found you yesterday," he still looked confused. "Out in the rain." I clarified.

Kurosaki opened his mouth and seconds later he closed it and nodded as a sign that he remembered some of it. I think he didn't recognize me that day. I sat down in a chair next to the bed and left a box on his legs. He eyed it curiously.

"It's a gift. Inoue-san thought you would like them." His hands got out from under the blanket and took the package between them, his fingers untangling the red bow on the top of the box. The fingers from his left hand were clumsier. Maybe he was hurt there.

Inside the box where chocolates of different shapes but they weren't random shapes. Although a little weird, they were our faces. All of us in the shape of a chocolate inside a box. His eyes widened in shock. He grabbed one, it was supposed to be Kuchiki-san but it looked more like one of her Chappy drawings… I almost gasped when I saw a single tear go down his cheek.

"Kurosaki?"

"I…" He tried to say something but the words got stuck in his throat. Still I appreciated the effort.

"Do you like them?" He nodded. What a relief. Then he gave me the brightest smile I've seen on him in a long time. Still he looked so sad… "Everyone is worried about you but we decided to visit you one a time, is it okay?"

Kurosaki nodded in response again. I was about to ask something else related to Shirosaki-san but then someone else entered the room. I turned my head to see a tall blue haired guy. And here I thought Kurosaki's hair was unbelievable. He looked surprised to see me sitting there but he didn't say a thing.

"Hey Berry, how are ya' doin'? I brought ya' some manga." The guy said dropping said manga next to the bed. Kurosaki faintly smiled probably as thanks. "Is this yer friend?"

Kurosaki blinked and then he glared over to me before nodding. For some reason that he confirmed that we were friends lifted a weight from my chest I didn't know it was there.

"I'm Grimmjow." The guy presented himself. "And ya'?"

"Ishida Uryu." We didn't exchange any more words that day after our introduction.

The Grimmjow guy and I were sitting next to Kurosaki while he eyed one of the manga's cover and bite down in one of the chocolates. He made a sound of appreciation. As a doctor's son I knew it wasn't wise to give a patient something as chocolate but Kurosaki seemed to need it. I still remembered it is his favourite food. Grimmjow didn't say anything about it though he tried to give a disapproving look… until he saw Kurosaki was highly appreciating it.

I talked to Ichigo about what things he had missed from classes and tried to comfort him telling him that I would try to make the others bring him the notes from the classes. Also I told him a little about how my role as the Student Council President was going. I had some fun stories to tell as well. He smiled a few times during them.

I looked at the hour from a clock hanging on the wall. Grimmjow had already left a while ago. It was getting late and I needed to get things done as well. "Sado will visit you tomorrow." Kurosaki nodded. I turned to leave but before I got to close the door something stopped me.

"I-Ishida…?" I froze at the sound of his voice. It sounded so mature after all these years... "T-thank you…"

"Don't thank me." I said feeling embarrassed about him talking to thank me out of a sudden. I tried to hid my eyes behind the shin of my glasses. "I'll see you next week." I added before closing the door behind me.

Everyone was up to a roll coaster if they planned on visiting Kurosaki…