Act II

"Uryuu, you really are making some impressive improvement," Dr. Anji congratulated Uryuu. "You normally don't stay lucid much longer after you hear one of their voices. I'm glad that you are finally at least making an effort to stay with us."

Uryuu looked back at the doctor and for the first time that he had found himself in this world felt that he really did belong there. "Where is my father?" he asked Anji.

"He's here. He usually will come to our sessions, remember Uryuu? He's just waiting until I invite him."

Ishida shook his head, "No, I don't remember. I still can't believe that he cares enough to be here at all."

Anji smiled slightly at Uryuu and pushed a button on his phone. "You can send Ryuken in now, nurse," he said. A moment later Uryuu's father entered the room.

"Hello, Uryuu. I hear you're feeling a little better today."

"Your son is making some progress today, Ryuken. You should be very proud."

He looked at Uryuu and smiled. "I am always proud of my son."

Ishida stared back at him in wonder. "You… You are?"

"Of course," he replied and came over and sat in the chair beside Uryuu. He reached out and took one of his son's hands and told him earnestly. "You are my son; how could I not be proud of who you are."

"That," Anji said. "I believe is the crux of our problem."

Uryuu looked back at the doctor, wondering what he was talking about. "Uryuu, I think that you are not proud of yourself. That is why you keep retreating to this other world of yours. It is a world where you have super powers and are surrounded with friends that have similar powers."

"But, it's so real…" he muttered.

"Of course it is," the doctor told him. "It's a world where everything that you have lacked in this life comes true. You are surrounded by friends that care for you and need you."

"I… I'm not here?"

His father clasped his hand that he was still holding a little tighter and said, "You've a few friends, but you were always too shy to make any real connections. I fear that might be my fault…"

"Ryuken," the doctor said. "We've talked about this…"

"Yes, of course doctor. I can't take the blame…"

Uryuu looked between the two of them and shook his head. "I don't understand. Why would I create all of those things? So many horrible things have happened to me there…"

"But you always come out on top, do you not?" the doctor asks. "A great delusion is one where there is strife that you are able to over come. How about we go back to the root of our problem. Tell me, Uryuu, what you remember of your grandfather's death."

Uryuu swallowed and looked at his father. He had never talked to his father about Soken's death. He always felt that his father didn't really care or just plain didn't want to hear about it.

"Go on, Uryuu. You've told it all before, remember?"

He didn't but he started to talk anyway. "We… we had been out in the woods and… and a group of hollows attacked us."

He looked up at the doctor. Anji just stared back at him, waiting for him to continue. "He told me to run and I did, but I didn't go far. I hid behind a tree and watched him fight them off. I wanted to help, but I was too afraid…"

"Go on, Uryuu," Anji said as Ishida paused again.

"The Shinigami didn't show up until… until after he was already dead. I… I watched the hollows murder him in front of me and I could do anything about it."

The doctor nodded and then stood up from behind his desk and walked around it to sit at the edge in front of Ishida. "Uryuu, that is very close to what happened. Of all of your delusions, this one is the closest to being true. Do you want to hear what really happened that day?"

Uryuu just stared up at the doctor not sure what he wanted anymore. "You were out with your grandfather, but you weren't in the woods, you were walking down the street. You had taken a wrong turn and wound up in a dead end alley."

As the doctor talked, Uryuu could almost picture it. The vision of the woods and the alley overlaid onto each other. "It was then that a gang of delinquents jumped out and attacked you. They were after your grandfather's money."

In his mind, the hollows were suddenly young men wearing white ski masks.

"He told you to run. The men didn't care about you because you hadn't seen their faces and you didn't have any money. You ran a short ways, but hid behind a dumpster and watched. Soken had tried to fight them off, but they had knives…"

Suddenly, the memory of the hollow's claws and talons piercing his grandfather became that of knives in the thugs' hands.

"Uryuu…" his father said softly to him. "You have blamed yourself all this time, but it wasn't your fault. You would have been killed too if you had tried to stop them and I couldn't have survived if I had lost both of you."

Uryuu looked up at his dad. He had tears in his eyes like he did that day. He could still see the hollow attack in his mind, but now the vision of the thugs was there too, fighting for dominance.

The doctor continued a little further. "The cops showed up then, just a little too late to save your grandfather, but they did catch those men responsible. It is much like those Shinigami in your vision that killed the hollows, but was too late to save him."

Uryuu couldn't handle this anymore. That day had been the lowest point in his life and now he was hearing that it wasn't even how he had remembered it. And then, to hear his father finally admit to grief over the situation, was too much to stand. He began to dissolve into sobs as he thought about how much he had wanted to hear his father tell him that it hadn't been his fault and that he was glad that he had survived.

His father pulled his son into an embrace and held him as he cried. "Uryuu, I know how much it hurts. I loved him very much too. Please son, let this go so that I don't have to keep losing you as well."

"You loved him…?" Uryuu muttered through his sobs.

"Of course I did," his father said as he lifted his son off of his chest and looked down at him. "He was my father and a great man."

"This is another part of his delusion, Ryuken," the doctor said. "He had to make you out to be some kind of uncaring monster so that he wouldn't have a reason to come back to the real world. You are the only thing in his life that he regrets leaving behind."

Uryuu blinked back eyes full of tears as he stared at the doctor. "You mean, he really does care?"

"Uryuu!" his father said. "Of course I care. I have always cared about you. I love you, son."

Uryuu felt numb as he felt his father pull him into another embrace. His father had never told him before that he loved him… or had he? Was this actually the way things were supposed to be? Or was this the delusion?

"I think that's enough for now," Anji said. "Uryuu, you should get some rest now…"

XXX

"Urahara!" Ichigo yelled as he approached the shop. He was carrying an unresponsive Ishida on his back. "Oi! Urahara!" he called again. Suddenly Urahara was at the entrance to the shop.

"Oh my," he said as he saw Ichigo carrying Ishida on his back. He hurried out and lifted the Quincy off of Ichigo's back. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Ichigo panted. "I went over to his place because he didn't show up for school today and found him like this. I couldn't get him to snap out of it."

"Oh dear," Urahara said as he turned and carried Ishida into the shop. "Let's see what we can do."

He brought the young man in and to one of the back rooms where he laid him out on a mat. Ichigo followed behind, face full of concern. He couldn't help but blame himself for this. He was the one that had drove Ishida away the day before. He had known that the Quincy was having problems. He never should have snapped like that.

Urahara knelt beside the Quincy and held his hands over his chest and forehead. Ichigo sat down in a corner and watched as Urahara's hands began to glow with a green light. It seemed like the shopkeeper remained like this forever as Ichigo waited impatiently.

Finally, Urahara sighed and sat back. "So?" Ichigo asked. "What's happening? Why can't we wake him?"

Urahara turned around and face Ichigo. "He's not asleep. He's completely catatonic… at least, to us. His mind is very active but he can't see or hear anything outside of himself."

"So what do we do?"

Urahara shook his head. "I don't know. Not yet, at least. There is something causing this but I can't determine what it is yet. When I do, I'll have a better idea of how to proceed." He stood up then and started to leave the room.

"Wait!" Ichigo exclaimed as he jumped up and grabbed Urahara's wrist. "You mean there's nothing that we can do for him? That's not good enough!"

"I am sorry, Kurosaki-san. But that is all that I can tell you right now. Maybe you should get a hold of Inoue and Sado-san. You have been able to bring him out of this before. It would be helpful if we could talk to him, even if it is just for a few minutes."

Ichigo stared at Urahara a moment and then nodded, "I'll get them. You just work on a solution to this."

XXX

He loves me… Uryuu thought as he sat alone in his small gray room. He was sitting on the bed with his legs pulled up to his chest. He said he loves me…

He began to wonder if maybe this world was actually the world where he had everything he wanted. Maybe he had friends and power in the other reality, but here he had his father's love and pride. That was something that he could never acquire in the other reality.

But what is real? Ishida wondered. It didn't matter which world he liked better. He needed to know which one was real. Still, this one seemed to make far more sense. It seemed more logical that he was the one that was crazy rather than the other world where everything was always trying to kill him and those of Karakura.

It was far more likely that he had made up the existence of hollows and Shinigami and Quincy as a way to escape inside his mind with wild adventures rather than any of that being real. But what was real?

"Ishida-san…" a voice was speaking to him again. He wanted to ignore it. He knew that if he listened to the voice, it would pull him back into the other reality. Right now, he didn't like what he had left over there. He had been responsible for a friend's injury. His best friend was furious with him. He might not ever be willing to forgive him for such a betrayal.

Uryuu bent over his legs and hugged them to his chest a little tighter.

"Ishida-san…" the voice called again. It was Urahara's voice this time but it sounded a little different than the other voices had. This one felt like it was speaking directly into his mind rather than a distant call.

But the voice went away after a while just like Kurosaki's had. He had successfully ignored that other world, but was that what he should be doing?

XXX

Ichigo got a hold of both Chad and Inoue and they quickly gathered at the shop. "How is he, Kurosaki-kun?" Inoue asked when she arrived.

"He's still out of it. I can't seem to call him back this time," Ichigo said. "Urahara thinks that maybe you and Chad might have better luck," he frowned as he spoke. "I can't say that I blame him for wanting to avoid me now."

"Kurosaki-kun…" Inoue started but Ichigo cut her off.

"No, I shouldn't have been so hard on him yesterday. I lost my temper and now I can't help him."

Chad showed up then and Ichigo quickly explained everything again before leading them both back to the room where Ishida was lying. He was still lying on the mat staring blankly at the ceiling.

"Ishida-kun?" Inoue said as she came over to kneel beside him. "Ishida-kun, please wake up. You're scaring us." Her eyes began to fill with tears as she stared at his unresponsive face.

"Ishida," Chad called. "I'm all right. I don't blame you for yesterday."

"Please, Ishida-kun…" Inoue said again. "Come back to us."

XXX

Uryuu woke up in his bed in the gray room. He heard the voices again. It was Inoue and Chad this time. The sound of the sorrow in Inoue's voice was so acute that he almost wanted to respond to her. But then the memory of what his father had said yesterday came back to him.

"No," he muttered as he sat up in bed. "No, I know what I want now." He stood up and walked over to the door and knocked on it.

"Hello? Is anyone out there?" he called. "Hello?"

The sound of keys in the lock reached him and he took a step back. Sado stepped into the room then and asked, "Ishida-san, is something wrong?"

Uryuu had to shake off a moment of nostalgia as he thought about the voice that had just called to him. But he shook his head, telling himself that that was just his delusion, this was the real Sado in front of him. "I want to see Dr. Anji and my father," he said. "I don't want to be here any more. I want to remember who I am."

Sado smiled at him and said, "I'll get the doctor right away." He quickly left, locking the door again behind him.

Uryuu went and sat on the edge of his bed and waited. Suddenly the voices were louder than ever.

"Ishida-kun!"

"Oi! Ishida!"

"Ishida!"

Suddenly he found it difficult to breathe and his head began to swim. "ISHIDA-KUN!"

With a shuddering breath, he was suddenly looking up at a tearful Inoue through her rejection field. "Ishida-kun!" she exclaimed as he blinked up at her. Her face broke into an ecstatic grin. "You came back!"

"Ishida!" Ichigo cried as his head appeared beside Inoue's. "Welcome back."

Inoue dismissed her fairies and then reached down and gripped his arm. "Ishida-kun, we were so worried about you."

"In…Inoue…" he muttered. "No… No, what happened. I… I didn't want…"

Chad was suddenly standing over them. "I brought Urahara-san," he said.

The ex-Shinigami was gently prying Inoue's grip off of the Quincy and kneeling beside him now. "Ishida-san. What happened? What did you see?" he asked urgently.

Ishida sat up and moved away from all of them. "No," he said. "I don't want to be here. Let me go back."

"Ishida-kun?" Inoue asked. "Go back where?"

"I was getting better," he told them. "If I got better I could go home. I could be with my father again."

Urahara reached out gently and put a hand on Ishida's shoulder. "Ishida-san, that wasn't real. This is where you belong."

"No!" he exclaimed as he violently shrugged the hand form his shoulder. "This… This is the lie…" he looked wildly from hurt face to hurt face. "Isn't it?" he asked in a pleading voice.

"This is real, Ishida," Ichigo said firmly. "This is where you belong, with your friends that care for you. Not with your father that rejects you."

"Friends…?" he said and looked at Ichigo and then Chad and finally Inoue. "I got you both hurt," he told Inoue and Chad. "And you hate me," he told Ichigo.

Ichigo winced and then shook his head. "No, I was angry, but I shouldn't have been. It wasn't your fault. Something is doing this to you."

"Ishida-san, listen to me," Urahara said urgently. "I don't know how to stop it yet, but you have to fight this. I think that it's some kind of virus. You will slip back into that hallucination again, probably not long from now, but you have to fight against it. I can find a cure, but if you give up on reality completely, I don't think I will be able to bring you back. Do you understand?"

Ishida stared at him wide eyes. "A virus?"

Urahara nodded. "Yes, I have a pretty good idea who gave it to you too."

"Who… who would do something like this?" Ishida asked. He was surprised how quickly his resolve to stay in the other world was evaporating now that he was there and was hearing an explanation for what was happening.

"Mayuri," Urahara said. "This is just his style. He probably wanted to study the physiological effects on a human… possibly specifically a Quincy."

"Captain Kurotsuchi?" Ichigo asked. "When could he have infected him?"

Ishida suddenly remembered what the mad captain had said about making improvements when he had healed him. "Hueco Mundo…" he breathed.

Urahara nodded, "That's right, Ishida-san. Now, please, try to hang on, all right? I promise I will find the cure, but you have to keep fighting."

"I… I don't know…" he muttered.

"Please," Inoue said. "Please, Ishida-kun. Don't leave us, ok?"

He looked at her and saw the large tears that were spilled from her eyes. He hated to see her cry and knowing that he was the one causing her this pain was too much. But was she even real?

He wanted to tell her that he would fight for her, but he heard other voices calling to him again. It was his father. But not the one from this side, the one that he wanted to be with.

"Uryuu, I know you can hear me."

He blinked and was looking into his father's face again. "Dad!" he exclaimed.

"Uryuu, you came back!" His father said as he pulled his son into an embrace. "I heard what you had told Sado and I came over. I was so happy and then to find you catatonic again… I thought I had lost you for good this time."

"Dad… wait… I need to know…" he pushed him away reluctantly. "I want to stay here, I do. But I need to know what is real."

Anji, who had been standing behind Ryuken as he hugged his son, stepped forward now and spoke. "Uryuu, you are making a big step just by asking that question. You've never asked that before."

"I haven't?" he said.

"No. The fact that you are wondering it means that you are finally at a point where you could let go of your delusions."

"But how do I know?" he asked. "How do I know what is real?"

"Don't you want this to be real?" His father asked.

"I do," Uryuu said quickly.

Anji nodded. "But you don't want to choose the delusion and be trapped in a world that isn't real, whether it's what you want or not. Correct?"

Uyruu nodded.

"Good," Anji said. "That's good. You're beginning to think again Uryuu. Tell me something, when you are in your world, how do you explain what you have seen here?"

"Urahara-san told me that I've been infected with a virus that is causing the hallucinations."

"A virus can't do something like this, Uryuu," his father was quick to tell his son. "I'm a doctor, I know that."

Uryuu shook his head, "No human virus, but this one was made by Kurotsuchi. A mad Shinigami scientist."

"Kurotsuchi!" Ryuken exclaimed. "Not him again!"

"No, Ryuken," Anji said as he reached out and touched Ryuken's shoulder to calm him down. "This is good. Revisiting a past villain at a time like this means the delusion is breaking down."

"What are you talking about?" Uryuu asked.

"You've fought Kurotsuchi before, haven't you Uryuu?"

He nodded.

"He was the one that your mind put all of the blame on for the death of Soken, correct?"

Uryuu nodded again. "He made sure that the hollows killed him so that he could experiment on his soul."

His father cringed, but didn't say anything.

"That's right. You needed someone to blame; someone that you could personally punish for what happened. That's why your mind invented Kurotsuchi. You needed someone other than yourself to blame. He was the manifestation of your own guilt, Uryuu."

"He… no, I fought him. I nearly killed him…" he started to argue.

"But you didn't and then he recently became an ally, didn't he?"

"To an extent…" Uryuu said but Anji cut him off.

"He helped you when you went over into the hollow world and you even allowed him to help you. I think that's when you first began to let go of your guilt, Uryuu."

Uryuu shook his head. "But that's when Urahara-san thinks that he infected me."

"Urahara…" Ryuken muttered. "The candy shop owner?"

"Yes," Uryuu said rather surprised. "You know him?"

Anji spoke up, "You've spoke of him before. I believe your father said that he owned a candy shop downtown that your grandfather used to take you to. That's where you were headed on that day, Uryuu."

His father nodded, "He's the one that heard the commotion and called the cops. He probably saved your life, son."

Uryuu shook his head. This was just too much to process. He remembered the night that Urahara had found him, bleeding to death in the rain. But now he thought that he could remember him finding him hiding behind the dumpster and taking him away from the thugs.

"I… I don't know…"

"Uryuu, please…" his father pleaded. "What sounds more real? This fantasy world where fantasy viruses are causing you to hallucinate this world; or the real, normal world where you have been psychologically scared from a horrific incident?"

"I don't know…" Uryuu muttered. "I don't know…"

XXX

"I don't know…"

"It's all right, Ishida," Ichigo's voice said as a hand came to rest on his shoulder. "Hang in there a while longer, all right?"

He looked up and met Ichigo's eyes. "Kurosaki…" he muttered. "I don't know what is real anymore," he said desperately.

"I know, Ishida. Just hold onto this. This is where you belong."

"Kurosaki…" he swallowed and looked around and saw that he and Ichigo were the only ones in the dimly lit room. It looked like it was night time again. "I'm so scared."

Ichigo couldn't believe what he was hearing. Ishida was admitting to fear. Not only that, he looked like he was terrified. "Ishida…" Ichigo said and then reached out for his friend. He couldn't stand to see him so defeated and frightened like that. Ishida just sat there as Ichigo pulled him into a hug.

"Ishida, I think I understand why you are so frightened," Ichigo said as he held the boy. "But you should know that seeing you afraid is the most terrifying thing that I have ever seen."

"Kurosaki…" Ishida said softly. He slowly reached his arms up and returned the hug. "Don't blame yourself, whatever happens. I know that you are truly my friend. I forgive you."

"Ishida…" Ichigo gasped as he started to pull back to look at his friend. But as he began to let go, he realized that the Quincy had gone limp. He caught him before he slumped over onto the floor. "Ishida!" he called, but it was no use, his friend had slipped away again.

XXX

"Uryuu!" his father was calling urgently to him.

"Dad…" he said when he could see him standing there, grasping his shoulders. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to go this time."

"It's all right, Uryuu," Anji said gently from behind his father.

Ishida looked up to see the doctor. He was standing there, waiting patiently for Ryuken to step aside. He looked back at his father's troubled eyes and said, "I'm fine now, dad. You can let go."

He looked surprised that he was still holding his son's arms and gently released his hold as he took a step back. "What happened, Uryuu?" he asked.

Uryuu shook his head and said, "I'm not sure. I just sat down and suddenly I was there again. I spoke with Kurosaki for a moment and told him that I forgive him. I knew I couldn't just tell him goodbye without him flipping out, but I at least feel a little better about leaving him now."

"This is good, Uryuu," Dr. Anji said. "It's good that you are starting to let go. But what you need to realize is that these people aren't real. You are worried about the feelings of a fictional character."

Uryuu shook his head, "They might not be real, but they are real to me. I don't think I can let them go without some kind of closure."

Anji smiled at him. "I am very glad to hear you say that, Uryuu."

"You mean this, son?" his father asked. "You really mean to finally stay with us?"

Uryuu hesitated a moment and then nodded. "Yes, this is where I belong."

XXX

"Damn it!" Ichigo cursed as he paced back and forth in front of Urahara. "He was here. No one called him back this time, he just return; but I let him slip away again!"

Urahara sighed and said, "I am sorry, Kurosaki-san. But the more I study this virus, the more I find how very insidious it is. It buries itself deep inside the mind, and begins by altering the chemicals of the brain to make it more susceptible to believe untrue things."

"So he really could be convinced that his hallucinations are the real thing?" Ichigo asked in surprise.

Urahara nodded, "I'm afraid so. After it has altered the mind, it begins to attack the memory centers of the brain. I think that it triggers hallucinations based on thoughts and memories of the individual and the combination Ishida's imagination and dreams and external influences are fueling his hallucinations. I think that whatever he is seeing inside his mind is made up of things that he wishes for in this world and his own logical mind is making the situation plausible."

"Damn it," Ichigo cursed again. "Can't you do anything about this!"

Urahara shook his head. "Right now, I can't. I have tried everything that I can think of and nothing affects this virus enough to eradicate it. It is made up of an interesting combination of Reishi and Kishi particles. It is both of this world and the spirit world and nothing I throw at it from either world is enough to destroy it."

Ichigo stopped his pacing and face Urahara, "So what do we do!" he yelled.

"I believe the only thing that can be done at this point is to contact the one that made this virus."

"You mean Kurotsuchi," Ichigo said darkly as he clenched his fists.

Urahara nodded. "The more I study this virus, the more I am convinced that it one of his creations."

"All right," Ichigo said with determination. "When can you open a gate for me to go get him?"

Urahara stood up and said flatly, "No. You are not going this time, Kurosaki-san."

Ichigo's mouth dropped open in stunned surprise. "What… What do you mean?"

"You are not going as you are now to face Mayuri. If your powers were to give out on you when you faced him, you would be dead in a matter of moments. As it is, he has enough tricks up his sleeve that he could possibly even get the better of you even if you were at full strength."

"So what the hell are we to do!" Ichigo cried. He waved his hand back towards the room where Ishida was lying. "He's slipping away from us. I am not going to just sit by as we lose him to virus and his own delusions!"

"No, you are not," Urahara said calmly in the face of Ichigo's temper. "You are going to sit by and continue to try and keep him from giving into those delusions while I go to Soul Soceity."

Ichigo was left stunned a second time at Urahara's proclamation. "You… you're going to go to Soul Society?"

"Yes," Urahara said as he picked up his cane and started to head for the hatch that led into his underground training area. "You and the others need to stay here and keep an eye on Ishida-san. I will try to be quick."

"But… Urahara-san," Ichigo tried to argue.

"Relax, Ichigo," Urahara told him. "I know what I am doing. Remember, I was the one who taught most of those dirty tricks to Mayuri-kun and I have a plan."

"No," Ichigo said. "I'm not worried about that. I know that you can more than likely take care of him. But I thought you were banished from Soul Society. Won't it be an issue with you suddenly appearing there?"

Urahara laughed slightly. "This is far from the first time that I have sneaked back in, Ichigo. That is the least of my worries for this trip." He reached down and opened up the hatch and began to descend the steps. "Now, please do your best to convince our friend which side of reality he belongs on whenever you can. If he makes the decision to remain in his delusions, I'm not sure if a cure will be able to bring him out of it."

Ichigo nodded, "I understand. But, Urahara…"

Urahara paused again in his descent and looked up at Ichigo and said, "Yes, I know. You don't like staying behind. But trust me, this is the best way."

Ichigo sighed and then nodded. Urahara continued his descent again and was soon out of view. Ichigo stood there a moment longer before he sighed again and closed the hatch. He then walked back to the room where Ishida was still unconscious.

XXX

No matter how hard Ichigo tried, he could not get Ishida to come back around for him. He was seriously beginning to worry that they might have already lost him to the hallucinations. When morning came around again, Chad showed up to take over for Ichigo. They had decided that they would each take turns sitting with the Quincy until they had the cure.

Ichigo quickly explained to Chad what Urahara had told him that night. "If he wakes up," Ichigo said. "We have to convince him that this is reality."

Chad nodded and said, "Understood. Now, go get some sleep, Ichigo."

Ichigo hesitated a moment and then nodded, "You're right. But I think I'll just go lie down in the next room if you need me."

Chad nodded and then took a seat beside the Quincy while Ichigo went to get some sleep. The teen sat there quietly as he watched Ishida lying there. His eyes were still open and staring blankly at the ceiling above him. If it wasn't for the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest, Chad would have suspected that he was dead.

"Ishida," Chad said softly after a while. "What are you seeing, Ishida?"

Chad was a little startled to see Ishida's eyes blink once, but there was no other sign that the Quincy was coming around. "Ishida?" Chad asked as he put a hand out and touched his shoulder.

Ishida blinked again and slowly turned his head towards Chad. "Sado…" he said softly. His voice came out slightly graveled as if from disuse. He seemed a little surprised at the sound of his own voice but he slowly sat up dismissing it.

"Ishida!" Chad gasped as he reached out and helped the Quincy to sit up.

"Sado, where did Kurosaki go?" Ishida asked as he looked around the empty room.

"He's sleeping in the next room," Chad explained.

Ishida nodded, "That's good…" he said.

"Ishida, you've been out of it even longer this time," Chad said. "Urahara said that the virus is trying to convince your mind that your hallucinations are real."

Ishida nodded slowly. "Yes, I know. You all want me to keep believing that this is reality, correct?"

Chad was a little taken aback by Ishida's detached tone. Ichigo had told him how scared he had seemed only the night before. Now he seemed as if he were still half asleep and nothing was really reaching him. "Ishida… this is reality," Chad started to explain.

"Oh, I know that," the Quincy said as he faced Chad. He looked at the young man for a moment before he said, "Sado, I am truly sorry for getting you hurt before."

Chad shook his head, "It wasn't a problem, Ishida. It wasn't your fault."

Ishida nodded slowly, "I know that, but if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have been hurt. Thank you, Sado. You have always looked out for me."

Chad felt rather confused at the turn this conversation was taking. "Ishida, are you all right?" Chad asked as he reached out to touch the Quincy's forehead.

Ishida pulled back from Chad's touch at first and then seemed to change his mind. He sat still as Chad put a hand against his forehead and then removed it. "You see, Sado," Ishida said. "I am fine. I am sorry that I am making you worry."

"You don't seem to be yourself, Ishida," Chad told him. "You have to believe that this is real. If you don't you might never come out of it again."

Ishida nodded, "I understand, Sado, and I intend on staying in reality."

Suddenly his eyes began to glaze over again as he began to slump over lifelessly. "Ishida!" Chad called out as he grabbed the Quincy. He held him a moment and called his name again, hoping to pull him back before he slipped too far away.

Suddenly Ichigo burst into the room. "What is it!" he demanded.

Chad was lowering the Quincy back onto the mat by then. "He came around again for a minute," Chad explained.

"He did?" Ichigo said as he walked into the room. "What did he say? Was he still frightened?"

Chad shook his head as he gently covered Ishida up with the covers again and said, "No. He seemed detached more than anything."

He quickly explained the whole conversation to Ichigo. Ichigo didn't look very happy about it. "Something is wrong," he said as he stared down at Ishida again.

"Damn it, Quincy," Ichigo muttered. "You're slipping away from us, aren't you?"

XXX

"So, Uryuu?" Dr. Anji asked as Uryuu blinked and came back around again. He was sitting on the edge of his bed just like when he had left a moment ago at the sound of Chad's voice.

"I told him that I am sorry for getting him hurt and thanked him for always helping me," Uryuu explained.

"That was your version of Sado?" his father asked.

Uryuu nodded.

Dr. Anji smile and said. "You are doing very well, Uryuu. That just leaves one left in that world you should need to let go."

Uryuu nodded again. "Yes, Inoue-san…" he said. He felt a little hesitant as he thought about it. He wasn't sure how he was going to say goodbye to her without actually saying goodbye. He was worried that she was going to be the one to realize what he was up to and he wasn't sure if he could maintain his resolve if she pressed him. He always hated to see her upset.

"I think that you have done enough for now, Uryuu," the doctor said as if sensing his reluctance. "Too much at once could put undue stress on you. How about we pick this up again in the morning?"

Uryuu nodded and said, "Yes. I think that would be easier."

"Uryuu," his father said as he stepped forward again. He knelt down in front of his son and gently took a hold of Uryuu's head in his hands. "I am so proud of you."

Uryuu could feel the slight prickle of tears behind his eyes at his father's words and sincere tone. He couldn't think of anyway to respond to his father.

After a moment, Ryuken leaned forward and kissed his son on the top of his head before standing and then walking to the door. "I'll see you again in the morning, Uryuu."

He nodded, "Good night, dad," he replied.

His father left then and Anji filed out close behind him. Uryuu sat on the edge of his bed for a moment before he climbed up it and lay down, looking up at the plain gray ceiling. "This is real…" he muttered to himself as he slowly allowed his eyes to close.

XXX

It was early evening when Inoue showed up again at the shop to begin her watch. Chad met her and explained everything that she had missed. She looked particularly troubled at what Ishida had said to both Ichigo and Chad, but didn't say anything. Chad had sent Ichigo to his own house to be with his family for dinner and he was going to go and lie down in the next room for now.

Inoue took a spot sitting beside Ishida then. It wasn't long before she started to talk to him as if he was completely aware of her presence. "Ishida-kun, I thought you might be interested in what you missed at school today." She pulled out a few books and started to rattle off some of the days lessons. Every now and then she would look up and saw that he was still unresponsive, but she would always press on as if he wasn't.

After a little while she switched from school work to just talking about her day. She told him about how Chizuru had grabbed her again that morning and the bloody nose that Tatsuki had given her because of it. She told him what she had had for lunch and went into detail about the interesting combinations of food that she had come up with to bring with her.

Finally, she started to talk about her fears. "Ishida-kun, I am very worried about you," she said softly. "Sado-kun told me what you said to him and Kurosaki-kun. I don't know if they have realized it or not, but it sounds to me like you were trying to say goodbye to them."

Ishida continued to stare blankly up at the ceiling. Inoue pressed on. "I hope that I am wrong, Ishida-kun. I don't think that I could stand it if you gave up on us. You know that we are never going to give up on you, Ishida-kun."

Finally, Ishida blinked and then looked at her for the first time that day. "Inoue-san," he said to her.

"Ishida-kun!" she exclaimed. "You've had us so worried!"

"I know," he told her. He didn't seem like he wanted to bother with sitting up this time. He simply turned his head and continued to stare straight above him. "I could hear what you were saying, Inoue-san."

Inoue swallowed, not sure if she wanted to hear him say that. "Ishida-kun… why didn't you answer me?" she asked quietly.

He was silent a while. For a moment, Inoue feared that he had slipped away again. But he sighed and then started talking again. "I was afraid," he finally said. "I knew that you would figure out what was going on and I was afraid that you would break my resolve."

Inoue was silent a moment. Ishida finally turned his head and looked at her. She had a large tear rolling down the side of her face as she stared down at him. "It's true then," she said as she tried to keep the waver out of her voice. "You have been saying goodbye. You mean to leave us, don't you?"

He turned on his side and started to reach up to her, "Inoue-san…"

"No!" She cried as she jumped up. "No. I won't let you!" she said as tears began to spill freely from her eyes. "You want to say goodbye to us so you can let us go easier. But I won't let you say goodbye!"

Suddenly Chad burst into the room, "Inoue-san!" he called but then stopped and froze in the doorway when he caught sight of the scene in front of him. Inoue was standing over Ishida with tears streaming down her face while he looked up at her with grief written in his expression.

"Inoue-san…" Ishida breathed.

"I told you no!" she snapped. "I won't believe it. I can't believe it! The Ishida-kun I know would never give up like this. You are giving in to what would be easier and have given up on discovering what is real."

"In…Inoue-san…" Chad said in confusion as he came further into the room.

Ishida suddenly noticed his presence and looked up at him. He met Chad's eyes for a moment and then quickly looked back at Inoue. "Please, Inoue-san…" he started.

She shook her head violently causing her hair to wave around her. "I won't give in Ishida-kun. I am not going to make this easy for you. If you do this I… I will never forgive you!"

He stared at her for a moment before he suddenly went limp again and collapsed against the mat.

"Inoue-san," Chad said again as he came up behind her wondering what had just happened.

"Oh Sado-kun!" she suddenly wailed and turned around. She buried her head into his chest as he awkwardly reached out and wrapped an arm around her. "He's leaving us…" she muttered into his chest. "Ishida-kun has been saying goodbye to us without actually saying it, hoping that we wouldn't try and talk him out of it."

Chad's eyes suddenly became large as he looked down at Ishida over Inoue's head. He knew that the Quincy had been acting funny the last time they had talked but he hadn't suspected that he was trying to say goodbye to them.

"Oi!" they distantly heard Ichigo's voice outside. "How's it go…" he poked his head in and saw Inoue still clinging to Chad as she cried. He looked past the two and saw Ishida crumpled over as if he were a Marinette puppet with his strings cut.

"What the hell happened?" he demanded as he marched into the room.

Inoue pulled away from Chad and looked up at Ichigo. She sniffed and then wiped the tears off of her face with a hand. After a moment she steadied herself and explained everything in as calm a tone as she could muster.

As she spoke, Ichigo became visibly more and more upset. Finally, when she finished, he said in a soft but intense voice, "You two go."

"Kurosaki-kun…" Inoue said, fearing what Ichigo was going to do in this state.

"I promise not to hurt him, Inoue," Ichigo said. "But please, leave now."

The two hesitated a moment before they slowly turned and left Ichigo alone with the disconnected Ishida. Ichigo stood still in the center of the room for a while staring at his friend. His fists were clenched tight and his jaw locked as he took deep breaths.

Finally he released his jaw and spoke to Ishida. "How could you, you damn Quincy?" he asked his softly. "How could you possibly stand to make her cry like that?"

He walked forward and then knelt down beside Ishida. He reached down and picked the boy up off of the floor and the laid him back down on the mat. "Ishida," Ichigo said to him once he was lying on his back again. "I can't believe that you would have thought that you could give up on us like that, Quincy."

There was a slight twitch in Ishida's face but that was all the reaction that Ichigo received. "So, you can still hear me then…" Ichigo said.

He sat back and stared down at Ishida a moment again. "What is it that you have created in there, Ishida? What is so great inside your mind that you have decided to abandon your friends? What is it that you are willing to sacrifice reality to hold on to… Uryuu?"

There was another slight twitch in the Quincy's expression.

"You are logical, Uryuu," Ichigo continued. "Far more bright and logical than I am. So how is it that I can see that you have given up on determining what is real and what isn't and have simply chosen the better place and you can't see that? Because I know that if you realized this, then there is no way that you would have made such a rash decision."

"Leave me alone, Kurosaki…" Ishida breathed without a change in his expression.

"No!" Ichigo snapped at him. "You saw it, didn't you? You saw the pain that you caused Inoue. There is no way that I can let you get away with that."

Ishida sighed and then turned his head to meet Ichigo's eyes. "How can I hurt someone who isn't real?" he asked.

"Bullshit!" Ichigo snapped as he slammed his hand down beside Ishida's head. "That is utter Bullshit and you know it! If you truly believed that none of us existed then you wouldn't be talking to me now!"

"Kurosaki…"

"No, Ishida! I had thought that you were the strongest person that I know, but clearly I was very wrong. How could you give up on us? How could you even give up on finding out the truth? A bright new world comes along that is made up of things that you have wanted and suddenly you don't even care which world is real!"

"What would you choose, Kurosaki?" Ishida asked. "If you were shown a world that everything that you had wanted and was just as plausible as the world you knew, what would you choose?"

"I don't know," Ichigo said softly. But he quickly chimed back in, "But I do know that I would first make damn sure that I was choosing the real one before I made my decision. Is that what you have done?"

Ishida stared at him a long while before he slowly turned his head and returned to staring up at the ceiling. "Leave me alone, Kurosaki. I don't want to listen to you anymore."

Ichigo didn't know what to do. It was clear that Ishida was not going to listen to him anymore. "Inoue is right," he said as he stood up and looked at Ishida as he started to drift away again. "You are unforgivable."

He turned on his heel then and left the Quincy lying alone in the darkened room as he finally completely slipped back into his head.