LC333: My Ichiruki writing muse is in full force lately. R & R? Oh, and happy birthday, Berry!

Chapter Fifteen

It had taken four tries in the ambulance before his heart started to beat again. His left arm had been broken, a rib punctured, damage to some of his organs. He hadn't woken up since the accident.

I sat in the waiting room, impatiently pacing in a circle in front of a window. I had called Isshin as soon as the ambulance I was in had managed to hold Ichigo's pulse. Because I wasn't family, I wasn't allowed to go see Yuzu and Karin. Ichigo was admitted into surgery for his injuries. I had to wait for Isshin-san to arrive. It was one of the worst phone calls I've made.

"Miss Kuchiki?"

I stopped in the middle of my tenth round of pacing. "Yes?" I asked, trying to focus on the person speaking to me.

He had long white hair, fair skin, and green eyes. He had a small note pad and pen in hand. Beside him was a man with a straw hat, brown eyes. He had facial hair and his long brown hair was tied into a low pony tail.

"Ukitake Jushiro." The man with white hair smiled warmly.

"Kyoraku Shunsui." He tilted his hat in greeting.

"We're with the Karakura Police Department." Ukitake explained.

"Oh." This is where things were going to get messy. Part of being a vampire involved leaving no trace behind. Had Ka- him not seen me in the car, he would have struck again. The first hit was only fatal to Ichigo. He would have aimed again for his sisters.

"We wanted to ask you about the crash." Kyoraku added.

I nodded.

If I told the truth about Kaien, Ichigo would run the risk of being caught. Some parts of the accident couldn't be explained in a natural way to humans.

"Tell us what happened."

"We had finished shopping and one of Ichigo's sisters mentioned she was hungry. We were on our way to order a pizza when the car was hit. We rolled over, Ichigo and his sisters were hurt."

Ukitake wrote quickly on the notepad.

"You were hit?" Kyorako asked.

I nodded.

"Hit by…?"

"Rukia!"

I turned to Isshin's voice. He was outside, running to the window. "How are they?"

"Ichigo's in surgery. I'm not sure about Yuzu and Karin; they wouldn't tell me anything."

He ran in the direction of the waiting room entrance.

"Looks like we'll have to discuss this at a later time." Jushiro spoke. He placed the notepad into his coat pocket and took out a white card. "We'll keep in touch."

I looked at the card and nodded.

They turned and passed by a frantic Isshin, who ran straight for the information desk, pulling my arm and dragging me with him. "I'm the father of Kurosaki Ichigo, Kurosaki Karin, and Kurosaki Yuzu."

"Kurosaki Ichigo is currently in surgery. Kurosaki Yuzu is in room 103, Kurosaki Karin will be transferred there after x-rays. Just enter the doors and take a right-Sir!"

Isshin ran through the doors, my heels skidding on the ground. He didn't stop until he tore the door off and saw Yuzu.

She had some bandages tied around her arms. She didn't have many injuries like her siblings.

Yuzu smiled, fatigue in her features. "Tou-san, Ruki-nee."

"YUZU!" Isshin ran over and hugged her tightly.

"Tou-san, you're-squeezing-me."

"My little Yuzu! What happened to you? Your brother! I need to have a talk with him! Not being able to take care of my precious daughters! MASAKI! THANK YOU FOR PROTECTING OUR FAMILY FROM THE GREAT BEYOND!"

Yuzu looked over at me, still smothered in Isshin's arms. "Are you hurt, Ruki-nee?"

I shook my head. "Just some scratches." I touched the band aides on my face. They were more for show than injury. The nurses couldn't believe those were the only injuries I sustained, telling me how lucky I was. "How are you?"

"I have to stay up in case I have a concussion." Yuzu motioned to her bandages. "Some cuts and scrapes, bruised muscles. Nothing too serious."

The door opened again, Karin had crutches in her lap. She was wheeled in by a nurse and a doctor.

"Karin!" Yuzu exclaimed. Isshin ran and hugged Karin.

"Are you the girls' father?" The doctor smiled warmly at Isshin with her gray eyes. She had a heart shaped face. Her hair was done in a braid that fell down her torso.

"Yes," he bowed, "Kurosaki Isshin."

"Unohana Retsu."

The nurse wheeled Karin near the other hospital bed. She used the crutches to stand up and maneuvered herself to the mattress.

"How are they?" Isshin asked.

"The girls are fine. Karin has to keep her cast on for three months, and Yuzu might have a concussion."

"And Ichi-nii?" Karin asked.

Unohana's expression was somber. "He'll be in the operating room for three more hours. His ribs are broken as well as his left arm. There was some damage to his internal organs."

"Will he make it?" Yuzu asked tearfully.

Unohana sighed. "We have to see how he is after the surgery to know."

Yuzu nodded, her face filled with concern.

Unohana bowed, the nurse and her leaving.

Once the door closed, Yuzu hopped out of bed and ran into Karin's, hugging her carefully but tightly.

Isshin sat in a chair next to the bed, asking the girls questions.

I slid into the restroom that was in the room and locked the door.

It was surreal to be going through this again.

The police was involved, two adorable girls were hurt, and Ichigo was between life and death.

That was three days ago.

Ichigo had improved, but he hadn't woken up.

Since then Nii-sama had checked in on me. Yuzu was helping Karin adjust walking with crutches, spending nights in Ichigo's room, waiting for him to wake up.

"How is he?"

I looked over at Isshin-san as he walked into the room.

"He hasn't woken up yet." I looked over at him.

"And the girls?" I asked.

"Getting some sandwiches. I told them I'd take them home but they didn't want to."

He sat in the chair beside me. I leaned slightly away.

"What is it?" he asked.

I wrapped my arms around myself. "I changed Ichigo's life."

Isshin smiled. "My boy needed a change."

I shook my head quickly. "No. Not if I ruined it."

Isshin frowned. "Rukia-chan-"

"You know what I did." I interrupted.

He looked at me with a heavy gaze. "Yes."

I looked back at Ichigo.

Ichigo was wrapped in some bandages, an IV was in his arm. His face was slightly flushed, breathing still slightly labored but was improving. The machine tracking his heart rate was beeping steadily.

"This isn't the way I wanted to tell him." I whispered.

"Sometimes life makes the decision for you." Isshin rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "There's nothing you can do about it, Rukia-chan," he patted the top of my head.

I was surprised. "You're not mad?"

Isshin shook his head. "I prefer this than the alternative."

I smiled at him. I'm glad we're on the same page. What I should be worried about is how Ichigo was going to react. Had he known from the beginning, it would be a different story. Now, I don't know.

"How long will it take for him to wake up?"

I watched the rise and fall of Ichigo's chest. Ichigo's arm was finished mending, the bones had been placed back about five hours after he was admitted into the hospital. His left rib was still healing, if not almost done, mending with the aid of vampire blood that was spreading through his body.

"Somewhere between a day to a week, depending." Depending on how bad the injuries are. I looked back at the heart monitor.

"It's rigged." Isshin scratched his chin.

"Rigged?" I asked.

He nodded. "An acquaintance of mine is the hospital director. He's… in the same line of work as Ichigo and I."

"So the heartbeats on the monitor are fake?"

"Not at the moment." Isshin responded. "Once his heart…" Stops. He skimmed over the word, but it was easy to know. "…The machine will continue on as if nothing has changed."

The monitor was in sync with Ichigo's heart.

"Isshin-san."

He looked over at me.

"Can I ask you a favor?"

"Ask away."

I frowned, uncertain how to phrase my question. "When he wakes up, can I speak to him before he sees anyone else?"

Isshin raised an eyebrow at me.

"I know I don't have the right to ask you this but I need to speak to Ichigo about this. When he wakes up, everything would be different to him."

I looked again at Ichigo. He would be disoriented when he woke up. He would see everything differently, there would be more definition than before. If he had vision problems, he wouldn't any more. Ichigo would feel thirst for everyone around him. His hearing would be the best it's ever been. And that's when he would hear the hearts of everyone else beating around him. He would notice the absence of his heartbeat.

"You're going to tell him so soon?"

"I have to tell him something." He deserves to know. I have to ease him into the truth.

"Ease him into it, Rukia-chan." He sighed.

I nodded. How do I start this story for Ichigo?

"Have the detectives spoken to you?" Isshin asked.

I slipped my hand over my jean pocket and tapped on the card Ukitake had given me. It was in my pocket since the last time I saw him.

I had to speak to Ichigo first before anyone else.

"Not yet."

"Rukia," Isshin spoke attentively, "did you see who it was?"

Yes. My old 'friend' tried to kill your family.

"He looked like Ichigo. He had black hair, blue eyes." I could still see Kaien run off and leave us there to die. "His name is Kaien."

Isshin raised an eyebrow at me. "Kaien? You know him?"

I nodded. "We were friends. He and I lost touch for a while. He found me in Karakura."

Isshin's gaze was unwavering. "What was his last name?"

I raised an eyebrow. Interesting question. "His last name was Shiba."

His countenance was didn't change, but his eyes did. Isshin's eyes were sad and filled with disbelief.

"Isshin-san?" I asked.

He brushed it off, rising from his seat. "I need to take a walk." He opened the door and turned to me, a goofy grin on his face. "I'm leaving his care to you."

I saw him walk out of the door, his pace increasing when he stepped out into the hall.

I looked back at Ichigo. His breathing was finally even. The flush in his face was starting to ebb.

With him being in the hospital, his health would be tracked until he was discharged. His body would heal faster than ever expected and that would lead to some serious questions. As Ichigo approached the end of the conversion, his blood tests would read differently.

I reached out and touched his hand. I could feel his body temperature start to cool slightly. It was almost finished.

"This was the only way."

His heart began to slow again.

"How do I explain this to you?" I asked.

His heart began to slow, the monitor continuing at normal pace.

"I promise I'll answer any questions you have."

The monitor beeped evenly.

"You'll have the support of everyone."

His heart stopped.

"Ichigo."

His hand twitched, his face at peace.

The only sound in the room was the heart monitor.

"I'm sor-"

"Rukia."

I looked up. His eyes opened slowly, his amber eyes a warming sight.

I smiled at him, trying to keep myself from shedding tears. He gave me a small smirk, the edges of his lips firmly in place to keep him from giving a full smile.

"Yo."