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No Escape

Chapter 14

Kon heard Rukia scream, the tortured squeal of crushing metal and glass, followed by her silence.

Panic made his voice crack. "Rukia?!" he shouted into the phone. "Rukia? Are you okay?"

There was no answer, but he could hear the sound of screeching tires and realized she'd been in a car accident.

Fear congealed in his stomach as he screamed her name again. He had no idea where she was, but he was already on his way to his car to go find her, keeping the phone pressed to his ear for any signs that she was okay.

Dear God, please let her be okay!

Kon had just shut the car door when he heard voices on the other end of the line. "Miss?" said a man in a concerned tone.

Someone groaned, and he prayed it was Rukia. At least if it was her, she was still alive.

"An ambulance is on the way," said the man. "Don't try to move."

Kon's tires squealed as he sped down the street toward her school. Maybe she was on her way home and he'd see the accident along the way.

"Can you hear me?" he shouted into the phone.

"Kon?" came Rukia's voice from far away.

A loud scratching noise filled the phone before the man spoke into it. "You know this woman?" he asked.

"Her name is Rukia Kuchiki. Where are you?"

"Highway sixty-five, just south of forty-four. Don't try to come here, though. Highway's jammed."

There was no way Kon was just going to sit around and wait to see if she was okay.

"Kon?" It was Rukia, though she sounded groggy.

"I'm here."

"I'm fine. Just a little shaken up."

Relief made him shake hard enough that he had to pull his car over or risk having his own wreck. "You don't sound fine."

"I am."

Kon heard sirens in the background.

"I think I'm going to need you to come get me as soon as we're finished with the accident report. My car is... totaled."

But she was still alive. That's all that mattered. She was safe.

"Sure. Just tell me where."

"I'll call soon," she said loud enough to be heard over the wail of sirens. "Don't worry."

The line went dead and Kon didn't move. He couldn't. He'd almost lost the best thing in his life, and all it took was a split second. Rukia would be gone and he'd be on his own again. No mom. No Rukia. Nothing.

He couldn't let that happen. Not again.

A tap on his car window made him jump. He looked up, and Ririn was standing there with the sun lighting her blond hair.

Kon blinked, sure it was just another trick of his overactive imagination. When she didn't go away, Kon rolled the window down.

"Hey Kon," she greeted with a smile so sweet it made his chest ache beneath the hammering of his heart.

"What are you doing here?" he asked because nothing suave or cool leapt to mind.

"I live in that house." She pointed to the beautifully landscaped two-story house across the street from where his car sat. "I saw you pull up and just sit here. Are you okay?"

He wasn't, but he also wasn't about to admit it to the girl of his dreams. He wiped his face, checking for any trace of tears. When they came away wet, he knew his humiliation was complete. There was one girl in the world he wanted, and she had to be the one who saw him cry like a baby. Just his fucking luck.

"Kon?" she said, sounding more concerned by the moment. "What happened."

Might as well tell her and get it over with. "My foster mom was in a wreck."

"Oh, God! Is she okay?"

"I don't know. I mean, I talked to her for a minute, but she sounded bad. She asked me to pick her up." He ran his hands through his hair, not able to look Ririn in the eye. He didn't want to see her disgust for his weakness, or worse yet, her pity.

"You shouldn't drive right now. You're shaking. Let me do it for you, okay?"

Kon looked up in shock. She was offering to help him? After she'd seen him cry? "Why?" he asked, sounding distrustful even to his own ears.

She smiled a little, and Kon was such a bastard he forgot all about Rukia for a moment. All there was in the world was Ririn's smile and his pounding heart.

"Why not?" she asked. "Move over while I run and get my purse and leave a note for Mom."

Kon's brain still hadn't quite wrapped itself around the idea that he was about to be in the same car with Ririn. It seemed too good to be true, especially on the heels of the day he'd had. "I don't even know where we're going yet."

"That's okay," she assured him. "We can just drive around for a while until we do."

"Don't you have more important things to do?"

"More important than making sure you don't crash your car, too? I don't think so. Now stop stalling and let's go!"

As Kon slid over into the passenger seat, he realized she was right. Rukia did need him now, more than ever. He was just glad that he had somebody special by his side through all of this drama.

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

Ichigo's patience was at an end. After three hours, he was just about to do something drastic, and likely regrettable, to get out of the fucking police station, when Renji came back into the interrogation room.

"Colonel Urahara vouched for you. Kira is satisfied that you had nothing to do with those previous deaths," said Renji.

"Thank God," said Ichigo, nearly wilting with relief. He was going crazy trapped in here with Rukia and Momo out there in danger.

"Since all of the deaths were connected to Aizen, I suggested that Kira create a list of his family members. He had a big family and some of them were a bit... odd. There are a lot of possible suspects there."

"At least that's something. Is he going to let us know if any of those people lead anywhere?"

"You need to let him do his job and keep out of it. In fact, you should just leave town and be on your way. The police can handle this."

"I'm not leaving or letting my guard down until the killer is behind bars and I know Rukia and Kon are safe."

Renji's phone rang and he checked the caller ID. "Speak of the devil," he said to Ichigo, then into the phone, "Hi, Rukia! I thought you were coming down here. Where are you?"

Ichigo watched as Renji's face lost all its color. "Okay. Ichigo is with me. We're on our way." He listened for a moment and replied, "I don't care. We're coming anyway."

"What?" demanded Ichigo as Renji hung up.

"Rukia was in a car accident. She's in the hospital."

A bellow of denial erupted from Ichigo's chest as fear and rage swept through him. "Where?"

"I know the way. You can follow me in your car."

Ichigo was already heading down the hallway before Renji finished speaking.

AN

I'm sorry, but if there's one thing I love more than jealous Ichigo, it's definitely concerned Ichigo. More of that next chapter. Which is now. I just had to keep going. Another two-fer! Review and keep going!