Disclaimer: Not mine
Chapter 6
Shinji snapped awake, hand on Sakanade, even as he tried to figure out what had woken him. He lay silently in the dark for several minutes until he heard it, a soft whimper, coming from beneath his bunk. He sat up and slipped out of the bed, dropping silently to the floor and turning on the lamp to see Ichigo curled into a ball on the bare mattress, eyes flicking beneath closed lids even as his breathing sped up. Nightmare. He almost reached out to wake him before kicking himself, that would be stupid, Ichigo didn't know him well enough to accept his presence that close when asleep.
"Ichigo," he called softly, not wanting to wake him too abruptly and risk him attacking instinctively. "Hey, wake up, it's just a dream." He winced as the kid actually whimpered, beginning to thrash a little. "Ichigo!" he raised his voice a bit and then looked over as Kensei appeared in the doorway, shaking his head at the other Visored, the last thing he wanted was to crowd the kid.
When he screamed Shinji knew he had to act and he reached out, gently gripping Ichigo's shoulder, expecting to be thrown off or attacked but instead Ichigo froze and then relaxed, shifting to move closer to where Shinji stood, shocking him.
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Kensei watched, just as surprised that Shinji hadn't been attacked for touching the kid while he was obviously suffering from a nightmare…or memory. Instead, his touch had calmed him…that didn't make sense. Seeing Ichigo now sleeping more peacefully he returned to his own room after letting those who had been woken by the scream that it had been handled.
It wasn't the first time their sleep had been disturbed by screaming and it wouldn't be the last. At least it hadn't been someone's Hollow breaking free and trying to take them over or go on a rampage. Those nights were the worst and always ended with someone needing medical aide.
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Ichigo felt a familiar presence, a hand on his shoulder, and blinked sluggishly, opening his eyes. "Shinji?" he rubbed his eyes, blinking up at the other Visored.
Shinji's answering grin seemed a little off, a bit slow. "You okay?"
Ichigo sat up and frowned, was he okay? And then he realised why he'd be asking that in the middle of the night. "Sorry," he muttered, looking away, ashamed.
"Hey, don't worry about it. We live in a warzone; everyone has nightmares of some sort. If ya wanna talk about it, I'll listen," he promised, patting the shoulder he'd still been holding.
Ichigo just shrugged slightly in answer. What could he really say?
"Alright, try to get some more sleep," he suggested, flicking off the lamp and getting back into bed.
Ichigo lay in the dark, arms beneath his head, feeling Shinji slip into sleep. He got up silently and dressed in the dark before slipping out and heading for the mess. He found what he needed and made up a warm milk with cinnamon, sitting at one of the long tables to drink it. If he was being followed whoever it was, was either very good or hadn't noticed him slip out.
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Yuzu flicked on the lights and began setting out what she needed to make breakfast, a half-asleep Karin on her heels to help. She frowned when she found a saucepan in the sink and then jumped, shrieking, as she spotted a hunched form at one of the tables. That jolted Karin fully awake, and she moved in front of Yuzu even as the person startled and their head jerked up. It was Ichigo…who they weren't meant to be alone with. She saw the mug in front of him and smelt the cinnamon. He'd come in and made himself a hot drink during the night and fallen asleep at the table?
"Sorry," he blurted, eyes wide as he saw them. He scrambled up, swaying briefly.
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Karin stared at the stranger… this had to be the new recruit, Ichigo, the mystery. How did anyone have hair that colour? "What are you doing in here?"
"I, uh, couldn't sleep." He picked up the mug and moved to put it in the sink, walking as far around them as he could. "Sorry, I'll go now." He backed away from them, practically running away, and Karin blinked in confusion before looking to her twin who watched him flee.
"I think he had a sister," Yuzu admitted softly, and Karin nodded.
"Come on, the hungry hoards will need feeding soon."
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Ichigo stopped beside a building, slipping down the side to sit on the ground, arms around his knees. This had been a mistake; he shouldn't have come. Seeing the twins…it hurt so much to have them look at him like a stranger and one that could be dangerous. He'd had nightmares all night of how the other Visored had died and he was thankful Shinji had woken him. But to see the girls so soon after… he forced himself to take a deep breath, he would not hyperventilate! But he could feel his breaths coming too fast, gasping, and then someone was there, someone familiar so he didn't fight, letting them pull him close, a hand rubbing his back even as a voice told him to breath with them.
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Shinji was looking around, desperately trying to find Ichigo, before anyone realised that he'd vanished. He was his responsibility and what a marvellous job he'd done so far. He'd checked the obvious places with no sign and was heading for the mess when he heard something. He turned between the buildings to see the huddled form and he approached slowly, only to hear the gasps for breath. He quickly moved to kneel, pulling Ichigo from his huddle and into his arms, making sure his head was against Shinji's chest even as he began rubbing the kids back.
"Come on Ichigo, breath with me. It's okay, you're safe," he kept repeating it, relieved as gradually Ichigo's breathing slowed to match his own. "That's it, just breath," he murmured, hand rubbing up and down his back even as he wondered what had caused this. He was just relieved the kid had allowed him to help again.
He looked up as he sensed someone watching to see Ryūken who motioned for him to come out. He gently eased Ichigo more upright only to see he was out cold. He picked him up and carried him out and to the hospital where the Quincy quickly began examining him.
"What happened?"
"Panic attack, I think. Found him curled up hyperventilating and he had nightmares," Shinji answered.
"Heartrate's elevated, oxygen's low," he murmured, setting a mask over Ichigo's face to help raise his levels quicker before taking a quick blood sample to check sugar levels, just in case. He too wished for a better lab to see just how this young man was related to Isshin and the girls because he had to be related with his looks.
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Isshin walked in and his eyes went wide even as he quickly joined them, talking quietly with Ryūken. He looked up at Shinji. "How much sleep did he get last night?"
Shinji shrugged. "Woke me around 1 and he went to bed after you left so about five hours? But I think he'd been having nightmares for a while."
The two doctors traded looks, sleep was great, but not when plagued by nightmares. He quickly began scanning Ichigo, finding nothing medically wrong. "Looks like it was a panic attack, but we'll keep him on the oxygen till he wakes to be safe. Let's let him sleep it off, if he didn't sleep a lot last night then he could use the rest," Isshin finally said, and they withdrew to let him sleep, letting Uryū and Orihime know he was in one of the rooms. Those two could defend themselves if necessary so there was no concern in leaving them alone with an unconscious Ichigo.
The three of them entered the mess and grabbed trays. Isshin frowned as he saw his daughters. "Did something happen?" he asked in concern and the girls traded looks before Karin sighed.
"We found the new guy…Ichigo in here when we arrived. He'd fallen asleep at a table after making a hot milk," she quickly explained. "He startled Yuzu and she kind of shrieked and woke him up."
"Did anything happen?" Shinji asked.
"He looked…panicked? He put his mug in the sink and practically ran from us. The whole time he kept as far from us as he could. We're not scary, are we?"
"Karin can be first thing," Isshin teased as he added that reaction to his mental file on the boy. Another piece of evidence pointing to him having had at least one sister in the past.
"Is he okay?" Yuzu asked, worried.
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"He's sleeping at the moment," Shinji answered, not wanting them to know he'd had a panic attack, obviously after seeing them.
Yuzu was too nice to want to worry like that. Had they done the right thing bringing Ichigo in, it seemed to be affecting his mental health in a very negative manner. They got their food and went to sit down and eat.
Sōsuke had agreed to let Shinji have several days in camp, unless he was truly needed on the battlefield, to help Ichigo adjust and to watch him. Not that he'd done a very good job at that so far. He had to do better going forward, but he also didn't want to crowd the kid and make him run off.
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Ichigo blinked to find himself staring up at a ceiling and he gasped, hand going to his face at the odd sensation there, only to find an oxygen mask. What? He yanked it off and sat up.
"Oh!"
He turned and there, staring at him with wide eyes…was a teenaged Orihime. "Sorry," he rasped out, not liking that look on her face, and she mustered a smile.
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Orihime forced herself to relax at the honest apology, holding out the glass she'd been carrying. "Here, oxygen dries your mouth out horribly."
"Thanks," Ichigo reached out to take it, their fingers brushing as he did so, and she blushed slightly. He drank it slowly, thankfully seeming to know better than to rush. "How did I get here?"
"Dr. Ishida didn't say before he left, just that we were to let you sleep as long as you wished. Oh! I'm sorry, I'm Inoue Orihime," she bowed slightly in greeting, surprised when he smiled slightly in return.
"Ichigo. It's nice to meet you Inoue-san." He shifted to sit on the edge of the bed, hands on his thighs, trying to appear less of a threat? "Are you training to be a doctor too?"
"Me? No…I was still in school before all this. But I have some healing ability so I help when I can."
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"Ah." Ichigo was surprised to hear that.
It was strange talking to her when she was so young, but it sounded like she had her fairies which was good, the familiar hairpins pinning back her hair. Though how had that happened without exposure to him? Maybe it hadn't been his presence that caused her powers in the first place, but everyone just assumed? They'd assumed that with Chad only to be wrong after all, he'd been a Fullbringer. He shook those thoughts off, none of it mattered anymore.
"Well, it was nice to meet you Inoue-san, I suppose I should find out what they want me to be doing every day." He slipped off the bed and put the mask he'd set beside him back into place when he saw the tank, turning it off so as not to waste any oxygen.
He then moved past her, out of the small treatment room, and then out of the hospital, thankful for the cool air outside. She wasn't as innocent as Orihime had been, even at her age, but she was a reminder of how badly he had failed the young woman he had known. He had never wanted any of them to get involved, but once her powers had emerged and Aizen targeted her, well there'd been no choice and she'd become a fierce fighter and excellent healer.
Ichigo looked around the base, not sure where to go and then he turned as he heard his name being called, unable to help smiling slightly as Mashiro waved to get his attention. He would not think of how she had died, he would just enjoy them all being alive and well here.
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Sōsuke watched as the orange head turned to where Mashiro was and then the young enigma walked over to join her. Isshin had reported the nightmares and panic attack and they made him even more curious about the boys' past and whether or not they had done the right thing in bringing him here. He'd read Isshin's initial report and while he still believed in patient confidentially, it was easy to see between the lines of what he had written…torture or experimentation was likely. If he was mentally unstable, they may have invited a ticking timebomb right into their base and he was responsible for everyone here.
He couldn't just kick the boy out though. Leaving him alone out there was not something that could be done. If the Gotei 13 got their hands on the boy, he would either be executed or handed over to Kurotsuchi or…handed back to him. If his old injuries truly were from experimentation then it had to have been at his hands. In that case, the question was – had Ichigo escaped…or been let go?
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Shinji watched as Ichigo sat with Mashiro and Love, listening to their stories attentively, and was relieved to see that the shadows beneath his eyes were lessening. After a week with them it seemed he may finally be getting enough sleep. There hadn't been another panic attack, thankfully, at least none that anyone had seen. He looked to be putting on weight as well, Yuzu's cooking was good for that. And he'd stopped looking at the twins like they terrified and saddened him.
"Hey Ichigo," he finally called and Ichigo looked over. "Sōsuke wants to meet ya," he answered the inquisitive look.
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Those words had Ichigo fighting down the urge to run, listening to the Old Man's soothing words to calm down. He nodded and stood, following Shinji, mentally repeating that this was not the mad god-wannabe he'd spent years trying to kill. He followed Shinji into the office where he'd met the man briefly on his arrival to find him seated behind a desk, apparently drowning in paperwork.
He looked up at their arrival and smiled tiredly. "Hello Ichigo," he greeted cordially.
"Hello," Ichigo offered in return.
"You've been here a week now, how have you liked it?"
Ichigo shrugged slightly, hands in his pockets. "It's nice having hot water and an actual bed again. The food's great too. Could do without everyone staring."
He'd thought he was used to being stared at, in childhood it had been his hair colour, then his reputation for fighting and wining as a teenager, then because he was a human with Shinigami powers, then Visored, war hero, only chance against Aizen…but this was different. He'd never been looked at as a threat by most of the people here and it hurt. The few Arrancar he had seen had been better since they had been enemies once.
"They will find something new to watch eventually, you understand why, don't you?"
"I'm new and could be a threat," Ichigo answered.
"Indeed. It has been decided that you should be allowed to spar with those who wish it, though, where is your Zanpakutō?"
"Here," Ichigo answered, they were always with him. It was something he'd learnt during the war, a way to keep from ever being separated from the blades, even if captured. He mentally gave the command and the blades appeared, one on his back, the other at his hip.
"Interesting." The man might not seem to be surprised, but Ichigo could tell he was, so long spent fighting an insane version of him made ready the sane version easier. "If things continue to progress favourably then you should be sent on patrols within a month or so, not solo patrols obviously."
Ichigo nodded in understanding, by then he'd be going stir crazy at being in one place for so long. With that he was dismissed so he left the office even as Shinji settled in to do his share of the paperwork. Ichigo dismissed his blades and headed back to the Visored's place only to be intercepted by Isshin who grinned at him.
"Care for a spar?"
TBC…
Poor Ichigo is not untouched mentally by so long at war. Now that he's being faced daily by his ghosts it's understandable he'd be having nightmares and a panic attack or two.