Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Morning Rain ❯ Wake Up Call ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3

 

“What? Are you sure?!” Renji looked at the man in complete shock.

 

“I'm afraid so, sir. I was given the order to relay this urgent message to all captains and lieutenants. Head Captain Yamamoto Genryuusai confirmed this morning that Captain Konmamaru has disappeared...”

 

The messenger quickly got back to his feet and turned.

 

“The Head captain also wished that I ask you to be on the lookout for any information about his whereabouts. That is all...”

 

In a split second, the man had disappeared via flash step.

 

Renji was still left in disbelief.

 

A captain...missing?!

 

To have sent a messenger all the way to the real world to deliver the message, instead of just calling to contact him, that must mean that old man Yamamoto thinks that there's something, or someone, really bad behind Captain Konmamaru's disappearance. He obviously didn't think Konmamaru was just out on a vacation.

 

Renji jumped onto a rooftop.

 

Did he think that someone had kidnapped him?

But who on earth could possibly be able to pull that off right in the middle of the Soul Society?! It didn't seem at all possible.

 

Renji leapt from rooftop to rooftop as the sun slowly started it's ascent into the morning sky, bathing the town in gold.

 

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

Rukia suddenly jerked awake.

 

It was always black in the confined space with the door closed, so it was hard to tell exactly what time it was. A small bit of light filtered through the bottom crack of the door, so she was guessing it was already morning.

 

She pushed her disheveled, black hair from her face and started to stretch out.

 

Had she really fallen asleep for the whole night? That was a little out of her normal routine.

 

She went about unfolding the dress at the foot of her mattress and discarding the pajamas she had just been snuggled into a moment ago.

 

Pushing her arms through the short sleeves, she pulled the dress over her head, and adjusted it around her figure.

 

She combed her fingers through her unkempt hair and placed her hand on the door, ready to slide it open, but quickly stopped dead.

 

What if he was still mad?

 

Rukia started to feel tense. She was afraid to open the door and face him.

 

She shook herself a little.

 

Why should she care if he was mad? She was being ridiculous. The kid was always mad.

 

Get yourself together!

 

She tried to fall back on all her years of living in the no-nonsense Kuchiki household. Her attitude had softened far too much since she had been staying in the world of the living....with him.

 

Rukia frowned.

 

It was all his fault that her proud air was slipping.

 

Her determination became rock solid. She wouldn't show any sympathy to that sulky little brat today. He'd get over himself eventually.

 

She slid the door open with a dignified boldness.

 

Rukia's eyes fell upon Ichigo, and almost instantly, that rock solid ambition shattered.

 

He was still completely immersed in his covers, but she could see his body shaking violently beneath them with sick twitches and convulsions.

 

Rukia opened her mouth to call him softly, but no words escaped her dry throat.

 

Finally she forced herself down to the floor, and managed a single word.

 

“Ichigo?”

 

No response, only more twitching.

 

She placed a hand softly on what she could make out to be his shoulder under the mass of soft material.

 

“Ichigo?” She tried again.

 

When he still didn't respond, Rukia gently took the covers in her hand and drew them away from his rigid body.

 

 

 

 

Rukia almost screamed.

 

Ichigo was drawn up into a tight ball, his eyes wide open and blank. His mouth was also stretched open in a silent scream, a thin trail of saliva traveling from the corner of his lips down his cheek. He didn't look up to her, he just continued to shudder and jerk, his cloudy eyes starting off into nothing.

 

Rukia took a step back, covering her mouth with her hands.

 

How....what....he....but....

 

Her thoughts were so fast and muddled, they weren't even making sense.

 

She tried to hold her trembling hands still.

 

Calm down!

 

She couldn't help him if she couldn't think.

 

But still...what could she do?

 

“Rukia!”

 

She jumped when she heard someone call her name. She looked up when she recognized the tone.

 

Renji was again crouched in the window looking at her with a very grim expression.

 

“I've got bad news.”

 

Rukia completely ignored his declaration, and thrust her finger at Ichigo, pointing at him insistently.

 

“Renji, please!”

 

He furrowed his brow, not really getting what she was trying to say at first...until he looked down.

 

“Holy-!” Renji almost fell back out the window; he was so startled by Ichigo's appearance. It looked like he was having a seizure.

 

Renji suddenly got that Rukia wanted his help.

 

The red head jumped down onto the bed, not really knowing what to do, but acting on the first thing that came to mind.

 

He grabbed Ichigo by the shoulders and lifted him up a bit, shaking him.

 

“Ichigo! Ichigo, snap out of it!”

 

His head rolled back and forth as Renji shook him, his unblinking eyes still showing no sign of consciousness.

 

“Dammit Ichigo!” Renji laid his hand hard across Ichigo's cheek, causing his head to jerk to one side.

 

Suddenly, as if a switch had turned on Ichigo's brain, he blinked, his auburn eyes slowly coming back to life. The twitching stopped and he started to cough and pant, his limbs falling away from they're rigor mortis like stance.

 

He looked up at what appeared to be Renji hovering over him and apparently clutching his shoulders.

 

“What? R-Renji? What...what just happened.” He mumbled. He glanced over to Rukia, who had a somewhat horrified expression on her face.

 

Renji still held his shoulders firmly, keeping Ichigo in reality.

 

“We wanted to know the same thing...”

 

Ichigo blinked up at him.

 

“What?”

 

Rukia stepped forward, still a little shaken up.

 

“Well Ichigo, when I woke up this morning...I looked to see if you were awake yet, and you were just shaking. I couldn't get you to answer me...you just kept shaking and staring off into nothing...so...” She trailed off.

 

“I thought you were in pain or something...like a seizure...”

 

Ichigo pulled his wrist across his forehead, wiping it dry.

 

“Oh...”

 

WHAP!

 

Rukia sprung forward and whapped Ichigo right on the back of the head with her fist.

 

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN `OH'?!?! Do you realize how bad you scared me and all you're going to say is `oh'?!”

 

Ichigo grabbed the back of his head.

 

“OW! THAT HURT! I HAVE A HEADACHE IDIOT!”

 

“I'LL GIVE YOU A BIGGER HEADACHE IF YOU DON'T SHUT UP!” Rukia raised her fist again threateningly.

 

Renji waved a hand at Rukia for her to calm down. Ichigo just glared down at his blanket, mumbling inaudible insults at it.

 

“Tch, no consideration for other people's feelings...” Rukia carried on quietly.

 

Renji coughed, trying to get them both back to the severity of Ichigo's condition.

 

“In all seriousness, it was still freakin' strange to come across you like that Ichigo. Ya got any idea what happened at all?”

 

Ichigo glanced up at the shinigami, still squatting at the end of his bed. He leaned his forehead on his palm, trying to recollect on what had happened during the course of last night and this morning.

 

“I don't really remember anything happening....I just remember going to sleep...and”

 

That voice.

 

He suddenly remembered hearing it in the middle of the night...but he had really heard it again after that...longer this time.

 

What had it been saying?

 

Abarai noticed he was mulling something over.

 

“And....?”

 

Ichigo looked back up at him.

 

“I don't remember anything else...” he stated flatly.

 

They'll defiantly send me to the loony bin if I tell them I'm hearing voices. Who knows what kind of treatment they have in the Soul Society....it's probably ten times worse than any solitary confinement here.

 

Rukia put a hand on her hip, angling it to the side.

 

“At any rate, we should probably bring you to Urahara's. He might know what we can do with you. It's probably safer than having you treated in a real world hospital now.”

 

Ichigo presented a nervous grin.

 

“That old man's place safe? I really don't think you know him that well then.”

 

Renji nodded solemnly, thinking back to his time spent there.

 

“Agreed...”

 

“Oh, get over it you babies.” Rukia sniffed.

 

“But still...” Ichigo pulled his legs out from underneath the covers, and draped them over the side of his bed. “We'll have to make an excuse to my dad for why I'll be gone. Any ideas?”

 

She glanced at him, raising her eyebrows.

 

“Does your dad even care that you disappear? You do it so often I don't think he even notices anymore.”

 

He wrinkled his forehead, casting an ominous look at her.

 

“She has a point.” Renji added.

 

“Yah, I got it.” Ichigo responded sharply.

 

“Well, if you understand it so well, then let's get going now. There's no point in sticking around here any longer.”

 

She jumped up onto the bed, and positioned herself to go out from the window.

 

“Get dressed and meet Renji and I outside in a minute, and don't dilly dally.”

 

With that, she and Renji disappeared outside, leaving Ichigo in his finally silent room.

 

He shuffled across the floor boards to his dresser, still achy and fatigued.

 

“Aye aye, captain...” he droned sarcastically, rolling his eyes, and drawing a pair of tan pants out of his dresser.