Title: Strawberry Heart Attack partAN: Ichigo's been sick since chapter 9, if you remember. This is the part when Grimmjow decides to do something about it because things get out of hand. Grimmjow's past is being hinted at. Ichigo's family accepts Grimmjow. I honestly don't know where I got the idea for this. I haven't been feeling too awesome myself.
Warnings: Fluff. Pasts. Angsty. Sickness. Do these even count as warnings?
Ichigo hasn't been feeling well. I don't know if he knows something that I don't but he knows that he should damn well tell me before I burst a blood vessel from all the fucking stress. It's been about 3 weeks since he started saying in my house.
I've been scared to leave him in the house by himself. Of course, Mr. I gotta protect everyone goes to his clinic even though I keep telling him to stay home. I think it started that day that he went into the shower and came back so light-headed. At first, I thought it was just because he spent too much time in the shower with hot water and steam. But now, I feel like he either knows what's wrong and doesn't fucking trust me or he doesn't know... or maybe there isn't anything wrong.
Around him, I just feel so fucking useless. That day with the shower incident, he came down with a rather high fever. Ichigo'd constantly rub his temples over and over again and when I asked what's wrong he just say 'Nothing.' God it just pisses me off! It annoys the shit out of me how he doesn't tell me a damn thing!
I wanted him to see a doctor but he had his ego get in the way. He told me that he was a doctor and he'd know if something was wrong with him. Since I only deal with animals, I can't really tell what's wrong with him. All I know is that there's something wrong.
In the first week, he'd keep asking if Urahara-san's got his keys yet. Urahara actually already gave me the keys but I didn't want Ichigo to go home in this condition. No one would find out if something happened to him when he's on his own. Here, I could keep an eye on him.
Sometimes when he's walking, he looks like he's having trouble walking or he feels dizzy or at least, that's what he tells me. He'll walk into the room once he comes home from work and literally fall down on the couch. Ichigo just seems so tired all the time. Along with that, he spends a lot of time in the bathroom nowadays. I don't know what he's doing but at night, I would wake up to his footsteps down the hall or the lights.
I can usually see him holding his stomach or his side. He'll never complain. Come on! Bother me about your troubles! At least tell me what's going on.
If we ever have sex, he seems so discomforted by it afterwards and just keeps tossing and turning. Unconsciously, he has a cute habit of hugging me from the back while we're sleeping, I noticed that he kept getting sweaty at night and even waking up, panting, like he had a nightmare.
The bed creaked underneath us and Ichigo perched himself on top of me. Oh good Lord, he looked so fuckable. I wanted to take him right there and then. He was really hot; I mean temperature wise.
"You seem a lot lighter than usual," I told him. Actually, I wasn't trying to flatter him. I was trying to tell him that something seemed wrong, "You seemed to have lost a lot of color. And you're not lasting that long."
"Grimmjow... Stop worrying, I told you," he gulped something back, "I-I'm fine."
"You don't look fine."
"I-It's alright... I'm... I'm just a little bit... tired," with that Ichigo fell asleep on top of me. I'd never seen him so shaken up. Flushed face, blushed cheeks, the whole deal.
"Shit, Ichigo."
Rolling him to the side, I pulled a blanket over him. The blush was still on his face, that was cute. Just as I thought, Ichigo woke up. The situation was a little different this time.
Normally, Ichigo would wake up and go over to the bathroom for an hour or two. This time was different, when he woke up he was holding his side and shut his eyes tightly like he was in a lot of pain. Quickly, I woke up and rubbed my eyes.
"Ichigo...?"
I heard him mutter, "Oh... fuck..." before he clung his side even harder and then rolled all the way to the end of the bed. There, he threw up all over the floor to the side of the bed.
Rushing over to his back, I held his shoulders back and rubbed his back that seemed really stiff. He vomited again and again. Then he started crying.
"Huh? What the... what are you crying about?" I asked concernedly.
"M-My stomach... My side," he sputtered.
Trying to get a closer look, I rolled him gently onto his back. His abdomen was really tender to the touch. His side looked swollen and red.
Afraid of the worst, I looked over to where he had his episode and sure enough, it was almost all blood. Now, I wanted to cry. What was the worst case scenario? That he had some terminal illness that he never told me about... no, what I was afraid of was the fact that I didn't do a damn thing. I should've pushed him forward to go see someone. But, I trusted him.
"Dammit, Ichigo! That's the last straw! We're gonna see a real doctor!" I snapped at him. He was really sick. It didn't matter if it was something that he thought he could deal with now. This was getting out of hand.
"No..." he said weakly, "I-I can't walk..."
"I'll fucking help you!" I shouted at him. I felt so bad for him. But he just shook his head.
"Ok, you know what, fuck this, I'm going to carry you."
"No, Grimmjow..."
I wasn't taking no for an answer so he could just shut his mouth. I guess he realized that because he didn't fight back anymore, verbally at least. I realized that he wasn't completely empty and he started throwing up again. The bed became stained with blood. Not that I gave a shit about what had to be cleaned. Ichigo is, and always will be, my first fucking priority.
Finally, he stopped struggling and fell limp. I probably would've wanted to have to carry a fidgeting Ichigo rather than on that looked ready to die.
I thought to myself as I grabbed a phone and started to dial the phone but then I hung up. Because then I just remembered...
"Fuck it. Everybody knows the pizza delivery gets here faster than the ambulance will."
I knew where his dad's hospital was; it was fairly close by: a.k.a. my best bet. Ichigo was barely conscious and he couldn't really walked so I practically carried him all the way to the car. When I was buckling in my seat belt I heard Ichigo say something to me.
"Grimmjow... You... can't go too fast."
"Save your breath Ichigo. I know what I'm doing."
No, I didn't know what I was doing. I stepped on the gas and by the time we hit the highway, there was no one on it and the car was going well above the speed limit. And before I knew it, the good-for-nothing law enforcement pieces of shit were on my tail. I stopped because I wasn't going to start some situation in Need For Speed because it would only slow me down.
As soon as the police officer came around to my window I already flashed my driver's license at him.
He looked bewildered.
"Yeah, I'm the Jaegerjaquezes' second son. Now fuck off."
They did as they were told. The officers stepped back and let me drive as fast as I could through the barren highways and they said something on their walkies. I waved to them in the rear view mirror. I could see the surprise on Ichigo's face as I started speeding again.
"I'll explain later," I told him. I guess I was supposed to the hospital. I ended up at one of the side clinics otherwise known as the Kurosaki house. Running up to the door, I banged on it and rang the door bell anxiously. After a good fucking five minutes, someone opened the door. It was Ichigo's dad.
"Hey... You know... We're kind of sleeping."
"Don't give me that bullshit! It's your son."
That seemed to wake him up. "Huh?"
"It's an emergency. He's really sick."
His eyes widened in worry, behind him I saw two teenage girls.
"Get a bed ready!" he called behind him. The two girls nodded their heads and rushed away. One had short brown hair in pigtails and looked like the stereotypical good girl. The other one had black hair in a ponytail and had a more serious look on her face.
"He's in the car," I told him in a half sprint to the Porsche. By time we got him on the bed, he was out cold and all the blood was drained. His eyes didn't look daring anymore, they looked almost pathetic.
Once we got him on the bed, his dad started throwing out order and the two girls obediently carried them out.
"Get the IV going and a blood transfusion. Type A negative. Get everything secured."
"Onii-chan..." the brown hair girl started crying.
"Ichi-nee..." The black haired girl looked like she was in a lot of pain.
So these are his sisters. They seemed like nice girls unlike the ones I had sex with.
"I'm Yuzu!" The brown haired girl held out her hand for me to shake it.
"Karin," the other girl just left it at that. She seemed really worried as did the other.
When Ichigo was getting set and his pulse was stabilizing, his dad told me to sit with him in the living room.
"Want some tea?" he asked politely enough.
"Um... sure."
All I could think about was Ichigo. His name went through my head continuously. The thought of Ichigo dying... No. He's not going to die. He'd never do that. I never had anything to be so passionate about. Then, when I thought about it, I'd never lived for anything or for anyone. I never cared enough. My brother lived for me and I just lived to find something to live for. I found Ichigo and the thought of him slipping my grip as easily as he came in was scary.
"Stranger-san?" Ichigo's dad's voice cut my train of thought and I looked up.
"Oh- sorry..."
"You seem a little shaken up," he held out a cup of hot tea, "here, have some tea, it should help calm your nerves."
"Thank you..." Nervously, I sipped the tea. It burned my tongue. Normally, I would've made a ruckus but... I couldn't.
"I'm sorry! I didn't introduce myself," he held out his hand and I reached to shake it, "I'm Isshin Kurosaki, Ichigo's dad."
"G-Grimmjow..."
"Last name?"
"Jaegerjaquez..."
He almost took a spit take when I said my last name.
"You're a Jaegerjaquez?"
"Yeah, their second son."
"Wow. I'd never thought I'd ever meet one in real life," he smiled, "They were pretty big business tycoons, weren't they?"
"My parents liked to think of themselves more as scientists," I really wished we could change the subject. I didn't like talking about my parents or anybody they were related to. It's the past, ancient history, it doesn't matter now.
"I can see you're getting a little uncomfortable, Jaegerjaquez-san, it's ok, I won't bother with that stuff anymore."
"Call me Grimmmjow."
"Grimmjow," his mood became a little bit more serious, "How did you manage to get Ichigo here in the middle of the night?"
"I-I... was just..." I just stared at him. What was I supposed to tell him? That I was madly in love with his son?
"I mean, what's your relationship with Ichigo?" he was more direct and serious this time.
"W-We're just neighbors... I mean... friends too," I responded, my voice clearly trembling.
"Really? What were you doing with him at this time?" he sipped his tea.
"W-We... I-I..." I stuttered and shook. No fucking way I could answer him. The consequences were clear. Why did this guy even treat Ichigo like a little kid? He's a grown adult perfectly capable of taking care of himself.
"I'm not one to judge my son... at all. I don't mind what path he takes, as long as I know he's doing the right thing," another tense sip of the tea followed.
"I-I'm in love with him!" I blurted it out.
I fucking blurted it out. I was so fucking retarded. Why did I let my feelings get the best of me? I'm the sadistic bastard that never had any feelings and never let love touch him. I'm the one who's tough skin couldn't be broken by the sweetest girl.
"I didn't mean to say that... I just... I don't know what the fuck got to me," I lied through my teeth. Lying to Ichigo's dad felt painful.
He stood up and it got me nervous for a second as to what he's going to do to me but all he did was walk up to me and pat me on the back.
"It's fine! I'm glad he's with you."
"B-But why? I'm a guy..."
"See here, Grimmjow-kun, I never had any issue with gender. Ichigo always went on and on about how he was engaged to a really pretty girl and he was straight no matter what. If he met someone that could get in through his loopholes and change him... Someone he can thoroughly depend on... I'd choose you over any girl he'll find."
Bewildered I was. Definitely, bewildered. It didn't make too much sense, I didn't say anything to him. The tea cup almost slipped out of my hand.
"You don't understand, do you? That's ok. You will soon enough," he smiled and then pointed to the giant poster on the wall, "See her? She's Masaki, my wife, Ichigo's mother. She is the only woman Ichigo loved in this world. But she died when Ichigo was just a little boy and Ichigo still blames himself for it. At first, sure, I had high hopes for my son to get married to a prestigious woman and have a family for himself."
He walked up to the poster and put his hand on the poster like he was putting his hand in her hair, "Then I realized that everyone is flawed. I never wanted Ichigo to marry Orihime. Perfect she is on the outside, but I had heard about her former affairs and I wasn't too thrilled."
Isshin put a hand in his hair, "I know this is extremely selfish but... I want someone who'll live for Ichigo. Someone who hasn't found anything else in their life and will show Ichigo what life is really like. C-Can you do that?"
I already am, I wanted to tell him. I nodded my head.
"I can... and I will. I won't let anything or anybody fuck around with Ichigo's life. That's why I kept him at my home by pulling a few strings; I suspected that something was wrong. If you'll let him be with me, I'll do everything that you ask me. And not because you ask me, it's because I wanted to from the beginning. I don't even know what I lived for before I met."
I didn't realize it, but I was smiling, just a little. Flexing my back onto the sofa, I felt a little bit more relaxed, "I won't just live for him. I'd die for him if I had to."
Isshin looked really happy and held out his hand again, this time it felt like a really welcoming, warm gesture, "Welcome to the family. Call me Isshin."
He sat down again, "We need to figure out what happened to Ichigo before this gets more out of hand than what's already happening."
"I'm just going to ask a few questions... I'm assuming you'd know because he's been staying with you."
"I'll try to answer everything I can."
"Well, for beginners, can you tell me the symptoms?"
"Hematemesis, that's one that I know."
His eyes widened, "That's not good. How often?"
"That... I'm not really sure. He wouldn't tell me anything... and I thought he had it under control being a nationally respected doctor."
"Any weird habits?"
"Yeah, he spends a lot of time in the bathroom. Almost every single night, he spends about two hours in the bathroom. And when he come out, he looks completely drained. He's not eating that much and always has a fever. I think he gets a lot of headaches too. He's a lot lighter than usual, but I'm guessing you already knew that."
"I think it's safe to say we need a upper GI endoscopy," Isshin told me. "I was going to start with a different test but... I feel like I know what it is. All I need to do is confirm it."
Review, favorite, follow, frolic, try to guess what's wrong with Ichigo.
I had to use freaking WebMD to try to come up with a legitimate condition that wouldn't kill him.