Chapter 3: To Strike Up A Conversation
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Grimmjow's eyes sluggishly blinked open, only to squint close at the dim room but blinding white walls. Groaning at the pain that bloomed behind ultramarine eyes and started spreading through the front of his mind, the university student closed his eyes in a hopeless attempt to evade the pain.
"Shit," he mumbled. It felt like he'd had cotton stuffed in his mouth. Swallowing a couple of times and moving his tongue around his mouth, the blue-haired man felt his mouth slowly return to normal, though water would be helpful in accelerating the process. With a second attempt, the blunet opened his eyes and gave the dim space a cursory glance. When he spotted the medical equipment in the right corner and the childish 'My pain level is…' chart on the door, Grimmjow mentally whined that he just woke up in the hospital.
If there was one thing in the world he hated more than heights, it was hospitals. Never in his life has he experienced a good hospital visit. Someone was always wounded or some equivalence, and most of his teenage years it was the senior himself. Just last week he had stiches put in his elbow after getting clipped by a longboarder on campus. He'd only had the stitches removed two days ago by the campus doctor. His last major hospital trip was only five months ago when one of his best friends set him up for a blind date at the local café. Not only did his mystery date stand him up, the blue haired senior found himself literally blindsided before waking up in the hospital.
"Fuck, somebody put me out of my misery," he grumbled to himself, noting his voice sounded muffled, as if a cloth was being held over it.
"Aww~ Grimmjow-kun, I'm sure my godson will be sad to hear that," a mocking voice from the dim corner to his right startled the blunet. Grimmjow flinched as the jostling movements disturbed his inflamed wrist and pounding headache.
Snapping his head a little too fast towards the source of the voice, the undergraduate felt his head spin a little. The blue haired man reached up with his good hand to hold his head, surprised to find a gauze pad taped over his ear. Ignoring the bandages around his injuries, the male finally looked up at the figure in the dim corner.
Grimmjow's brows shot into bangs as he took in the man's outrageous appearance. A green and white striped bucket hat sat on messy, dirty-blond hair that framed the stubble covered face with strands falling dangling between steely eyes. However, most wretched thing about the man, other than the hat, was the eyesore of an outfit. The man fucking wore what reminded Grimmjow of a black haori with an older style of a loose green shirt underneath and equally green pants with, and here's the fucking kicker, wooden sandals adorning his feet. Geta he believed was correct term.
Growling lowly, cyan eyes glared at amused gray hues. The blond definitely wasn't a doctor, the questionable outfit and ridiculous footwear made that abundantly clear.
"Who the fuck are you?" He bit out through clenched teeth, trying to ignore his now throbbing wrist. Which only hurt at the moment due the bastard that makes it a hobby to sit in dark corners of occupied hospital rooms, just to scare the shit out of the patient when they regain consciousness.
The senior stared incredulously as the blond had the audacity to start pouting as if he was the victim. The man fisted the shirt's material directly over his heart and brought the other hand to lips. With a quivering voice the older man spoke in an over-the-top distressed tone,
"Oh Grimmjow-kun! Why must you wound the man who's paying for all your medical expenses in his own hospital? All out the goodness of his own heart!"
Grimmjow sat in the bed, wide-eyed and flabbergasted with his mouth flapping like a fish out of water staring at a two-headed cat. The fuck… Without much thought, the university student blurted the first, well… second, thing that popped into his head.
"You're psychotic."
Azure hues observed as the man's hand fell from his heart while the blonde's stubble-covered chin went slack. Grimmjow almost regretted the words once his mind caught up and processed the man's words rather than the eccentric actions. Almost.
The engineering student watched disbelievingly as the blond businessman started chuckling jovially at the patient statement. The man wrapped his arms around his middle, hugging himself as he leaned forwards, laughing at the blunt statement.
Fuck my life. It would be my luck for an escaped mental patient to wander into my room. Grimmjow warily observed the blond man as he calmed, wiping imaginary tears from his ashen eyes. Finally after a few moments of gathering himself, the stranger smiled softly at the blunet.
"Thank you, Grimmjow-kun. I haven't been able to laugh like that in a few weeks." Cerulean hues regarded the man with cautious curiosity.
"Uh… You're welcome, I guess," the blue haired patient grunted, feeling very awkward in the silence. Steely eyes stared at him for a moment longer before the man nodded absently. The man picked up a paper cup of water with a pink straw and handed it to the patient with two small pills. Grimmjow gave the man a suspicious look, only to receive a laugh in return followed by the brief explanation, for your head. Swallowing the pills and sipping on the water, the blunet groaned in satisfaction as the water sated his parched throat and hoped that the pills would relieve him of his headache soon.
"Well, now that we've gotten that out of the way, let me introduce myself properly." The man reached down into a briefcase between the chair and wall. The man's hand withdrew a tablet that the blue haired college student had never seen the likes of before. "I'm Kisuke Urahara. Owner and CEO of Benehime Services and one of the three men that own this beautiful hospital."
Grimmjow gapped at the man, blue eyes wide and mouth slightly slack in shock. This… this was the man who was renowned as a business tycoon and genius scientist in Japan? The same man that started his company only fifteen years ago and became a billionaire over the course of five years? A company that had its fingers in every type of business imaginable? The blunet couldn't believe it.
"You'r-you're Kisuke Urahara?" The university senior was too dumbfounded to give a flying fuck that he'd just stuttered like a middle school nerd. The man who owned the company he wanted to work for was sitting right in his hospital room! If it was any other occasion, the senior would have felt giddy with excitement at this opportunity. Okay… maybe it was more like a high school cheerleader being asked a question by the football quarterback. But more to the point, why was such a powerful man offering to pay his hospital bills?
Urahara chuckled and nodded before cutting him off before he could even ask the million dollar question. "Yep, but let us get down to the reason why I'm offering to foot the bill for your medical expenses." The entrepreneur paused, looking up thoughtfully, as if trying to find the right words. Suddenly, the man braced both hands on the arms of his chair, bending forward until his torso was parallel to the floor.
"Thank you! Because of you, my godson survived. You saved Ichigo where I could not. Again, thank you, Grimmjow-kun."
Shocked blue irises could only stare at the outburst that came from the oddly dressed man. The senior was speechless at the expression of gratitude, not even sure what to say in response to the sincere outburst. 'You're welcome' sounded too lame. Suddenly, the extra wide door to the room opened, drawing both occupants' attention. Grimmjow mentally sighed when the short, messy silver tresses of the head nurse popped through the ajar door, saving him from responding lamely to the guy's sincerity.
Her face brightened as her eyes met Urahara's form, a sigh of relief escaping her lips as she smiled gently. "Urahara-sama, I've been looking for you. Ichigo woke up a few minutes ago and Dr. Unohana is on her…" The nurse faded off, her ashen gaze bounced between the bedridden patient and the entrepreneur, a scowl twisting her lips as her eyes turned steely as they settled on the man in the chair.
"Kisuke," she growled threateningly, honorifics completely abandoned as she settled her glare on the blond. "You better not be disturbing another patient. Visiting hours just started ten minutes ago."
The man chuckled almost inaudibly, pulling a white fan from his left sleeve quickly and waved it in front of his stubble-covered face in a dismissing motion. He turned his head to the left sharply, upturning his nose as he responded to the accusation in a mockingly indignant tone.
"Why Kotetsu-chan, I would never! Why in this sparkling diamond of a hospital would the head nurse insinuate that one of the owners makes it a habit to terrorize its most important patients? This establishment of mine – I mean ours! – is a flagship in the field of medicine when it comes emergency care. To say such blasphemy, in front of our patients no less, will ruin the reputation our staff have struggled to achieve! Especially when I'm paying for this young man's medical bills out of charity! You know that does wonders for our public image." The blond ranted teasingly.
"And my taxes, of course," he added as an afterthought, the fan snapped shut and poised the tip on the side of his chin as he slanted his head to the side thoughtfully.
Grimmjow snorted in amusement as the tall woman rolled her eyes as she sighed and face-palmed at the man's idiocy. A commotion from the hallway behind the head nurse caught her attention, preventing her from giving the blond a much needed tongue-lashing. The blunet heard a quiet 'Oh great' escape her lips as she rushed out, followed by her barking orders supposedly to another nurse down the hall.
Confused, the student swiveled back to the blond chief executive officer as the main sighed while observing the tablet in his hands. Before the younger male could voice his question, the blond spoke up disgruntledly.
"Tessai, could you bring in the wheelchair? I'd like to give Mr. Jaegerjaquez the opportunity to meet Ichigo before my godson manages kills himself," the blond said to the empty room, a sigh escaping the man's lips when he finished.
Grimmjow sat reclined in the hospital bed thoroughly confused as to who the man was speaking to, let alone the concerning comment about the orange-haired kid killing himself. At first he thought that the entrepreneur was talking to someone through the tablet in the man's hands, or maybe it was a Bluetooth device hidden beneath his shaggy blond hair. Unfortunately, neither seemed to be the case.
Blue eyes watched in bewildered horror as the bathroom door cracked open and a wheelchair maneuvered through the doorway; however, it was the behemoth of a man grasping the handlebars that stunned the bedbound undergraduate. To his utter astonishment, the freakishly tall, well-built man hunched down a good foot to emerge from the lavatory. Grimmjow felt his jaw go slack, providing the perfect home for a nesting bird should have the window behind the blond been open.
The walking-mountain-in-clothes closed the bathroom door, glancing from the blond CEO to the engineering undergraduate. The man dipped his head in greetings towards the blunet as his deep voice rumbled through the room.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Grimmjow-kun. My name is Tessai Tsukabishi, I'm Kisuke's personal assistant. During your time here, if you need anything at all please let me know. I'm at your disposal, along with the staff in this wing."
The tall man finished his introduction and wheeled the chair next to the occupied hospital bed, holding his large hand out to the blunet expectantly. Grimmjow eyed the offered appendage and the man it belonged to. He placed the empty cup on the bed side table and grunted as he shifted towards the edge taking care to not jostle his arm anymore. The university student was grateful to find that he was wearing shorts made from the same material as his gown under said garment.
The blue haired male may have took pride in of body and package; however, that didn't mean he wanted his gown to ride up or his ass to be flapping in the wind and flash any strangers, especially the two weirdos currently in his hospital room. He reserved that right for the men he invited to his king-sized Tempur-Pedic.
Grimmjow stood, his pride telling him to ignore the offer of assistance. However, when the room suddenly spun faster than a bottle at a teenage party, Grimmjow reached out blindly to grasp the hand. The behemoth caught and steadied the young man, before gently lowering him to the chair.
"Ya know, for an awfully large guy that hides in people's bathrooms, you were damn quick to save me from face-planting. I know a few guys not nearly as big as you and they can't move like that."
Grimmjow regarded the man curiously as Tessai blushed slightly at the compliment. Said man turned away and coughed into his hand, proceeding to remove and clean his spectacles. A quiet snicker from the blond caught the blunet's attention.
"Tessai here is part Japanese-American. He grew up in America and joined the Navy as a Corpsman just out of high school. He was stationed here nearly 15 years ago and hasn't returned to America, other than to visit his family of course."
The blond cheerfully chirped, providing the blunet with information that answered most of his unasked questions about the giant. Grimmjow observed the man in front of him in awe and a deep sense of respect for the former medical officer that not only served the Navy but worked with the Marines. This man definitely didn't serve the blond just as a secretary. Tessai was the entire package. Secretary, bodyguard, and medic all rolled in one intimidating six foot six monster of a man.
Shifting to a more comfortable position, the mechanical engineering student felt his head spin lightly, thankfully not nearly as disorienting as the last one. Holding his head in his good hand, the male groaned out, "Mind telling me why my head keeps spinning?"
"The concussive blast from the lightning striking the tree in close proximity to you knocked you off your feet. Your injuries include a sprained wrist from bracing yourself as you landed backwards; minor lacerations on your arms and legs from dragging yourself on the concrete; a minor contusion on the posterior of your skull from the blunt force trauma when you landed, no concussion thankfully; in addition, you have contusions on your back also from the fall. Finally, the perforated tympanic membrane in your right ear from the shockwave, thus causing your equilibrium to constantly shift. Though that should subside in the next hour or two."
Grimmjow frowned as the larger man listed his injuries. With each one rattled off, blue hues or rough fingers tracked the mentioned injuries. Small scabbed nicks and scrapes adorned his exposed arms and legs, a sizable – and surprisingly pain-free – bump on the back of his head and his sore back; however, it was the perforated membrane that confused him.
"I understood what you meant for the most part, but I'm confused about my ear."
"Simply put," the CEO perked up. "Your eardrum ruptured and your sense of balance is unstable temporarily since your inner ear controls your equilibrium."
Grimmjow nodded absently at the explanation, his gaze distant as his mind replayed the events for the previous night. The sound of wooden sandals clacking on the floor and the gentle motion of his wheelchair being maneuvered around the bed brought the man out his reminiscence. Urahara led them out of the room and down the hall a few doors, stopping in the door's entrance.
"Morning Ichigo-chan!" The older man twittered in his sing-song voice. Grimmjow rolled his eyes at the eccentric man but snorted quietly at the indignant response it received.
"Shut up Hat-and-Clogs!"
The quiet, but firm outburst was followed by a fit of mild coughing. Grimmjow frowned, wondering if it was a good idea to patronize a fiery redhead with a wounded lung.
"You wound me Ichi-chan, such a horrible way to greet your godfather when he visits you after being brought into the hospital. No wonder Mother Nature decided to use your lung as a pin-cushion. Someone needs to learn manners when speaking to their elders," the chief executive tutted. "Besides, wouldn't it be better for everyone, mostly yourself, if you didn't speak? Punctured lung and everything, ne?"
Sapphire irises just stared at the back of the green-clad figure incredulity. That was one of the most inconsiderate remarks he's heard said to an injured person, albeit it was also one of the funniest things he's heard in a while. Grimmjow couldn't contain the deep and throaty laugh that loudly escaped his lips. The man in the doorway turned to face the seated blunet, a fake expression of shock painted on his facial features.
"Oh Jaegerjaquez-san. I must apologize," the business man spoke with an over exaggerated tone of regret. "I completely forgot that you were behind me. My insolent godson distracted me with his poor manners. Please, come in."
The mechanical engineering student watched in amusement as the man stepped further into the room to clear a path for the momentarily handicapped male. Insolent godson? Wonder where in hell he got that from. The undergraduate chuckled, mentally thinking that he was about to be in a room full of pots and kettles. What was to come in the next few minutes surely would provide the student with enough entertainment to last a lifetime. If only he had brought popcorn.
Hmm, maybe Tessai could make some.
"Kisuke-san, I insist that you mustn't bring other people into Kurosaki-san's room while I am performing an examination." The voice was feminine, gentle in tone but stern, and entirely familiar to the senior.
Grimmjow's eyes flitted from one side of the room to the other, taking in the abnormally large hospital room. A vast amount of morning light poured into the room through an entire wall of floor-to-ceiling windows, agitating his diminishing headache. A private sitting area complete with two soft chairs, a hideaway loveseat, a modern coffee table, and a wall-mounted flat screen was setup next to a spacious bathroom to the right. The doctor's/nurse's counter and cabinets stood next the door, the dividing curtain hung from a track that separated the sitting area from the occupied bed was tied to the cabinet. Several machines surrounded said bed, displaying the redhead's heartrate, blood pressure, and other vitals, some even turned off.
However, the one thing the mechanical engineer couldn't see was the redheaded patient himself, blocked by the black-haired woman in a doctor's white lab coat, recognition causing an unwanted memory to pop up. Quickly, he swatted it down and chose to observe his previous surgeon. Her long black hair was pulled over the front of both of her shoulders into a braid under her chin, traveling down to her waist. Last time he saw her, it was in a simple ponytail under her chin. Looking back up at her slender and beautiful face, the blunet flinched. Shit. Soft blue eyes became firm as she took in Grimmjow's sudden appearance, shifting her disapproving look to his escorts.
"Kisuke-san." She paused, her eyes flitting between the three of them. Grimmjow palms became clammy as his old doctor stared them down as dread sent a tingling sensation of flight or fight down his spine. This woman. She looked and acted like the polite, gentle, and kindest doctor; however, the blunet just knew better. One of the sources of his hatred and fear of hospitals stood before him, regarding the men in the doorway with a kindness that appeared genuine.
"Would you please enlighten me on why you and Tessai-san have escorted one of my patients into another patient's room when he should be recovering?"
Grimmjow felt Tessai shift ever so slightly behind him, subtly betraying the man's nervousness. It seemed this surgeon scared even the hardened military veteran. Hat-n-Clogs, however, seemed unfazed at the aura surrounding the doctor with raven-colored hair. That annoying white fan fluttered in front of the man's face once again as the blond laughed jovially at the question.
"Why of course Unohana-senpai! I found out last night that Grimmjow-kun here helped save my cheeky godson's life last night," a vexed 'Hey!' from behind the doctor went ignored by all but Grimmjow as he muffled a chuckle at the outburst. "And knowing how stubborn Ichi-chan is, I figured I'd like to introduce Grimmjow-kun to our resident strawberry before he accidentally killed himself trying to get out of bed."
The blond stated as if it was common knowledge of why he dragged a recovering lightning strike victim from his bed to meet the other victim of the same incident, all while insulting and ignoring his irritated godson's vocal outbursts. Grimmjow felt his torso quake with the rumbling laughter he was trying suppress, trying not to disturb his sore and bruised back. He wished he could see the kid's face from where he sat, completely sure it was as red as his namesake.
A mumbled curse issued from behind Dr. Unohana caused the blond to finally address the ginger. "Ichigo, I'm shocked!" The man's voice thick with sass. "I can't believe you kiss your sisters with that dirty mouth. Unohana-senpai, I think a bar of soap is desperately needed to remove an ugly infection from the young boy's mouth before his sisters arrive. We can't afford for it to spread to the lovely twins."
He moved past the two men, standing at the door with his hand held out in an after you gesture. The doctor smiled at the CEO, looking back at the bed the redhead occupied. Even though the senior still couldn't see the delectable strawberry laying in the bed, he saw the head nurse walk around from the other side of the bed, handing her senior the file. She gave a cursory glance at the paperwork before nodding her approval and turned to the bedridden university student.
"Kurosaki-kun. While you are in this hospital, your life is our hands. Please remain in bed while you recover from last night's incident. I'll send Isane to check on you in an hour. If you need any assistance Tessai will be outside the room." With that, the intimidating doctor faced Grimmjow, a small, kind smile on her soft features, but her eyes held no emotion. The blue haired male shivered. The very subtle threat spoken with a gentle voice wasn't lost on Grimmjow and the senior knew the instant she turned her gaze on him that it wasn't just for the redhead.
With his mouth suddenly dry, the male gave a minute nod of understanding. Unohana's smile soften, if it was even possible, and it seemed to genuinely reach her eyes this time. "It's good to see you again Jaegerjaquez-kun; unfortunately it is under poor circumstances once again."
She gave a small bow towards him and Grimmjow nodded in return, his eyes remaining on the floor as she and the head nurse left the room, the door closing softly the businessman. The room remained silent for a few moments before a meek voice asked Tessai for water. The man made his way over to the sitting area, opening a mini-fridge that Grimmjow hadn't seen. Three water bottles were dispersed between them, Tessai chugging his while the two patients were slower at drinking the fluid.
"Fuck, that was scary," the senior undergraduate muttered, unaware of the nods of agreement coming from the other two occupants of the room. The three men unintentionally sighed in unison. Grimmjow looked up to find Tessai standing in front of him, his face blank. Without a word, the giant man wheeled him over to the bed before departing from the room himself.
Finally, for the first time Grimmjow turned his gaze to the bedridden ginger, his breath hitching quietly in his chest. Even wrapped in bandages, the orange haired man managed to steal his breath. The senior felt as if his nerves were on overdrive, firing rapidly and sporadically throughout his body as he gazed at the blushing male in front of him.
Reclined into a sitting position with a pillow supporting his head, the junior was gazing at him with honey-brown eyes that seem to slightly change shades the longer they looked at each other. Though, it could be the halo of orange hair stuck out at unruly angles from beneath the bandage that wrapped several times around the ginger's head, just above the ears, that offset and emphasized the brown hues.
Nah, maybe it was the light blush that covered the male's lightly freckled face and the slight frown on the kid's full lips.
Grimmjow couldn't decide which scenario it was, if not both, that made the kid's eyes shine bright despite the freak disaster that could have potentially claimed their lives only hours ago. Sapphire hues traveled down the kids form, observing the tan, bare skin of a long neck. The thought of leaving a different kind of bruise on that delectable neck had the man mentally licking his lips. However, he scrunched his brows as he observed the multiple scars that adorned the flesh of lean and muscled shoulders and arms. A large circular scar on the left side of the kid's chest peaked out from under the bandages that wrapped around his defined torso from under his arms down to his waist. Blue eyes tracked another long, thin and barely visible scar traced down from the redhead's right shoulder to a defined pectoral under the bandage.
Damn, I thought I had a good amount of scars. Even though I can't see most of him, he looks like he and a ton of rocks went through an industrial blender together at some point.
Glancing back up, the senior found that chocolate hues had hardened and were giving him a heated glare at the uninvited scrutiny the blue haired male was subjecting him too. Ignoring the glare that would make lesser people recoil, Grimmjow's gaze was drawn to the kid's clenched hands, more specifically, his left wrist. The high-tech bracelet that saved them last night was gone; however, the lack of its presence made the white, horizontal scar that adorned the males wrist pop against the tan skin.
Months ago, he'd heard a rumor that the kid had tried to kill himself by slitting his wrist. At the time he was skeptical, thinking it was just stupid rumors and gossip college idiots were doing to pass time. He'd seen fire in those unique eyes. There was a spark in them, defiance that suggested that the kid would never back down or stop fighting anything that imposed him. However, when the ginger showed up to class one day, Grimmjow couldn't help but believe the tales when he observed the bandaged wrist and the escort of friends that walked with him to the lecture hall, despite the fact that some of them had classes in entirely different buildings, giving the junior worried looks before leaving. The fire had dwindled that day, nearly extinguished.
Now that he actually got a good look at it, the scar wasn't a clean cut. No, it was jagged and forked into a 'Y' at the end. Definitely not the scar from a suicide attempt. Upon that realization, Grimmjow felt several thoughts and memories shifted in place, painting a nearly complete picture as regret washed over him. Though, the origin of the scar still evaded him.
Have I missed my chance? Why was I a fucking idiot for not approaching him and instead chose to listen to those stupid rumors?
Grimmjow steeled his emotions, refusing to let them get the better of him. He took a deep breath, drawing the attention of the orangette now staring out the window. With a soft smile, he reached out with his good hand.
"I'm Grimmjow."
** – *** – **
"This better be good Urahara."
Kisuke regarded the woman in front of him with slight amusement, against his better judgment and instinct. The kind, gentle, and polite demeanor this surgeon wore with a kind face and was gone in within seconds of the door locking behind them. Retsu Unohana sat behind her desk, leaned back in her office chair, blue eyes frozen from a hard glare directed at the blond businessman.
This woman was probably the one of most ruthless and dangerous people he would ever come across in his lifetime. Which is why he employed her. Retsu Unohana was an alias that the blond and his contacts within the government had created for her. A clean slate of sorts. All he'd asked of her in return was to work as a doctor at his hospital and protect his godson's life when needed.
A demon wearing a soft-spoken and beautiful mask was perfect for what Urahara had in mind. When he discovered his mistake years ago, he knew he would need to prepare for the inevitable. At first the blond went through nearly a thousand people worldwide that could potentially fill the role. Thankfully, one of his military contacts tipped him off of an individual that was a perfect fit. At first, Kisuke didn't know what to think of the idea of hiring someone so dangerous but he figured he would look into. What was the worst that could happen?
The only details his contact was able to give him were that the party in question went by the name Kenpachi and most importantly, possessed an extensive medical background. After months of fruitless searching, the blond nearly gave up hope of tracking them down. His wealth of resources turned up nothing. Every stone was upheaved, every dark crevice had been flooded with light. Nothing.
However, it seemed that the blond should have been looking a little closer to home. Literally. The business executive was indeed shocked when he arrived to his humble abode to discover that his state-of-art security system, one that he designed himself, had been easily bypassed by his unexpected guests.
Not guest. Guests.
One of those guests currently sat regarding the blond with cold blue eyes while playing doctor.
The CEO simply laughed behind the fan he noiselessly flapped in front of his face. "Of course, I have a perfectly good reason. You know this all too well. I'd never gamble with my godson's life. Why start now?"
Kisuke placed the tablet on the cherry-colored desk, sliding it towards the woman. A delicate hand picked it up, eyes dancing across the screen. She quirked a slim eyebrow at the man as she looked up.
"I've seen these records a million times, Urahara. I've written most of Ichigo's medical files myself. I don't understand what this has to do with Grimmjow."
"Select and look at Grimmjow's files."
The room fell quiet as fingers gently tapped and swiped at the touchscreen. After a minute the silence was broken by a soft, "Oh fuck… How did I never notice this?"
Kisuke nodded in understanding. "Because I asked you to stay focused on Ichigo most of the time, which meant you weren't the presiding doctor over other patients brought into the ER."
"How far back does this go?"
Kisuke hesitated. "Since the beginning, apparently."
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Oh goodness gracious, I'm done with this chapter! 2 chapters done within 2 months rather than 2 years!
So I went and reread the previous chapters so far and found some more errors and I need to uniform formatting. I'll be fixing those before I start the next chapter. The most obvious one was the damn "_ eyes" in chapter 2. I couldn't remember what color Kisuke's eyes were while writing and I had no way to look it up till later. I thought I fixed it before posting it, apparently I didn't lol.
I hope you liked it. A lot of conversation in this chapter. Will be in the next one too. So tell me, what do you think? Reviews only help me make it better. Doesn't matter if it's good or bad. I can only take away from it and improve :-D
There was a major hint or two or three in this chapter. Who thinks they caught them? No spoilers in the reviews please! Thank ya!