Makoto was pulled from his slumber by the hushed voices of people talking nearby. "Do you think he is okay, Tatsuki?" one said.
"I'm not sure," replied the other. "He looked pretty bad last night when we dragged him in." Makoto opened his eyes slightly at this. Orihime and Tatsuki were on either side of him, exchanging worried glances between each other and him.
Last night they had decided, due to the inconsistencies that could arise if he were to leave, that he should stay at Orihime's apartment to further corroborate the story and so far it was working flawlessly.
"Do you think we should wake him up?" Orihime asked, worry tinged in her voice. "It's almost time for school and I'm sure Kuchiki-san is probably worried sick that he hasn't come home all night."
"I'm not sure. She will probably be pretty mad especially about the fact that he has been here," Tatsuki replied, shifting her gaze down to Makoto who quickly shut his eyes, continuing to feign sleep.
"I'm sure she will understand," Orihime replied, and from the sound he could tell she was confident in it. "We just have to tell her the truth."
"She would never believe us. Besides, he could be in serious condition," Tatsuki responded. "We should take him to the doctor, then we can tell Rukia when we get to school."
"Where should we take him then? The hospital?" Orihime asked worry seeping back into her voice.
"No. Ichigo's place is closer. That would be the safer bet and easier for the two of us to carry him to."
"Wait what!" Makoto blurted out, his eyes snapping open as he sat bolt upright, immediately regretting as his chest flared with a crippling pain that caused him to immediately fall sideways onto his left shoulder as he crossed his arms over his chest causing pain to spasm through his entire right arm. "OWOWOW! That hurts. That hurt a lot. OWWWW!"
The girls however were not listening as both of them jumped to their feet screaming as they backed away from the curled up boy. "Tsukiyo! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Tatsuki said. "Have you been listening to what we have been saying?!" Makoto continued to huff in pain as he just lay there on the floor not answering Tatsuki's question.
After a good half a minute the pain began to subside and Makoto's breathing slowed to the point he could answer Tatsuki's question. "It is really hard not to listen when the two are talking right next to me."
"Sorry Tsukiyo," Orihime apologized and while she remained silent, Makoto could tell Tatsuki was also apologetic.
"Are you alright?" she asked instead.
"Do I look alright to you?" he retorted to the tomboy as he glared up at her, though from the position he was in it was more sideways.
"You look better than I expected," she replied.
"Looks can be deceiving," Makoto replied as he rolled onto his back once more. "Do you think you two could help me up?" The girls looked between each other concerned before turning back to him, then to each other once more.
"Is that a smart idea Tsukiyo-san?" Orihime asked. "It will cause you a lot more pain than if you stay lying down."
"It's unavoidable," Makoto sighed, "I'm going to be in pain whether you guys carry me home or I walk there myself and…"
"Are you crazy?!" Tatsuki blurted out, to which Makoto slightly turned his head as any extreme movement seemed to aggravate his chest. "You cannot go to school until you have gotten checked out by a doctor, and NO, the school nurse does not count!"
"Come on Tatsuki, I'm fine!" There was then a knock at the door.
"Thank goodness," Makoto thought, "I don't know how much longer I could have lasted in this environment."
Upon opening the door Orihime was greeted by a frantic Rukia. "Inoue-san," she said, "Have you seen or heard from Makoto?! I can't reach him and he hasn't been home all night!"
"Don't worry Kuchiki-san," Tatsuki replied as she walked up behind Orihime. "He's here, but something happened and he is in a lot of pain."
"I'm fine, Arisawa-san!" Makoto yelled from the back.
"Makoto!" Rukia yelled, to which Tatsuki and Orihime stepped aside, letting Rukia walk in to find the boy lying on the floor. "What are you doing lying around?! I've been worried sick about you and here you are without a care in the world! What is wrong with you!"
"Hang on, Kuchiki-san, Tsukiyo was injured badly," Orihime defended. "He shouldn't be moving around at all."
"Let me check," Rukia replied, walking over to the couch and picking up a pillow that was lying there and hurling it in Makoto's direction.
On instinct, Makoto raised his right hand and caught the pillow sending a shockwave of pain through his entire arm and chest. "What was that for!" he yelled out, immediately dropping the pillow as his arm collapsed to the ground, his face grimacing with pain. "What part of I'm injured do you not understand?!"
Rukia remained silent as she looked back at Makoto with a stunned look. "S–sorry." she replied simply, turning back to the other girls and bowing. "Thank you for watching over him. I'll take him to Ichigo's and have his dad check him out. I'm sorry for any trouble he may have caused."
"Oh no," Orihime replied, waving her hands. "He was no trouble at all." An awkward silence then fell over the group.
"Hello," Makoto said from the floor, "Is that all for my apology? I'm the one you threw the pillow at!"
"You're gonna be fine," Rukia replied, walking over to him and holding out her hand. "Come on, we have to get you home so that I can take you to get a checkup."
"I'm–" Makoto flinched as he raised his right hand up to grab hers. "–f–fiine."
"You are really inspiring confidence," Rukia mocked with a smile as she grabbed his hands and pulled him to his feet though it was clear it was not without significant pain. "Stop trying to act tough and just let me help you."
Makoto grumbled but didn't argue as Rukia helped steady him. "Thanks Rukia," he said standing up straight. "And thanks to you two as well for everything. I know that it wasn't easy to watch over me all night. Come on, Rukia. We better get going or we will be late for school."
"Yes, and you for a doctor's appointment," Rukia said as she shoved him from behind out the door which caused Makoto to groan, partially from pain and partially from disappointment. "Goodbye. We'll see you at school."
"Rukia, you don't have to push me."
"Then you need to stop fighting and walk forward," she retorted, "I am going to take you to a doctor and you are not getting out of it." Makoto grumbled to which Rukia responded in a slightly irate tone. "Honestly, you moron, it's like you don't care what happens to you at all."
"Why should I?" Makoto thought to himself, "I'm not supposed to be here. So what does it matter if I'm in poor condition? The story will continue on, even without me as a part of it." However this silence concerned Rukia and as soon as they were out of sight of Orihime and Tatsuki she moved to his side.
"Sorry. I've been up all night worrying whether you were alright or not," Rukia whispered quietly. "Using the memory replacer means they might forget key aspects of the events last night, including your arrival there."
"Well I'm glad that they did," Makoto said with a grimace. "Tatsuki would have destroyed me when she found me there, and with my reputation for storytelling she wouldn't believe a word that I said about last night's events. That is if that thing actually works."
"Of course it does!" Rukia replied, a hint of irritation in her voice. "I used it a few days ago on Ichigo's family and they didn't have a clue I or the Hollow that we fought was ever there."
"Wait, wait, wait, wait! You mean to tell me that the story of the truck ramming their house and leaving the giant hole in their wall was caused by that thing?!" Rukia gave a knowing smirk.
"Indeed it was and it worked well, wouldn't you agree?" she replied.
"It didn't work on Ichigo," Makoto deadpanned.
"It wouldn't work on him even if I tried," Rukia responded, "Just like you."
"Me?!" Makoto exclaimed. "You tried that thing on me?!"
"I did not due to Urahara's insistence," Rukia said. "But after the events last night I doubt it would have any effect on you."
"Really? What makes you say that?" Makoto inquired.
"When you fought off Orihime's brother with Ichigo's Zanpakuto. It was wild but I have no doubt that your reiatsu is among some of the strongest I have ever felt."
Makoto looked at her with an inquisitive gaze. "I fought…with Ichigo's sword? I don't remember doing that."
This time it was Rukia who was confused. "What do you mean? You almost beat him easily. How could you not remember?" Makoto just looked at Rukia with concern. If he had done what she said, how could he forget so easily? On top of that, if he could have done that, why did he remember Orihime in the jaws of the Hollow? His memory was fragmented. He remembered being in the mansion with his chest hurting, and the Hollow trying to devour him when he was saved by…or was he being killed by…
"What am I thinking?" Makoto said as he shook his head, shoving those thoughts from his memory. "If you saw it I'm sure that is what happened."
"You don't remember?" Rukia inquired, her face growing even more unsure.
"It doesn't matter," Makoto said, waving off the matter. "You saw it and I believe you. The past is the past, and you can't change it."
"Then why don't you explain this?" Rukia asked, punching his right arm, which sent a tabbing pain through his whole arm.
"OWWW!" Makoto yelped, pulling his arm away and grabbing the spot where she had punched. "What was that for!"
"Your arm…you moved it," Rukia said pointing to it. "You broke it last night and now you can move it as if nothing is wrong."
"Something is wrong! It still hurts like hell and you beating me up is certainly not helping in any way whatsoever!" Makoto retorted as he glared back at Rukia.
"Oh, You probably don't remember that either, do you?" She said as she cast her eyes downward to her feet. Makoto's gaze softened as he looked at his injured arm, opening and closing his hand a few times. He did remember that. The Hollow had flung him through the window and he had broken it upon hitting the pavement beneath. He also remembered when Rukia healed him last night.
"Are you sure you didn't do it?" He asked not tearing his gaze from his hand. "Or that Bucket Hat did it either?"
Rukia looked back at him and he met her gaze. "First I don't know if he has that kind of training. Second, if Urahara came and healed you after we left I would be able to sense his reiatsu coming from your arm."
Makoto stared into her eyes before finally looking back at his arm. "But you don't feel anything of the sort?" A simple nod from Rukia confirmed his suspicion.
"Whoever healed you left no sign that they had been involved," Rukia replied, turning forward once more. She went silent for a moment before taking a deep breath and finishing. "It is as if you healed the wound of your own power."
Makoto looked between Rukia and his arm and chest. "Either way we won't know until we get an X-Ray of my arm and chest, right?" Makoto said, plastering a smile on his face.
Rukia chuckled and gave him a small smile. "I guess that means I finally got you to agree to go to the doctor."
"Uh…well," He fumbled trying to come up with a clever way out of the situation. "I am feeling much better so I don't think we need to do that. We should just get home so we can get changed and go to school."
His overly peppy attitude didn't fool Rukia one bit as she quickly grabbed his right arm in a hug. "Yes, let's."
"OW! OW! Rukia you are twisting my arm! Please! Let go Rukia!"
"Someone will have to pry me off before I do that," she replied, the devious smile once again returning to her face.
"Why did I agree to the girlfriend bit?" Makoto said through gritted teeth. "I do not get paid enough for this."
"I pay you with love. Isn't that enough," Rukia replied as she squeezed his arm tighter only causing the pain to worsen.
"How can you say that with a straight face?!" Makoto exclaimed as he felt his face heat up in embarrassment, which Rukia replied by slightly twisting his arm once more. "Ahhhh…lright! Alright! I'll go to the doctor! Just leave my arm alone." Satisfied with his reply she loosened her grip so that it no longer hurt him but she didn't release her grip on him entirely. Makoto then turned his attention forward only to feel as if people were watching him and sure enough when he looked around the eyes of every passerby was directly on the two of them.
"Damn it," he mumbled, averting his eyes to his feet as he felt his face heat up even more than before. "Everyone is looking at us!"
"What you normally thrive when attention is on you," Rukia smirked.
"I promised the girlfriend stuff at school not out here!" he replied in a low voice. "There was never any description about that."
"Get used to it," Rukia responded as she waved at a passing woman.
Makoto felt his face turn even more red than it already was as he looked away from Rukia. "I thought I was," Makoto thought to himself as he and Rukia continued to walk side by side all the way home.
"Well it seems you aren't doing to bad Makoto," Mr. Kurosaki said as he hung the X-rays on the light board to show Makoto. "Your arm and a few ribs have been bruised but you are perfectly healthy beyond that. You're lucky. Most people who have a bed fall on top of them end up with a lot worse."
"Yeah, I know that," Makoto said sheepishly as he looked at the X-rays. "So…is that everything? I can go to school and all still."
"Of course though I would recommend staying away from strenuous activity and relaxing your arm to let it properly heal." Makoto breathed a sigh of relief. "Something wrong, Makoto?"
"What? No! I'm just glad it's nothing too serious," he responded. "The last thing I want to do is have Rukia worrying about me."
"How is Rukia doing?" Mr. Kurosaki asked as he sat down in a chair near Makoto. "She seemed better when she left you with me."
"She forced my hand on that," Makoto sighed. "If I even attempted to walk out that door before seeing you she would have grabbed my arm and dragged me back in here."
"You should have come back last night when you injured yourself," Mr. Kurosaki scolded, "I would have treated you immediately."
Makoto chuckled nervously. "Thank you Mr. Kurosaki but I couldn't have done that to you, even if I did think it was bad enough for that."
"Then next time you are going to come to me immediately if you are injured whether it is early in the morning or in the middle of the night," Mr. Kurosaki commanded, crossing his arms over his chest and sticking his nose in the air. "No son of mine will ever get out of that. And that goes for Rukia too."
"He forgot the part I am not his son again," Makoto thought, "But I'll guess I'll take the high road."
"Thank you Mr. Kurosaki. I will try to remember that," Makoto replied cordially.
"You better, I will not tolerate you going to anyone else!" Mr Kurosaki yelled. "You have Ichigo's number so it is unacceptable that you would even think about going somewhere else!"
"Why are you yelling at me?" Makoto responded, "I got the meaning the first time you said it."
"Good," Mr. Kurosaki said with a grin, "Then why don't we get started with how far you and Rukia have gone."
"HUH!" Makoto exclaimed in horror. That was a complete turn around from where they were going previously. "What kind of a question is that?! I don't see how that is important at all to my injury!"
"If I am going to be your family doctor I need to know this kind of stuff," Mr. Kurosaki said pulling out a clipboard and pencil, and much like Rukia they seemed to materialize out of thin air, before leaning forward ears pricked. "Now come on, don't be shy. I won't tell anyone!"
"Family doctor?! You only learned I existed four days ago and met my girlfriend yesterday where in that skull of yours did you think I was ready for anything close to that!" Makoto yelled his voice filled with disgust and fear of Mr. Kurosaki. "I only promised I would come to you if I need anything!"
"Hmm," Mr. Kurosaki tapped his chin with the eraser of the pencil before looking down at the clipboard and writing. "Evasive and red faced. Symbolizes possible guilt."
"What the hell are you writing!" Makoto shrieked, "We might live under the same roof but we sleep in different rooms! Who on earth do you think I am?!"
Makoto was then surprised as Mr. Kurosaki swiftly dashed over and hugged Makoto's head to his chest. "It's alright, son. Your time will come soon." Makoto tried to escape but the iron grip of Mr. Kurosaki held firm leaving him struggling uselessly to free himself.
"Just kill me now," he thought to himself, "Then I wouldn't have to deal with this nonsense that you put me through. I would rather go through whatever would happen on the other side of death than spend another minute with you."
"Well in any case," Mr. Kurosaki began as he released Makoto and pulled out a sling, "I think this should suffice until your arm heals fully. I would also recommend not participating in any strenuous activity until your ribs heal as well. Of course that is a suggestion…"
"Which I will keep to," Makoto hastily replied as he quickly slung his arm in the strap before picking up his bag with the other hand and rushing to the door. "Thank you for your assistance Mr. Kurosaki. Now where do I need to go to pay for the appointment?"
Mr. Kurosaki laughed as he walked over and placed a hand on Makoto's shoulder. "You don't have to worry about paying. It's on the house."
"But…" he started.
"Just keep being a good friend to Ichigo and treat that girlfriend of yours right and I know you will turn out alright." Mr. Kurosaki said with a warm smile on his face. "And remember if you ever need anything you know where to find me."
Makoto didn't know how to react. The words Mr. Kurosaki had said to him were warm and comforting but he felt that they should have some from someone else. The people who the past few days he had been longing to meet and who hoped would show up. He wanted to hear those words from his parents, both his past and current ones. He had been dropped here in a world all alone with no parents, siblings, or purpose. He tried to forget about it but every time he thought he overcame he was reminded of that which he had before and what he was left with now.
He felt his nose grow stuffy as he held back the hot tears as they began to form in his eyes turning his eyes away from Mr. Kurosaki. "Thank you" was all he managed to get out before leaving the two of them in silence.
"Of course," Mr. Kurosaki said, releasing the boy's shoulder and grabbing the door to the room and holding it open for Makoto to walk through. "Now go run after that cute girlfriend of yours and give her a kiss from me alright."
Makoto's emotions steeled and he immediately turned on Mr. Kurosaki. "If anything I would give her a kiss from me, not you!"
"Well what are you standing here for?! Run to her and hold her in your arms. Tell her you will never let go so long you both shall live."
"How did this man ever get married?" Makoto thought to himself as he began walking through the doorway. "Married?"
Makoto paused in the doorway, his bag slung over his left shoulder as he faced forward. "Mr. Kurosaki," he said in a serious voice as he turned to look back at the man. "May I ask if the word Quincy means anything to you?"
The smile that Mr. Kurosaki had been wearing the entire time faltered as he looked at the boy. "Quincy," he repeated. The two stood in silence for several seconds neither moving a muscle before Makoto finally caved.
"Nevermind. It is probably just the name of some band that is in these days. I'll have to look it up when I get the chance. Thank you again for helping me. I better get headed to school now. Bye." With that Makoto left Mr. Kurosaki standing in the doorway as he walked out into the waiting area and through the front doors.
"Quincy," Mr. Kurosaki repeated to himself as he watched the boy leave. "I think I better tell Kisuke about this when I get the chance."