Forgotten to bleed wither and fall away

At first he had believed it impossible for him to ever regret using the Saigo no Getsuga Tensho, now he wished that he had just left Soul Society to fix it's own problems. Maybe Yamamoto would have exerted some more effort. He had saved the lives of his sisters, friends -or at least the people who he had thought were his friends- and the rest of the world who would never even know that they all came so close to the end.

But now with the metallic liquid making it's way up his throat, the itch in his chest and the ache in his limbs. Perhaps it would have been better if he hadn't come back after Ullquiorra had killed him.

Forgotten while he was left alone. Even without anyone telling him he knew he was dying.

-x-

"Kurosaki I know you don't like being powerless, I understand I was at one point to, but you have to accept that you can't stay involved. We got a test soon it would be better for you to go study or something."

No you don't understand Ishida he had wanted to say but he looked at the eyes of his once friends and walked away.

He felt empty. Was this how hollows felt. Hollow?

-x-

Thinking back he knew when the first signs of something wrong had appeared. Two and a half months after he had lost his powers. Originally he had believed that he had just gotten a cough, something normal, human. Perhaps a bad one but still a cough.

Then his chest had begun to itch, his cough got worse. Ichigo, for the first time in his life, had gone to see a doctor.

Never did he speak to his father. All that lied that way was lies and deceit, his trust for the man was long gone.

-x-

"There's nothing wrong with you i'm afraid. Sometimes coughs can get bad enough to cause some pain though, if the pain becomes to uncomfortable have some painkillers. It should go on it's own."

So it was something spiritual after all.

When he thought about it he really couldn't be surprised, he had been born with plenty of reiatsu and now he had none. That must have had some effect on his human body.

-x-

The first time he realized his condition could be fatal had been three months later. Luckily he was on his own, his father out for the weekend and his sisters staying over at one of their friends.

Friends, I have a grand total of none.

So when he began coughing he hadn't tried to hide it. Then he had begun to feel like he was drowning. Going to the bathroom his head had spun, the world blurred and he had broken out in cold sweat. He was still coughing, only this time there was blood.

He had coughed and thrown up blood until he had passed out.

When he awoke he was still alone.

-x-

It was obvious at this point that something had to be done so he decided to try knocking at the Urahara Shoten in hopes of some answers. After all that was what geta-boushi had always done, given the answers or at least clues. Every time he tried though there was either no answer, the shop was closed or they were currently out for supplies.

He went there a lot.

Once before school, just from school and in the evening when he was walking home from wherever he had decided to walk that day. After all Zangetsu was him so it couldn't hurt to go look at some nature after all, sunsets were his favorite.

-x-

But like all deadly medical issues it only got worse. Exactly a month after he had begun knocking at Urahara's he decided to pay a visit to Ishida's father. He requested to see the man only to be denied. He couldn't really complain though.

"Oi kid, powers or not your still a Vizard. We're always here for our own. Any problems and you can come to us." So he did. Late in the evening when the sun had set he went to the warehouse and knocked. The little hope he had noticed build up slipped away at the lack of an answer. Especially when he had heard them shuffling about just a moment before.

He felt more empty than before. He felt betrayed.

Everyday he replaced his third trip to the shoten with going to the Vizard warehouse instead, no one answered though.

-x-

One day he tried going to his friends apartments. First Chad, they had been friends even before all the spiritual stuff had begun after all. He had heard the music stop as he had neared the door. Ichigo never knocked.

He tried Ishida. No answer.

The last place he went to was Orihime's, Ichigo did knock this time but left as he heard Orihime crying.

Another five months passed.

-x-

"He's got to stop! Ichigo's going around to the vizards, here at the shoten, our own apartments, he's even tried going to my father!"

"I'll get my son in line, he's got to accept his life now."

-x-

One day he had come home and his dad had been waiting for him. He hoped, just a little.

"You need to stop bothering everyone Ichigo. Stop trying to get involved in things you have no part in anymore." Isshin walked away before he could say anything.

Ichigo went to his room and wept. This felt like loss. He was well acquainted with the feeling after all.

He was dying and there was nothing he could do about it.

He spent the next month alone, he stopped trying and accepted his fate.

-x-

"Kurosaki." Ichigo had gone out into the forest and found a tree to read under. Here he was out of the way just like everyone wanted. Looking up from his book he looked into familiar slate grey eyes.

"Byakuya." It had been a while since he had heard his own voice, no one spoke to him after all, Ichigo thought to himself that he sounded tired. "What are you doing here?"

"First it's Kuchiki. For the second thing, I had decided to take some time off now everything has settled down and thought that I could look around Karakura. I was ordered to stay out of the way of Kurosaki Ichigo to let him get used to being a normal human again but I've just come looking for a man I owe." Ah the usual Byakuya. Though this time he felt no joy or hope, he had long since drowned in inky despair.

"No one would even know if know if you visited Kurosaki Ichigo anyways." At this Byakuya looked disbelieving. Well with as much emotion as you could find in a Kuchiki anyways.

"I highly doubt that."

"Pfft. I've been out of contact from everyone for five days so far as a test, booked myself a hotel room and watched the people I call friends and family from afar. They haven't even gotten a slight hint noticing i'm even gone. Stopped going to school even."

"You being antisocial. The worlds ending." Yes, yes it was.

"I tried. They don't want me anymore." A little quieter he said to himself,"Even when I truly need help. No one was there." Even though he had mumbled the sentence out Kuchiki had somehow heard him.

"You need help with something?"

"I'm fine." Don't ask, please don't ask. I don't think I could accept saying it anymore.

"Your obviously not, you look ill." Not even his family had noticed. Not even Yuzu. Yet here's Kuchiki Byakuya and he noticed in a grand total of two minutes.

"I think i'm dying. Actually i'm pretty sure. It's an unexpected side effect of me using the Saigo no Getsuga Tensho while i'm still alive."

Silence fell for the next minute before Byakuya quietly asked,"What makes you think that?"

To that Ichigo pulled out a little cloth that he had been using to soak up all the blood and gestured vaguely towards it,"Been coughing all this up, pretty sure that's not healthy."

"Why don't you tell someone?"

"I tried Byakuya. I really did."

Instead of walking away like he expected the man to he sat down next to him leaning down against the tree,"What are you reading?" Thank goodness he had gone for a different route to speak about.

"A Shakespeare play. This one's called Macbeth."

Byakuya briefly looked surprised recognizing the name."Shakespeare? Isn't that English? I didn't take you for the play reading sort. I heard that they are good but I can't read English all that well. Speak it, just not read it."

"No one ever does expect me to like this sort of thing. If your going to sit there I could read it out and you could listen. If you don't mind keeping me company that is."

He wasn't expecting him to stay but he did. He stayed and listened to him. He didn't even say anything when he stopped to breathe for a minute.

For the first time in a year the world hurt a little less.

-x-

"Do you have enough space in your hotel room for another person?"

"Yeah I like some room so I got a larger one. The two beds are in the same room though. Why?"

"I'm here for the week and I don't like staying with Urahara Kisuke."

So Byakuya stayed. Ichigo found that he liked his company. He was tidy and quiet. When Ichigo woke up half screaming he didn't complain. Instead he got up, made some tea and come sat by his side until he had calmed down enough to try and go back to sleep.

Unexpectedly Kuchiki Byakuya made great company to have.

-x-

This hadn't happened in a while which was great but it also meant he should have been expecting it. For the past five minutes he had been coughing up blood until he vomited except for the fact that he had been forced to lay down as soon his muscles had begun to cramp and it would not stop.

"Kurosaki." He could hear foot steps coming over into his direction which he was glad for because he just wanted to go to sleep but he was not going to sleep on the floor. "Kurosaki, are you alright? Why are you on the floor?"

His lungs and throat hurt but this person who was not even one of his friends had been kind enough to stick around all week and look after his sick self so he forced himself to answer,"Cramp. Bad cramp. Tired too."

Gracefully (because Byakuya could not be anything but graceful) he knelt down and slowly picked him up, brought him to his bed and pulled up his covers. (Tucked in by someone who had tried to kill him. How embarrassing).

"Get some sleep, even if you were in good health your mental state is not aiding your nightly rest. I am going to see if I can talk to someone without them shutting me up or straight up ignoring what i'm saying. Hopefully Unohana will listen."

"Now?" He hated how broken his own voice sounded but he finally had some company and he didn't want it to go. Not while he hurt so much.

"I can stay for a little longer."

-x-

Never did he Kuchiki Byakuya ever expect to see Kurosaki Ichigo sat alone, reading and looking like someone had just died. Kurosaki Ichigo did not sit there and say how no one had even noticed he was missing. Kurosaki Ichigo did not laugh about the fact that he was dying.

Originally he had felt concerned about the boy and it had begun to bother him enough that he had gone to assure himself that he was indeed going mad because there was never any need to be worried about Kurosaki Ichigo.

Though when he had eventually found the boy looking pale despite being sat in the sun and clothes that he knew were once tight had become loose and baggy, Kurosaki was wearing a jumper, coat and a scarf despite the fact it was not even cold and his hair was noticeably in need of both a wash and a trim. Even his signature scowl had gone.

His concern increasing he had gone to speak with him and had somehow ended up sitting with the boy and listening to him read. Normally he would never but how could he not after looking into Kurosaki's eyes, he had never seen him look so lost and desperate for someone to just sit there.

By the look on his face he hadn't expected him to.

For some reason he asked to stay for a week.

-x-

When he had first seen Kurosaki have a coughing fit he had almost panicked, he had only ever seen Ukitake like this. When the blood started appearing he had panicked and had tried kaido without even thinking. Thankfully this actually seemed to at least sooth some of the pain. Kaido would not work well on Kurosaki due to the fact that it worked on the patients own reiatsu and Kurosaki just didn't have any.

-x-

"Why did you come here?"

"I felt concerned, my gut feeling has a habit of being correct."

"What you came here to see me?" Kurosaki said somewhat disbelieving.

"Yes." Why did he admit to it?

"Wait seriously?"

"Yes."

Out of all the ways he expected Kurosaki to react crying was not one of them. It wasn't loud or annoying he just sort of stared at him blankly making broken noises.

"K-Kurosaki! Why are you crying!?"

"But no one wants me..." Was he angry? He actually felt angry. Why? Perhaps it was because the boy had given up everything for his family can comrades and had received nothing but a slow, painful and lonely death.

He would swear for the rest of eternity that he did not hug Kurosaki and Kurosaki would swear that he did not cling like a child afraid of the dark.

How dare they abandon him once his use ran out and leave him fumbling around trying to find out what the hell was wrong with him.

-x-

He did have to go though but he had seen the quickly draining money and how much Kurosaki was struggling to hold a job in this weakened state so he had gone looking for a nice apartment and bought it. Not like he wanted to leave his gigai with a shady shopkeeper after all.

"Wait so I can stay here? For free?"

"Like I said I owe you."

"You even carried my bag's for me... Your being strangely nice to me it's confusing."

"Please just accept it and let me leave. I have a job."

"Yeah sure. Thanks."

-x-

When he next saw Byakuya he knew that he'd been unsuccessful. "Hey Byakuya."

"It's Ku- You know what I know your not going to stop. Byakuya's fine."

"Ha! Finally broke you down!"

"Laugh it out."

"So they didn't wan't anything to do with me."

"Shut me down the second they realized what I wanted to say."

"Ah, that's fine I guess. You've done more than anyone else has."

And wasn't that just sad.

-x-

"Ichigo, how does one use this strange drinking contraption?"

"Pwahahahahaha!"

"What is so funny?"

"I thought it was just Rukia but I guess the juice carton struggles is a Kuchiki thing. Here pass."

-x-

For once Ichigo was sleeping peacefully. It had been a long time. Brushing his bright hair from his face he placed the damp towel on Ichigo's forehead. In this peaceful sleep the scowl was gone along with any hints of sadness. Byakuya decided that he liked the peaceful Ichigo even with the bright flush across his pale face.

-x-

"Kuchiki-taicho, I don't know what your recent fascination with Kurosaki is but it's got to stop. Don't bring him up again." He had decided to try bringing the issue up in hopes that someone would listen to him but to no avail. Not that he had expected it.

It have been eight months since he had stayed with Ichigo and he had visited frequently since then. Though he had to visit daily most recently. Both of them were aware of the lack of time he had left. You could almost hear the sound slipping through the timer. So little left.

Pointedly he walked calmly towards the door and left the captains meeting before it ended. Once he was out of the room he shut the door and shunpoed at speeds nearing teleportation to the Kuchiki senkaimon.

Oh god i'm in so much trouble. He had just left a captains meeting before it was dismissed. Just waltzed right on out.

"Oh hey Byakuya." Ichigo sounded so tired. He was afraid of how long his friend had left.

"I just walked out of a captains meeting like it was no big deal. Dear god what did I just do."

"I'm having an effect." Ichigo laughed and the sound was so nice. He really had to stop liking people. They had a habit of dying.

"Yes, yes you are. You bad Kurosaki."

From his bed Ichigo laughed.

-x-

Ichigo hated being bedridden but he could not do anything about it. Where once it was painful for him to walk it had now become impossible. His legs far to weak to carry him.

He hated it.

To fix the lack of nature inside of the bedroom Byakuya had gone and bought him a bonsai tree.

If you had asked him two years ago if he had expected to be bedridden with Byakuya as his only friend and contact he would have looked at you as if you were mad for even suggesting it.

Ichigo had never expected to see Byakuya smile. He should do it more often.

-x-

He should have known that Yamamoto wouldn't be happy with his sudden week long leave without saying anything. Not that he had been expecting multiple captains and lieutenants.

Urahara, Ukitake, Kyoraku, Rukia and Renji. They had underestimated one captain and it seems like he wasn't willing to do it again.

"It doesn't hurt as much right now." Ichigo was looking directly into his eyes though if he actually saw him or not he did not know, his brown eyes were glazed and the flush of fever was still present on his face.

Neither of them had wanted to say it but they knew this problem was soul deep. Ichigo would not be rejoining the reincarnation cycle. Byakuya wasn't even sure if Ichigo noticed that he was not in his body right now. Neither of them were.

Gently he rested his hand over the short chain and eased whatever pain there was left.

He had left the windows open so it wouldn't be very hard for them to get in.

"Nii-sama! What are you- Ichigo!?"

"Oh dear, what seems to be going on here?"

Kyoraku entered the room last, seeing Ichigo's bloody body and the spirit that layed with his head on Byakuya's lap he tipped his sakkat down guessing what had happened.

When he looked up at the group of shinigami he raised a finger to his lips to keep them quiet.

"Byakuya 'm tired."

"Go to sleep then. No ones stopping you."

"Yeah, i'm gonna do that."

Ichigo closed his eyes and he begun to dissipate into small pieces of reishi which disappeared into the air.

"Oh poor boy." Of course Ukitake always felt bad,"He didn't deserve this."

"Taicho... How long had Kurosaki been ill for?"

"Since he lost his powers." When he said this Rukia slowly slid to the ground, her hand clenched in Renji's hakama.

"Ah so that's why he was so insistent."

"I tried, I really did. That was what he said to me when I asked him why he hadn't told anyone. I didn't understand until I tried myself." He was shocked at the amount of venom he found within his own voice but didn't stop it because he found that he was angry. Angry that he had been abandoned, that if he hadn't come to Karakura on a gut feeling that Ichigo would have died sad and alone.

To that no one had anything to say.

Only when Byakuya was in the comfort and privacy of his own home would he allow himself to mourn his friend.

Fun fact- Macbeth is the only Shakespeare play I like. Not that I have learnt the story of many but this is the only one that's ever even slightly stuck.

I was originally going to end this with someone finding Byakuya taking care of Ichigo and the panic of Ichigo being ill lighting a fire under Urahara's ass to hurry up but then I was like, no. So Ichigo's dead. Like dead dead. Sorry.

Hope you enjoyed, please leave a review. -Luna.