Hello everyone! This is chapter 1 of Rain Dried by White Moon. I got the idea from re-watching Silver Linings Playbook. It's such a good movie and I recommend you all watch it!

Chapter 1

The Fire

"OK, breathe in and out," Ichigo Kurosaki said as he pressed the stethoscope against the patient's chest.

His patient, a blonde man, inhaled and exhaled. Ichigo could faintly hear sniffles.

"I don't think I've ever seen you before," Ichigo said. He removed the earpieces from his ears and set the stethoscope aside.

The man shook his head. "I just moved here a week ago."

"That makes sense," Ichigo said. "What was your name again?"

"Kira, Izuru."

Ichigo slipped his hands into the pocket of his white lab coat. "Now tell me, Izuru, do you have insurance?"

Izuru shook his head and smiled. "Never needed it."

Ichigo paced around the room. "Izuru, let me tell you a story about a man named Pizuru who had no insurance."

"Me."

Ichigo ignored Izuru. "Pizuru sadly, had idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and needed a lung transplant. But since he didn't have insurance, he couldn't afford it."

Izuru paled. Ichigo pretended not to notice.

"And since he had such a serious pre-existing condition, no insurance company would cover for him. He died within a few days." Ichigo stopped pacing and sighed. "If only Pizuru had gotten insurance before a doctor diagnosed him!"

There was a troubled look on poor Izuru's face. He got up from the chair and quickly exited the room. Ichigo heard the door open and then close.

"ICHIGOO..!" Ichigo's father, Isshin, raced into the room and aimed a kick at Ichigo. Ichigo knocked Isshin's foot away.

"What do you want now, old man?"

"I heard what you were telling Izuru!" Isshin scolded. "Is that your way of telling a patient that he was going to die?!"

"Of course not!" Ichigo said. "I'm not that cruel!"

"Then why did you scare him with that insurance story?!"

Ichigo rolled his brown eyes. "The guy didn't have insurance. I was just convincing him to get one."

Isshin blinked. "Oh? Is that so?"

Ichigo nodded.

Isshin leaned against the wall. He crossed his arms. "Did he really need one?"

"Need what?"

"A transplant."

Ichigo laughed. "Nah, all he had was a cold. But who knows, maybe one day Izuru will need a transplant and he'll look back and think, 'Wow, I'm sure glad I listened to Dr. Kurosaki!'"

Isshin chuckled. "I really shouldn't be finding this funny. You're lucky you're a good doctor, otherwise you would've been in deep trouble."

Ichigo smirked. "It also helps that I'm your son."

"Never use that as an excuse," Isshin said. He glanced up at the clock. It was 5:22 PM. "We don't have any more patients today, so you can go home."

Ichigo shrugged off his white coat and hung it up. "OK thanks." Ichigo began making his way out. "Good night old man!"

Ichigo didn't have to look to know that Isshin was smiling. "Night Ichigo! Tell Orihime I said 'hi!'"

Ichigo instantly smiled as he thought about his beautiful, loving, orange haired wife. "I will."

When Ichigo stepped outside and closed the door behind him, he was met with a peaceful autumn breeze. Autumn was by far Ichigo's favorite season. Winter was too cold and the snow also turned into disgusting, gray mush. Spring was pretty with all the brightly colored flowers, but the weather shifted too often and all the sneezing fro allergies annoyed Ichigo. Summer was always uncomfortably hot. In Autumn, it was never too hot nor too cold and the splash of red, orange, and yellow on the trees and ground brought peace to Ichigo's mind.

Ichigo got into his black Toyota. As he buckled his seat belt, he glanced at the sign that read "Kurosaki Clinic." Ichigo's gaze softened. The house he grew up in was attached to the clinic. One of the benefits of working for his father was that Ichigo would never have to worry about being homesick. Ichigo reminisced the many joyful nights he spent with his father, his younger sisters, and his mother…

The smile fell from Ichigo's face. He suppressed the feeling of loneliness and pushed away the image of that kind smile.

Ichigo inserted the key into the ignition. He twisted the key, causing the car to whir. Ichigo hit the gas pedal.

He drove home slowly. There was no need to rush.

It must have gotten windy outside because the leaves were dancing in the air. It was a beautiful sight, but Ichigo knit his eyebrows. His guts told him that the leaves were trying to send a message. They seemed to be…foreboding something.

Ichigo shrugged. What was he thinking? Of course there wasn't some sort of message. Ichigo was just being superstitious, which was strange since Ichigo never really was.

Huh, I'm becoming more and more like Orihime.

Ichigo slowly parked into the driveway of his white colonial house. Ichigo checked his watch as he walked to his front step.

5:46. Ichigo didn't usually get home until 6:30.

Ichigo smiled. Orihime would be pleasantly surprised.

I'll surprise her even more tonight once we get into bed.

Ichigo opened his door. He was about to call out for Orihime but stopped himself. Ichigo decided that he would scare her instead.

Ichigo slowly shut the door. Where should I hide?

Ichigo crept up the stairs. When he reached the top, he saw Orihime's clothes scattered across the floor. Ichigo raised an eyebrow.

He stared straight ahead. The bathroom door was ajar and he could see Orihime standing in the shower.

Come to think of it, we've never showered together before. I better change that.

Smirking, Ichigo unbuttoned his shirt.

He pushed the door open.

The smirk faded almost immediately. A freezing sensation shot through all of Ichigo's veins.

Orihime squeaked in surprise and horror as she pulled away from a muscular man with a shock of blue hair. The man, who had been kneeling down, got up. He was taller than Ichigo and a little more muscular.

He was also naked.

Ichigo felt his stomach churn. There was a liquid that wasn't water dripping from the man's mouth. The man licked the liquid off. While Orihime covered her large breasts and refused to meet Ichigo's brown eyes, the man stared hard at Ichigo. He seemed to be challenging him.

Ichigo saw red.

An intense fire that Ichigo had never felt before erupted in him. The heat was so powerful that Ichigo didn't feel like he was on fire, he was fire.

He was a fire that wanted everything to burn in hell for all of eternity.

Ichigo couldn't remember what happened next. Someone might have said something. All he knew was that he had his hands wrapped around the man's throat.

The man jerked back and ripped Ichigo's hands off. He got into a perfect boxer stance and sent a flurry of punches at Ichigo. Each punch created dark spots around Ichigo's vision and knocked the wind out of him. He heard an unpleasant crack. Despite all that, the pain seemed distant.

Ichigo's anger was overpowering the pain.

Ichigo grabbed the man's arm and twisted it as hard as he could. He heard and felt the bone break. The sound satisfied him slightly.

The man cried out in agony and rage. With his good hand, he grabbed Ichigo's head and pushed him down. There was a rough pounding in Ichigo's head as he was slammed against the porcelain floor. The man straddled Ichigo and punched him across the face.

Ichigo spit at the man's face. His tooth shot into the man's eye, forcing him to back away.

Ichigo lunged forward and tackled into the man. He straddled him and punched his chiseled face with all his might. The man flailed his arms around wildly, but Ichigo refused to let go.

Orihime was screaming for Ichigo to stop. Ichigo felt her arms wrap around his torso. She was trying to pull his off.

Normally, Orihime's touch was more than enough to calm down Ichigo. This time, however, her touch only amplified the rage in the deepest depth of Ichigo's soul. He wanted nothing more than to destroy every inch of the man who stole his wife. No, that was far from enough. He wanted to completely erase the bastard's existence.

Ichigo screamed in rage and continued sending punches at the man, whose face was a bloody mess.

There's not enough blood.

There should be more blood.

Orihime was crying. "STOP, ICHIGO, STOP!"

The man grabbed Ichigo's shoulders. Ichigo pulled them off and punched the man in the head. The man's eyes rolled back.

But Ichigo still didn't stop.

He couldn't stop.

It was as if Satan himself was possessing him.

"GRIMMJOW NOO!"

Hearing the man's name cut Ichigo like a sword. He punched even harder, if that was possible. Ichigo could feel the man's body go limp.

The next several minutes were a blur. Strangers in blue uniforms stormed into the bathroom and pulled Ichigo away from the unconscious man. There was a lot of shouting, but Ichigo couldn't hear a single word they said. The shouts pounded in Ichigo's ears.

One of the men tried to handcuff Ichigo. Ichigo wrenched himself away from the man and kneed him where the sun doesn't shine. The man doubled over. Ichigo was about to launch another attack when his companions leaped onto Ichigo. The weight of the men held him down. Ichigo squirmed and cussed. He could still see the fire.

Ichigo felt something sharp sink into his neck and he tumbled into darkness.

Ichigo sat in the court room stiffly. He stared at Orihime blankly. Orihime was wearing a black blazer and black pencil skirt. She looked beautiful, but her gray eyes wore a serious look. Ichigo was used to seeing his wife smiling.

Orihime was speaking now. Her tone had an edge to it. Ichigo couldn't really comprehend what his wife was saying., except for three words.

Divorce.

Restraining order.

Those words stabbed Ichigo and left him in a state of pain and confusion. Orihime loved him, right? They had been happily married for four years. Did she seriously want to leave him?

The rest of the trial moved on painfully slow. Ichigo didn't pay much attention to what the judge was saying. He was focused on Orihime.

Orihime refused to look at him the whole time. Her gaze wouldn't even go to his general direction.

Ichigo's heart shattered. Some of the words the judge said didn't help.

Grimmjow nearly died.

Mentally unstable.

Bipolar disorder.

Ichigo couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was a healthy man! If he was sick, he would know. After all, Ichigo was a doctor.

Ichigo desperately wanted to protest, but something inside him was preventing him form doing so. Maybe he was hoping that Orihime would change her mind, that she would realize that Ichigo was still the same man she fell in love with.

Or maybe he had already lost hope.

"Kurosaki, Ichigo will live in the psychiatric hospital Las Noches until he recovers," the judge, an elderly man with a long beard, said. He slammed the gavel down.

Two men grabbed Ichigo's arms and practically dragged him out of the room. Ichigo turned his head back.

Orihime had her back turned to him. Even now, she didn't look at him.

Ichigo's head slumped as he waited for his new life without Orihime to begin.

Short chapter but I hope it's enough to satisfy.

What will Ichigo's new life be like? Tune in next time to find out!