Strawberry Center Stage - A Bleach Fan Fiction #8

Your eyes fluttered open and you slowly lifted the upper half of your body off the futon. Your head started to throb a little, so you shut your eyes and rested your head in your hands until the pain receded.

“Good morning, [Name],” a calming voice said.

You shot your attention to the right and saw a comforting figure sitting next to you, smiling, and drinking tea. “Captain Unohana!” you shouted, somehow relieved. “What are you doing here?” you asked, even though you could easily guess her reason.

She took another sip of her tea and spoke calmly, “Ichigo Kurosaki called me over. He said you took quite the fall and were having trouble with your shoulder.” She motioned towards your left side and you looked over to examine your injured shoulder. It was wrapped in clean bandages and hurt a lot less. “It isn’t broken, just slightly sprained,” she said assuring. “I was able to heal it before it got infected, but now it would be best for you to let it heal on its own.”

You moved your arm a bit to make sure you it was still usable and then looked back up at Captain Unohana. “Thank you, ma’am,” you beamed.

She smiled back and gently set down her tea. “You can move your forearm, but try to keep that shoulder still or else you could make it worse,” she warned.

“Then you could just heal it completely,” you joked.

She chuckled and let out a comfortable sigh. “It never hurts to practice tolerance with your body and mind. It’ll help make you stronger, so you won’t have to constantly depend on others.” You always did love the small but helpful advices the Captain would give you.

“Captain, may I ask you something?” you started. Without waiting for her response, you went straight into it, “Is it wrong to depend on your friends at all?”

“Of course not,” she said as she placed a wet towel on your forehead. “You have friends for a reason, [Name]. They protect and support you because they love you. I can tell that you, [Name], tend to put others’ wellbeing before your own. I can understand your compassionate heart, but you need to take care of yourself first so you will be able to take care of others.” She looked into your eyes with the most warmth and sincerity. “Anyone can say how much they would rather be alone, but deep down, you can’t pushing people away when they start to care about you.”

Captain Unohana carefully got up from her seat and started walking to the exit. “I hope to see you at the festival this evening. You should be feeling well enough to go by then.”

“Yes, ma’am…” Her words had put you into a deep thought.

“Ah, and [Name]…”

You looked up, “Yes, ma’am?”

“Don’t keep pushing Ichigo away. You deserve someone who cares about you just as much as you care about them.” With that last statement, she walked out of the room and shut the door behind her.

You only sat in silence after she left. Her words were so deep and resonated within your mind. There was only one thing you could do after contemplating what she had said. You got up from the futon and walked slowly to your closet. You placed a hand the door and whispered, “I may be scared, but I really need to talk to him…”