Shuuhei trembled as he curled up against the ground. His body was weak and frail, weighted with pain and tension. He'd been told to go home from the bar; he hadn't made it all the way there. Small trails of drool, blood, and other things dripped onto the ground from his clenched teeth. A single hand trembled against the concrete ground, and the cloth that had served as his blindfold was tied tightly around his throat, making his breath come in gasping pants. It hide the blood-beaded slash along his throat. Bruises littered his body, blood spattered along his tan skin. There was another bruise along his cheekbone, pulsing in time with his heart. Bloodshot grey eyes slid open, and he simply stared at the dark wall across from him.
The brunette shinigami had decided to wander home drunk, leaving Izuru and Renji behind at the bar. He hadn't made it there, only because he'd sat down for a small rest, feeling tired and unfocused. Shuuhei soon realized why, as he was suddenly forced to the ground. Lips had brushed against his ear, telling him that he had been drugged, only to be disgraced, all of it caught on film. There had been three men, all of them from different divisions, for his hazed mind couldn't tell them apart or recognize them.
At one point, he had been torn open, and had bled onto the ground as they let him have a moment to catch up with things. A dry whimper left his raw throat, and Shuuhei coughed up some blood and white fluid, the cum that had trickled down his throat.
It had all resumed, the torture happening over and over and over again, before they took him to the warehouse that he was in now. They had tortured him there some more, and still they filmed it, until finally, they grew bored. With a laugh and a promise that he would be famous, the three shinigami stalked off.
And now that he lay there, Shuuhei didn't think he would be able to move. Everything hurt, everything ached, and his back burned like hell. His fingers twitched, and another cough left him, causing small droplets of blood to form on his lips and drip down his chin. "-uhei! Shuuhei!"
A voice, calling to him.
Was he dying ...?
"Shuuhei, say something!" A hand touched his shoulder, and he cried out in newfound pain. The touch immediately withdrew, but he turned his gaze upwards, spotting a haze of red hair. Renji. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound left him. That was enough movement for Renji to realize that he was alive.
"Who did this to you?! Who hurt you, Shuuhei? I'll kill'em, I'll kill every last one of them!"
The brunette gave a feeble shake of his head. "... No," he managed. "It ... hurts," Shuuhei said, voice soft as a feather. Renji had to strain to hear it, and he felt something drip onto his face.
A tear.
The salty drop fell down his face, mixing with a drop of blood and diluting it. "I'll save you, Shuuhei. I won't let anything happen to you, ever again!" Renji, realizing that the only way to save Shuuhei would be through causing him pain, apologized over and over again. The redhead lifted the now crying shinigami into his arms, before racing off in an attempt to find him help. With a small cry, Shuuhei slipped into darkness.
He didn't think he was going to awaken again, but he did. Tired grey eyes managed to drag around a white, sterile-smelling room. A mane of red caused him to blink a few times, Shuuhei realizing that Renji was asleep. Letting out a soft groan, he attempted to sit up, but it was as if that was what the redhead had been waiting for, because he was at his side in an instant . "Shuuhei, don't move yet. You have to lie still."
Taking Renji's advice, cause he didn't think he'd be able to move again anytime soon, the brunette relaxed back against the sheets. "What did they ... do to you?" The question was soft, and made Shuuhei shudder as he thought about it again. "They ... raped me, Renji. Tortured me and filmed it all." He looked at the redhead, seeing him cringe, hand curling tightly into a fist against his blanket. They were both silent for a while, Shuuhei wheezing as he breathed, and Renji fighting to control the rage in his.
"I'm sorry, Shuu. I should've gone home with you that night. I never should have let you go alone." He gave a dry chuckle. "Probably wouldn't have mattered, Renji. They were bent on my destruction, and it looks like they've succeeded."
"Don't even say that! You're not broken! You're not, Shuu, you're not! I refuse to believe it!"
Shuuhei looked at him in surprise at the outburst, and a tan hand came up to grip his own. "I won't let you be broken, Shuu. Because I'm here, Izuru's here, Rangiku's here, even Rukia's here. All of us are here for you, and I'm not ever going to leave you alone again, understand?" He blinked in shock for a long while, simply staring at Renji. And then tears welled in his eyes, rolling down across his tattoo and in jagged streaks through his scars. "I'm not worthy of such kindnesses. There's no need."
"... Don't say things like that. Shuu, you're worth more to me than anyone else in the world, and nothing is going to change that. Shuuhei ... I love you, and I always will. Please, don't give up. You have to stay alive, for me, for Izuru. We'll be lost without you there."
His heart swelled with pain. How could he mean so much to all of them? The tears kept falling, before a gentle hand wiped them away from his cheeks. "Shuu ... don't cry, please don't cry ..."
"I'm sorry Renji, for everything. For being so weak, and allowing all of this to happen. For worrying you, and everyone else." Renji gave a shake of his head, and for the first time, Shuuhei seen the affection and pain in those crimson eyes. "Don't apologize. There's no need, Shuu." In that moment, Shuuhei knew that he was truly wanted, truly needed. That he wasn't just a toy, as those cruel voices had whispered over and over again in his ears. He was wanted, and he was loved.
He was needed.
Shuuhei had never been happier.
The brunette shifted so he was giving somewhat of a hug to Renji, and clung to him like his life depended on it, and in a way, it did. "I'm sorry." He felt the redhead tense again, getting ready to protest. "For doubting myself, and ever doubting you. I won't ever do it again, okay Renji? I won't ever scare you again either, if you promise me that you won't ever scare me." His response was a nod, and Shuuhei knew that their relationship had been completed
He fell asleep in Renji's arms, cradled against his chest. And he had never felt so safe.
Quick little thing that I got the idea to write, using a picture from a doujinshi. I can't remember what it's called, but it was Akon x Shuuhei, and it was quite good. xD