Assassination's note: This is a collab done with CitrusShinigami.
He dropped the 'borrowed' duffle bag and let it fall to the floor as he searched inside, wondering if he'd missed anything. A few necessities had made it inside, like a few rolls of duct tape, clothes, and food. Renji sifted through the bag and smiled, thinking that he might actually get a break.
Renji's gaze moved to the boy sleeping peacefully in the chair, still tied up with the robe tie.
After much inward fighting, he'd decided to take the kid along, as a hostage. He tried to reason this by saying that Ichigo might call the police and say he'd taken his neighbor's car - whom he figured out were conveniently on vacation, which he could have easily remedied by tying the boy up with the duct tape or clothesline he found and shove him down in the basement to be found in a few days, but if he was actually being truthful, he liked the kid's company.
Ichigo had been an enjoyable hostage just inside his home, accommodating him with whatever he needed, obviously, at gun point, but still. He was smart and could be an asset later on.
"'ey, kid. Wake up." He unwillingly shook Ichigo awake, feeling bad because he'd already interrupted the college student's sleep earlier that morning. "We're leavin'."
"Mnn...?" The law student's head lolled to the side, slowly opening his eyes and turning his head to look up at the redhead. "...what? 'leaving'?" Raising his hand, his other following along with it, rubbing his eye only to blink once his other hand bumped into his nose. Which then had the situation slam a 'realization-brick' into his face and blinked a couple more times.
Brown hues glanced over to the window, seeing the sunlight dripping through the blinds and then glanced over to the duffel.
"Um...I take it I'm being held hostage."
Smart, just, but not the smart stupid that try to get away
"Yeah, I need one, 'n you've been good so far." Renji put his hand under Ichigo's arm and pulled him to stand. "If ya really need to sleep, you can do it in the car." The redhead smirked, looking at the kid in the eye. "You're not gonna fight me on this, are ya? 'cause I kinda like how you're not a prat."
Gasping once he was tugged up, Ichigo swallowed once his brown hues connected with red. "Can I just...do something real quick?" he questioned, glancing down on the hand holding his arm. "Just one thing. One. That's all I ask and then I'll go quietly."
The question surprised him. It wasn't a plea to be freed and it made the criminal have a small smile flash across his face before it vanished and he eyed the boy with curiosity at the request. "What's the thing ya need to do?"
"Well...if you don't want to have the police called when my brother gets back and I'm still gone by sundown..." He kept his eyes on the arm, slowly lifting them to look at Renji's face. "I'll leave him a note. Tell him I'll be gone a few days."
Renji blinked. "You're just talkin' about a written note, yeah? Not a phone call?" He folded his arms before him. "If that's what you're asking for then go ahead. Easier for me."
Ichigo nodded once the other questioned it being a note or not and moved to go get a pen and paper from the drawers in the kitchen. Ending up with strawberry decorated paper - he didn't even want to explain - and a black pen, scribbling down a note about going to 'Fun World' and underlining the place as well.
Again: didn't want to explain.
Setting the pen down, he then moved over to where the duffel bag was. "Okay, well, I guess we can head out now." Ichigo went over to the closet and dug around as best he could with bound hands and grabbed a pair of untied shoes to slip on.
He walked up behind Ichigo and grabbed the paper, looking it over and scoffing, muttering something like, "Cute," under his breath and putting it down. Renji couldn't read, except for a few words. All at once, he regretted letting Ichigo write the note, but if he was like he thought - not an asshole that the public usually was - then the boy would help him out.
"Try 'n hurry up. I can just hear the stupid police cars in the distance." Renji bit his lip and slung the bag over his shoulder, walking to the door and pulling the gun out from his pants.
Tugging on the second shoe at this point, Ichigo stared at the convict before standing up straight and holding his hands out in a frantic manner. "Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on, here. Don't pull that out. Haven't you learned that from other dumb criminals?" Pointing to the weapon, he then made a twirling motion with his hands, as if searching for a word. "'don't draw attention to yourself' ring any bells?"
The convict blinked, eyes widening from surprise. Renji looked down at the gun and mulled over what Ichigo had said. "What do ya mean? 'Other dumb criminals'? Have you ever met another criminal before?" He glared at him, not seeing movies or the news since he was small, he wasn't able to connect what the kid was saying.
"Ye- no...I haven't. But the most common mistake at times is drawing attention to themselves like, say, pulling out a gun in broad daylight." He motioned to the gun once more. "I'm not trying to be an ass, but really. Put that away."
"Oh, yer a college student in this...thing." He looked down at the gun and sighed. Renji muttered something under his breath again and then placing the gun in his pants where it was before. The 'not drawing attention to yourself' idea gave him one.
Okay, that was one less problem to deal with. Now another arose.
Ichigo's arms were pretty obviously tied in front of him. The best way to hide that would to act like he was taking him to the hospital. He pulled a blanket out and draped it over the student's shoulders. "I'm not thinkin' yer stupid, but keep in mind that if ya say a word I'll shoot ya right in the head."
At this the orange haired student just nodded and glanced down on his shoes. Well, he probably looked the part of whatever his captor tried to play him off as.
"Come on." He opened the door, pulling Ichigo around and then placing his arm around him, like he was giving him support. Closing the door quickly behind him, they headed toward the neighbor's car.
With an inward sigh of defeat, Ichigo walked along with the tattooed man. Well, it couldn't be that bad being a hostage, right?
Renji hadn't hit him yet, though Ichigo gave him no reason to. He hadn't yelled at him, again, given no reason to.
Yet when this was all over who knew what the older male would do. Personally, he was getting a bit scared about the thought, though it would be best if he just went along with whatever stunt the man was going to pull if it would keep his family safe from harm or being involved. Hopefully.
They made it to the door and Renji - whom had broken into the neighbor's house while Ichigo was fast asleep - put the key in, opening the door and helping Ichigo into the back seat where he quickly closed the door and hurried around to the other side. In a matter of seconds, Renji had the car on and turned onto the road.
He'd looked at the map he'd found and memorized the roads he was going to take, heading that way now. Thanks to his little captive in the backseat, he was able to skip getting provisions and shit that might get him caught by the police. "Stay down until we get outta the city."
Perfectly situated in the back, laying down, Ichigo shrugged and turned so his back was facing Renji. "Sure thing." he mumbled, letting his eyes slide shut as he moved the blanket to make a make-shift pillow under his head.
May as well get more sleep since he couldn't really do anything at this point in time.
A good deal of time passed as Renji drove - rather manically since he'd been in jail for a long time and driving was not like riding a bike. He stopped for absolutely nothing, just trying to get the fuck out of the city. Which was easier than he had thought it would be. No road blocks or people checking for IDs for cars.
It was too easy.
Renji eventually noticed that the morning they had left had vanished and it was evening. He rubbed his eyes as he looked in the back, almost the first time he'd done that since they left (the real first time being the time when he told Ichigo that he could sit up now if he wanted and found that the orange haired college student was just slumbering away). "We're going to stop at a motel."
Said student had moved to sit up sometime before the other spoke and brushed stray strands of hair out of his face. "Oh. Okay." Glancing down, he tapped the toes of his shoes together with a thoughtful look, wondering if his twin had gotten his message. Like, understood the contents of it. "So...where are we?"
The answer flew by on a nasty coloured green sign. "Fresno." He glanced back, giving him a pleased smile. It had been a while since things had gone his way. Renji used to wonder if he was just given bad luck to suffer with all his days. Something going as well as this was something to be happy about, or at least revel in for a minute. "Makin' tracks and that's a good thin'."
Oh, right... Ichigo blinked as he stared at the smile then at just the back of Renji's head. He needs to get to that bar.
The redhead blinked as he saw the first motel that had a sign and directions on how to get there. "An' we're stoppin' at Day's Inn Fresno if they have an openin'."
"They most likely will..." he mumbled, shifting his hands about to keep them occupied. "Anyway...do you even know where this place is? That you're going to, I mean."
"Truth is, I'm spit ballin' it. I dunno if my memory is good, but I remember hearin' about stuff next to it and around it. Landmarks an' shit." Renji shrugged. "So, I think I know where I'm headed. Outta here, at least." He glanced back at Ichigo again, locking eyes with him for a moment as if he was trying to get into the kid's head.
Brown locked with red, Ichigo trying to read the other just by his eyes. He simply nodded and just sat there, staring back at Renji.
"This is gonna be a long trip, so...uh..." He looked around, as if searching for something. A way to get off the road for the motel, maybe. "Ya gotta family, yeah? A brother, I figure from what ya said before. Anyone else?"
"He's my younger brother actually." he corrected. Both himself and the convict. "My dad, my two younger sisters, my mom -" Ichigo immediately stopped there, whatever tint of happiness from just thinking about his family gone. "...my mom...well..." Shifting in his seat, he stared out the window at this time, rather uncomfortable.
Renji felt the tension and shook his head, keeping his eyes on the road, but glancing in the mirror to see the captive's face. "Don't have ta talk about it. There's stuff I'd rather not talk about too." He seemed almost kind hearted for a moment before Renji cursed under his breath at sounding so sappy.
A mumbled, "Thanks," was given as a response to the other's words. Turning his attention back to Renji, Ichigo offered an awkward, tiny, smile. "Most would try and guess what happened. At least you dropped it."
The redhead didn't say anything in reply, looking just solemn as he drove on, turning off and finally starting toward the motel.
After a little while he finally spoke. "I'm surprised ya haven't asked me to tell ya about my family." He turned to look over his shoulder, almost as if he didn't care where the car was heading. Fortunately, Renji seemed to be able to drive without looking at the road. "Why?"
Shrugging, Ichigo then chuckled in a lighthearted manner. "I just figured that you wouldn't want me to ask." He stopped chuckling and then glanced down on the flooring. "Besides...you'd tell me on your own time and when you're ready. If...if you wanted to."
"Yer..." He bit his lip, turning into the parking lot of the motel and parking a little away from the main office. If someone walked out and saw the car with a tied up boy and the obvious criminal, the ruse would be over. "Yer a good kid, Ichi."
This had the younger male shrug as if it wasn't that all surprising or important to say such then be considered good. Not in his opinion at least. I don't know if I'd say 'good'.
The mini van engine came to a stop, becoming quiet as Renji opened the door and then, once he stepped out, thought to lean into the car once more and look Ichigo straight in the eyes. "I'm gonna remind ya, ta keep it down. I don't wanna cause a scene." Renji just assumed that Ichigo would understand that he was...on edge.
Yes, causing a scene would end badly. Badly for which man? Ichigo had no idea, but didn't bother to ponder on the thoughts any longer than he should. Nodding to the other's words, the law student reached for the blanket and tugged it up to his chin and leaned back with his brown eyes looking straight ahead. "Got it."
Turning around, Renji shut the door and pushed the lock button on the fob to put the alarm on. Ichigo had done nothing to earn Renji's distrust, but the truth of the matter was that the convict's past was riddled with reasons to hate people. Being sent to juvi when he was a kid and soon being put into jail permanently didn't exactly surround him with lifelong pals and trustworthy friends.
After a few remarks from the employee - mostly concerning how Renji said he wanted a one bed hotel room, he took the keys and glared at the asshole who assumed he wanted one bed to get busy that night. Spending most of his life in prison, Renji knew what sex was and how it worked. He'd seen enough to know how to do it too, especially to men, but somehow, he managed to scare off even the bigger men in the Hellhole and keep his ass in tact. The only reason he got the bed was that he was a light sleeper. If Ichigo moved off the bed at all, he'd be able to tell and wake up.
Said college student was currently looking for his duffel bag, mostly in hopes of finding at least some kind of food that wasn't in a blasted can. Twisting about in his seat, Ichigo furrowed his brows as he continued to search for the bag. C'mon...how hard is it to find a damn red Wendy's duffel? Seriously... he thought, grumbling, and finally moved to get out of his seat to turn and peer over the back of his seat. ...Tatsuki...Tatsuki gave me that bag.
Ichigo sank his teeth into his lower lip, hands gripping the seat tightly as his shoulders slumped and his whole form soon following it.
He hoped she would worry, but again hoped she didn't. Last time he made her worried, he was ill with a fever and had to stay home, she broke into his house and hit him a couple times, scolded him for being so dense, glared at him as he sputtered an apology, then simply kissed his forehead and stayed the whole night.
Not that anyone else would see a problem with that. But those people didn't know Tatsuki the way he did. Worry punches hurt like hell and she came by each day with a bowl of soup, acting like an upset mother cat.
See, Ichigo compared her to a cat for various reasons - some he didn't even want to get into, and she'd fuss over someone for days, even a day or two after they got better. Then, once she knew they were a hundred percent okay, she'd slap their back with a force that would make them stumble.
But that was Tatsuki. His Tatsuki.
A small smile came to his lips and chuckled.
As Ichigo reminisced of his girlfriend, Renji walked out with the keys and both a grumpy attitude. That guy had rubbed him the wrong way, and if Ichigo hadn't told him a few hours before that 'not bringing attention' to himself was a good idea, he'd have punched that jackass in the face.
He unlocked the door and hopped in, looking back at Ichigo and noticing that he'd been moving around. "What've you been doing in here?" Renji eyed him with some displeasure.
Renji then rolled his eyes and turned around, turning the car on and moving to the other side of the building, parking just in front of their room on the ground floor.
Moving to plop back down correctly on the seat, Ichigo grabbed at the blanket again and furrowed his brows in a contemplating manner. "I was just looking for my duffel bag."
Renji proceeded to grab the duffel bag out from under the driver's seat where he'd stashed the bag from the very beginning of their ride and then walked around to open the back door, grabbing Ichigo's arm and pulling him out until he could close the door and head toward the motel room.
The unexpected tug had Ichigo blink and let out a surprised sound, yet other than that was relatively quiet afterward.
"I'll untie ya in the room if ya don't cause a scene." Another unneeded warning, but he said it anyway, putting his arm around Ichigo's shoulder as if he were dating him or something to make it seem like they were just a lovely couple. He found it easier to steer him to the door this way, unlocking it and forcing Ichigo to walk in first.
Once he'd entered, he locked the door, made sure the window was closed and briefly checked for wires or cameras or something. He found nothing and then gestured for Ichigo to sit on the bed.
Besides the whole sudden closeness like before, Ichigo was busying himself with other matters at hand. Like, as mentioned before, Tatsuki worrying about his random vanishing act. Trailing over to where the redhead gestured, the student plopped his bottom down, forearms resting on his thighs as he finally took note of the single bed.
This is where things got awkward. See, Ichigo had shared a bed with his twin in younger years and only in younger years, unless either one of them had a nightmare that shook them to the core, but other than that he'd never shared a bed with anyone afterwards. Not that sharing was an issue, but the issue at hand was that - if he was correct - he'd be laying in the bed with another man. That's where the problem resided.
He'd shared a bed with his girlfriend a few times, whenever she felt like it, but never with a grown male. Not with another guy after Hichigo, ever.
Once he'd made more tests to make sure that the room was secluded, even looking in the bathroom, noting that there were no windows or means of escape, he walked over to the bed and sat down next to Ichigo. He looked up at the kid and pulled out a knife from his pocket. "Come 'ere so I can cut those."
Ichigo's eyes had widened at the appearance of the knife, sneaking a peek at the robe tie to see if that was absolutely necessary, and scooted just a little closer while holding out his bound wrists.
Renji reached out, taking hold of Ichigo's wrists to steady them so that he wouldn't accidentally cut the kid. "'fore ya ask. Yeah, I tied a good knot. Too good." He sliced through them, picking up the scraps and moved to the head of the bed where the trash can was.
Blinking as he watched the redhead, Ichigo brought his hands back to his side, his left hand rubbing his right wrist. Glancing down on the freed limbs, he gnawed on his lower lip with a confused look at how a robe tie could leave marks on his wrists. Honestly, he never considered the possibility such a thing could do this.
Then again, taking into consideration that he'd been tied up for a while, it was possible.
He watched Ichigo as he sat down on the bed next to him again, letting his eyes fall to the wrists that looked a little red. Renji almost felt bad because he'd have to tie him up again before they went to sleep.
"Ya want somethin' ta eat?" The redhead turned away from him and bent over to start rummaging through the duffel bag. He'd grabbed a few preservatives that would last them a while without being refrigerated. While Ichigo might turn his nose up at it, it was better than anything he'd had in the slammer.
Bringing his legs up onto the bed, Ichigo crossed them Indian style and tilted his head to watch the redhead. He then placed his hands on his knees with a nod once his stomach decided to announce that it was starving. "Yeah." Ichigo laughed nervously as another growl came from his stomach. Raising a hand, he rubbed the back of his neck in a thoughtful manner. "Hey, uh...Renji..."
The question passed right over his head as he pulled out two cans of fruit (pears) and handed one to the other along with a plastic spoon. "Hm?"
Ichigo pursed his lips, turning his head away as he lowered his hand. "Mind telling me what got you in this position?"