Chapter One

Ichigo jerked awake when his cellphone rang, dropping a folder that had been resting in his lap and cursing when papers spread across the floor. He reached for his phone and answered groggily as he rubbed his free hand over his face. He hadn't remembered falling asleep and now felt worse than he had beforehand.

"Ichi, Tai's here." Shinji's voice cut through the fog of sleep like a hot knife through soft butter and Ichigo sat up straighter on the couch.

"What? When?"

"Maybe ten minutes ago. Look, Ichi he's not… he's not okay. I'm taking him to the hospital right now."

Ichigo felt his heart drop to his stomach and his breath froze in his lungs. "What?" he breathed and he heard Shinji sigh.

"He looks like he got beat up pretty good. He's bleeding from all over. Fuck Ichi. He's passed out in my daughters' arms right now. I just…."

"I'll meet you there, okay. Just hurry and get him there."

Shinji nodded into the phone and sniffled. "I'm sorry… I…. I'll see you there."

Ichigo almost dropped his phone as he hung up and jumped when he heard a sound from behind him. Looking over the back of the couch he saw both Tomoe and Sorin standing in the hallway, looking at him expectantly.

"Well?" Tomoe asked with a tired yawn and Ichigo sighed.

"He's at your uncle's. I'm on my way to pick him up." Ichigo half lied as he stood and stretched.

"Why'd he go there?" Sorin asked quietly and Ichigo shrugged. He'd wondered that himself.

"That stupid idiot. Is he hurt?" Tomoe yawned again and her eyes narrowed at the sudden tight look on her father's face.

"A little. I'll know more when I see him. You guys st-"

"No way I'm comin' with you." Tomoe practically shouted before running off down the hall to her room to change as quickly as she could.

"Yeah me too." Sorin added, retreating to his room as well to change.

Not in the mood to argue, Ichigo set the retrieved folder on the coffee table and went in search for his keys. It surprisingly didn't take long for the three of them to get out to the car and Ichigo tried calling Grimmjow one more time before he slid into the driver's seat. He didn't know why the man wasn't answering, he was supposed to be out looking for Taichi at the moment, and hoped he hadn't fallen asleep on the side of the road somewhere. Setting the phone in the center console, Ichigo started the car and headed towards the hospital he knew Shinji would be taking Taichi to. Every time he was stopped at a stoplight he sent a quick text to Grimmjow but he had yet to be answered. Tomoe watched this from her peripheral and rolled her eyes, snatching Ichigo's phone from his hands and grumbling a quick, "I'll get his attention." before typing something out.

At the next light they were stopped at Ichigo checked to see what had been written -"I want a divorce"- and frowned at his daughter. Tomoe shrugged and leaned her head against the window. She wasn't awake even to attempt being nice and Sorin had fallen back to sleep in the back seat. By the time they entered the underground parking garage Ichigo's phone was finally ringing. It was Grimmjow. Tomoe snatched up Ichigo's phone and answered it before he could, making him sigh and look harder for a parking spot.

"What the hell? You fall asleep of something?"

"Give the phone… wait. Don't send me fucked up messages on yer Chichi's phone." Grimmjow sounded exhausted and more than irritable and Tomoe grinned mischiviously.

"But I wasn't playin' with the phone. Maybe you pissed Chichi off and he don't like you anymore."

She heard Grimmjow sigh heavily before he spoke. "Give. The goddamned phone. To your father. Now."

"Geez, what crawled up your butt?" Tomoe grumbled and quickly handed the phone to Ichigo before Grimmjow could yell at her for what she had said.

Ichigo talked as he slid into a parking spot and got out of the car, the three of them half jogging to the emergency entrance. Ichigo walked directly to the reception desk and Tomoe and Sorin spotted Yayoi leaning up against a wall by the waiting room. Tomoe opened her mouth to call out to her when she noticed what the girl was wearing. A thin white cotton night dress spotted heavily with blood stains and a pair of snake skin cowboy boots. Ignoring her best friends' horrible taste in shoes, Tomoe focused on the blood and spoke too loud for where she was.

"Holy crap, what happened to him?"

Yayoi's arms were wrapped tightly around her waist and she shrugged, not bothering to look up at the two that had approached her. "Don't know yet."

Sorin watched her closely, quietly taking in her slumped shoulders and closed body language. Tomoe cocked a hip and looked down the hallway.

"What room's he in?" she asked and Yayoi sighed.

"Tomo, please…." she started but Tomoe was already taking off to find out for herself.

Yayoi sighed again and leaned back against the wall again. Sorin cleared his throat and shifted his weight awkwardly.

"You cold?" he asked quietly, eyes suddenly fixated on Yayoi's boots.

Yayoi looked up at him, her titled pale blue eyes quickly assessing his face before flicking away, and shook her head. "No, not really. I just… didn't get a chance to grab a change of clothes when we were rushing out so…." she looked down at herself and sighed at the drying blood on her clothes.

Sorin scowled and shifted on his feet. "You need to get out of those clothes, you know?" he said, clearing his throat and looking away quickly when he realized what he had said.

Yayoi blushed and tried to stop her lips from turning up at the edges. She sighed. "Nnoi-chan is picking me something up on his way here." she said quietly.

"Oh." Sorin reached up and rubbed at the back of his neck, wondering if there would ever be a time he could just talk normally with Yayoi.

"So… how bad is he?"

Yayoi shrugged again. "Something was wrong with his leg. He couldn't stand on it when we took him out to the car. He's all bloody and bruised up. He looks horrible."

"I'm…." Sorin started, not really sure what to say in that moment. I'm sorry didn't seem to fit here.

Instead he crossed his arms over his chest as well and leaned up against the wall near but not too close to where Yayoi was. Tomoe pushed open a random curtain as she looked for her brother, not bothering to apologize when she had walked into five occupied rooms that didn't contain anyone who even remotely looked like him. Finally she pulled back a horrible flower patterned curtain to see Taichi sitting on a gurney with one arm out as a nurse stitched up a rather nasty looking gash on his arm. Taichi was looking away, eyes shut tightly and face contorted in discomfort. With one leg resting on a thin pillow and the other dangling off the side of the hospital bed Taichi looked like he was comfortable save for the obvious pain showing on his face. Tomoe scowled and sucked in a breath before she lifted her hand and struck Taichi as hard as she could in the face. Taichi, having not yet noticed that his sister was even in front of him, jerked and the woman with the needle at his arm gasped, arms pulling back so she didn't end up hurting Taichi more than he already was.

"You asshole! Where the hell have you been?" Tomoe yelled at Taichi.

"Tomo!" Ichigo said from behind Tomoe and puled her back out in the hall with an arm around her waist.

"What the hell is wrong with you? He's getting stitches. He's already hurt enough." he snapped and Tomoe glared at him.

"No way, he needs to be punished for taking off without telling me anything!" she said indignantly.

"Just go wait in the waiting room with everyone else, please."

Tomoe would have pushed her point but the look in Ichigo's eyes told her that it wouldn't be worth the effort if she did. So instead of the fit she wanted to throw she turned on her heel and stomped back to the waiting room. Ichigo sighed as he watched her go before reentering the small curtained off room. His eyes immediately went back to his oldest son and he frowned. He hadn't noticed how thin Taichi had gotten lately. His ribs were starting to show and earlier when he had been sitting up Ichigo had noticed his shoulder blades were sharp as razorblades. He also hadn't seen the nipple piercings yet nor had he been aware of the two little piercings winking at each of Taichi's hip bones. He wasn't even sure how those were even possible. Grimmjow was going to be pissed when he saw those.

"There, all patched up." the nurse said with a smile as she reached for gauze to cover the wound.

"How many did it end up being?" Ichigo asked and the nurse smiled up at him.

"Only eight. I'm guessing you know how to keep them clean, Dr. Kurosaki." the nurse chuckled and Ichigo smiled tightly at her.

Once Taichi's arm was wrapped the nurse stood to dispose of the used needles and refuse, careful not to let either father or son know that she was watching them as closely as she could. It was almost hard to walk around the bed the tension between the two was so thick.

"They'll be coming to get him for x-rays on that ankle in a little bit and I think they also want one of his head and chest. He said he was hit twice with a blunt object. Just sit tight."

As soon as the woman was gone Taichi opened his eyes and looked up at his father for the first time since he'd run away from home. He saw Ichigo's jaw clench and he quickly looked away.

"Sorry." he mumbled and Ichigo shook his head.

"Right now the fact that you aren't dead is making me forget you ran off in the first place so just don't start with the half assed apologies." Ichigo sighed and walked to the chair the nurse had been sitting in, dropping down and running a hand over his face.

"Where did you go?" Ichigo knew it would be easier to get information out of Taichi if Grimmjow weren't around and while he hated having to be a middle man of sorts, right now that wasn't important.

"We, Daisuke and I, walked around the first night and stayed with a couple friends the second night." Taichi's voice was soft and quiet, making Ichigo turn towards him so that he could hear everything that was said.

"And last night?"

Taichi closed his eyes as he remembered everything that had led up to the reason why he was sitting in that hospital bed and sighed deeply. Earlier that day Daisuke had gotten a call from an unrecognized number on his cellphone and had started giggling like a moron the moment he answered it. Apparently Taichi had been wrong about Daisuke's boyfriend after all and the man was calling to suddenly beg Daisuke to move in with him. Taichi still didn't have all the details but after more days than he could count of high stress and little food or sleep, Taichi had snapped at Daisuke.

"So you're ditching me." Taichi had said and Daisuke had rolled his eyes.

"I'm not ditching you, Tai."

"Whatever. Have fun with your man, I'm sure I'll find somewhere to sleep tonight." Taichi turned and started to walk away, ignoring the frustrated sounds coming from his best friend.

"Gawd why can't you just be happy for me? I know things are fucked up right now but… I mean, c'mon."

Taichi had continued to walk away and showed no response when Daisuke had called out that he would call Taichi in the morning. Two hours later when Taichi had just shown up in Nichome he'd run into a couple of old friends. They'd been in a hurry for work so he hadn't bothered asking him if they had a place for him that night. Besides, he had just stayed with them the night before and he didn't want to overstay his welcome. It was getting dark at this point though and he knew that if he didn't work fast he'd be sleeping in an alley that night. The first hotel that he'd walked into had denied him outright, stating that they didn't rent to minors and neither did anyone else in the area. Tired, hungry and more than a little irritated, Taichi had used the restroom at a sushi restaurant to fix himself up a little before heading out to find someone to talk into renting a room for him. It was a Sunday night but the sidewalks were still packed with people and Taichi was confident that he'd be able to accomplish what was needed in no time. It didn't surprise him when he was almost immediately approached, but he frowned at the fact that it was two men.

"Hey there, cutie. You here with someone already?" one of the men snickered and Taichi cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Actually, I'm not."

The second man, this one far more good looking than the other, took a step closer to Taichi and looked him up and down salaciously. "Then how about you accompany us somewhere."

Taichi smirked and shook his head. "You couldn't afford someone like me for a romp. But I'm running a special for tonight and tonight only." he licked his lips and watched the man closest to him follow his tongue with his eyes.

"Oh yeah?"

Taichi nodded. "Yeah. You get me into that hotel for a two nights stay and I'll give you both the best blow jobs you've ever had."

The rest, as they say, was history but Taichi really didn't want to tell his father everything. It wasn't necessary for Ichigo to know that much, and Taichi especially wasn't going to mention the sexual parts of the night. It was best if no one knew about that part, Taichi thought. Taichi decided a far more condensed version would have to suffice and opened his mouth to continue.

"Dai went to his boyfriends' house and my friends, my other friends, were all busy with stuff so… I got some help getting a hotel." Taichi took another deep breath and felt his head spin a little from the drugs they had given him for the pain.

"They… the guys that helped me get the room jumped me and I ended up at Uncle Shin's house."

Ichigo watched Taichi intently and took a deep breath, letting it out through his nostrils as he rose up out of the chair.

"You'll fill in the blanks on that story later. I'll be right back."

As soon as Taichi was alone again he slowly lifted his arm and looked at the stark white bandaging. He hadn't even felt the cut when it had happened and didn't notice it at all until the nurses were helping him out of his shirt. Luckily he hadn't hit any major veins or he might have been a bit worse off than he was. As it was he had swelling on the right half of his face from the punch he had received, possible cracked ribs, a concussion and a possible broken ankle; not to mention the rape before all of that had happened. If he took the men seriously it would mean that both of them had had their way with him and it was no wonder his ass was on fire. He was worried that they had hurt him bad back there but was too scared to tell the doctors what had happened. One reason was the fact that he was certain they would have to tell his fathers and no matter what Ichigo would find a way to get at Taichi's chart at some point. He didn't even want to think about the questions that would come from that situation.

The doctor that had been treating him since he had gotten to the hospital pushed the curtain aside and smiled benignly at Taichi before looking down at the chart in his hands.

"They're here to take you to x-ray but I wanted to make sure we covered everything. You aren't suffering anywhere other than what you've told us, are you?"

Taichi shook his head and two nurses came into the room to help him into a wheel chair. Taichi frowned at the contraption and almost asked if he could just have a pair of crutches when his upper body was lifted up suddenly. He couldn't have stopped the loud cry of pain if he had wanted two as a lightning flash of pain shot from the back of his head to the base of his spine. Tears sprang to his eyes and the nurses gently placed him back on the bed. Taichi's hands came up to cover his face as the pain continued to radiate throughout his body, burning away any of the remaining pain medication in his system. The tears wouldn't stop, the sobbing started again and Ichigo picked that time to walk back in the room. Taichi tried to control his involuntary reaction to the pain but the damage was done. He'd have to tell them what else was wrong with him and suffer the consequences.

"I thought there might be more." the doctor muttered and Ichigo shot him a glance.

"Tai, what's wrong?"

Taichi shook his head and kept his face covered. The doctor asked the nurses to step out for a moment and stepped closer to the bed.

"Were you hit in the back as well?" he asked and Taichi shook his head. God he didn't want to say it.

"Tai you have to t…," Ichigo started and Taichi's broken whisper stopped his words dead.

"I got raped."


Tomoe's head dropped back against the wall and she yawned loudly.

"Aren't they done yet?" she asked and Yayoi patted her arm placatingly.

"If they were you'd be on your way home."

Shinji walked into the waiting room with Nnoitra behind him and the three youths looked up at them. Nnoitra handed a plastic bag to Yayoi and frowned deeply at her when she stood up to retrieve it.

"Why ain't you wearin' a bra?"

Yayoi's mouth dropped open and her cheeks pinkened as she tried to stop the ridiculous urge to turn around to see the look on Sorin's face.

"I… Nnoi-chan I was sleeping."

Nnoitra pointed at her chest and shook his head. "Ya can't not wear one with tits that big."

"Oh my God." Yayoi face lit on fire and Tomoe stood, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and leading her away from Nnoitra.

"Geez Uncle Nnoi."

Nnoitra grunted and threw himself down in one of the plastic chairs. "I fuckin' hate this place." he grumbled and Sorin, still leaning against the wall, nodded.

"Why haven't they come out to tell us anything? Is that… does that mean something bad happened?" Sorin asked and Shinji shrugged.

"Maybe 'cos yer dad's back there."

A child ran unattended down the hallway, a petite nurse running after it and looking thoroughly pissed off about having to do so in the first place. Sorin looked out the portal and watched the child dodge the nurse three times before he was caught and smirked. Kid kind of reminded him of himself a bit. It was then he noticed Grimmjow walking down the hall and he looked back at his uncles.

"Dad's here." he said, watching both men stand and move to greet Grimmjow in the hall.

"Where the fuck is that idiot?" Grimmjow said the moment Shinji walked out of the waiting room.

Shinji's eyes narrowed as he answered. "He's bein' seen right now. Ichi's with him."

Grimmjow shook his head and looked down at his feet. "I'mma kick that kids' ass when I see him. How dare he-"

The crack of a slap echoed down the hallway and many eyes turned to stare at the scene. Ichigo and Taichi, along with the nurses taking Taichi to x-ray and the doctor, had just entered the hall when Shinji had slapped Grimmjow and both their mouths dropped open at the sight. Tomoe and Yayoi had been on their way back from the bathroom, Yayoi freshly changed but still highly embarrassed.

"Oto-chan!" Yayoi yelled and run up to her father's side.

Shinji continued to glare at Grimmjow, looking for all the world as if he wanted to say things but was so angry he couldn't manage to speak them. Yayoi pulled Shinji's arm, leading him away from Grimmjow and the others so that she could attempt to calm him down. The last thing anyone needed was a fight between the two men. The nurses turned the wheelchair Taichi was in towards x-ray and he closed his eyes. Tomoe stepped up beside Grimmjow and looked up at his face, frowning at the slight red mark that had appeared.

"Why'd he hit you?" she asked and Grimmjow's lip curled.

"Where's yer brother?" he asked by way of answering.

Ichigo stopped behind him and cleared his throat. "They just took him to get some x-rays. Grimmjow, what the hell was that?"

"I have no fucking idea." Tomoe watched Grimmjow pinch the bridge of his nose before he spoke again. "So what's wrong with him."

When Ichigo didn't immediately answer he looked up and caught the redhead's agitated expression. He frowned harder when Ichigo finally me this eyes and said, "We need to talk when we get home."


Taichi sighed and leaned back against the edge of the tub, one leg and one arm covered in plastic and hanging over the side. He'd wadded up a bath towel and set it underneath him for his backside but it did little to relieve the stiff pain that was setting in. As he stared up at the ceiling and let the heat from the water soak into his muscles he wondered what his punishment would be. As much as he wanted out of that house he wasn't stupid enough to think that he was anywhere near ready to leave. He'd proved that and then some to himself after what had happened these last four days and he knew he couldn't leave the next time without some sort of plan in mind. Planning took time and he'd need more money.

He'd been surprised when Ichigo hadn't asked him anything after he had admitted to the rape and happy to learn, after a quick examination, that aside from some minor tearing Taichi's ass was just fine. His back, however, was enflamed and sore and would be most likely for the rest of the day. Low level pain medication and bed rest was the advice given before Taichi had left the hospital. Stay off the foot and don't get the bandages wet. He'd been lucky with his ankle and he had only fractured the bone. He was hoping the healing time on that would be considerably less. At the light tap on the door Taichi lifted his head and watched the door open slowly. Sorin walked in with an arm load of towels and set them on the counter.

"Chichi told me to help you dry off." Sorin grumbled and Taichi snorted.

"Sorry. Just let me lean on you and I can do pretty much everything else."

Sorin frowned and stared at his bare feet. "So how'd you get all beat up? Did you at least win?"

Taichi shook his head. "Considering they probably would have killed me if I hadn't gotten away I'd say yeah, I won."

"What the fuck? Was it those stupid wanna be yakuza we ran into that one time?" Sorin asked loudly, referencing the last fight Taichi had ever been involved in the year before.

He shook his head. "No. Don't worry about it, it's over."

"Man, why'd you have to take off like that? Things are gonna get harder on me and Tomo too now because of you." Sorin complained suddenly and Taichi closed his eyes.

"Sorry."

"And dad was really freakin' out too." Sorin continued and Taichi groaned quietly. The last person he wanted to talk about at that moment was Grimmjow.

"Oh I bet."

"I'm serious. I've never seen him so… frantic. He started calling people and yelling orders and I'm pretty sure he threatened to cut one guys' nuts off if he didn't get some information for him."

Taichi frowned and looked back up at his brother. "What?"

Sorin nodded. "Yeah, Chichi said he ditched work Friday to look for you and that's where he was when Chichi got the call from uncle Shinji."

Taichi rolled his eyes and sank further into the water. "Whatever." Taichi doubted that Grimmjow did it for any sort of concern other than getting his hands around Taichi's neck.

"You done yet?" Sorin asked and Taichi sighed.

"Yeah, hold on a sec."

Sorin didn't say anything about the piercings, he'd seen the nipple ones when Taichi had shown them to Tomoe but he knew the ones on his hips were very new. He just let his brother lean on him and dried the parts that Taichi couldn't reach. As awkward as it was to dry his naked brother, Sorin managed to get it done quickly and without hurting Taichi in the process. Taichi wrapped his hair in a towel and pulled on a robe before he leaned once again on Sorin so that he could be led back to his bedroom. He hated having to rely on anyone for help but he was too tired at that point to care. Sorin eased him onto his bed and left him alone again. Taichi took a deep breath and lowered his head down on his pillow, hissing a bit at the pain as he stretched out on his bed. The mattress was so soft, the sheets and blanket smelled so good and Taichi closed his eyes, breathed deeply and bit down on his lip.

He didn't hear Ichigo step into the room but he heard the door shut and buried his face in the pillow. Ichigo grabbed the chair from in front of Taichi's desk and brought it closer to the bed, sitting heavily in it before crossing his arms over his chest.

"How are you feeling?" he asked quietly.

"Better." Taichi said through the pillow fibers.

"You hungry?"

Taichi shook his head even though he knew he was starving. All he wanted was to be alone so he could hopefully pass out and never wake up again. Taichi felt a hand on his shoulder and he squeezed his eyes shut tight.

"I'll make you something anyway." Ichigo said, walking slowly across the room and stopping at the door.

"And we'll talk about all this tomorrow, okay?"

Taichi nodded again and let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. At least Ichigo was going to let him have some time to gather his thoughts before he got yelled at for everything he'd done. He'd been expecting both Grimmjow and Ichigo to jump him the moment they had gotten home but Grimmjow had stomped off to his room and Ichigo had ordered Sorin to get the bath ready for Taichi to soak in. By the time Ichigo brought Taichi some food Taichi feigned sleep so that he would be left alone again. He ate the food as quickly as he could before curling up in the bed and closing his eyes. At least if he was dreaming he didn't have to think about what had happened to him and what was to come.


A/N Well I hope this turned out good, lol. I'm not sure if I'm completely happy with it as is but... It got a lot of things out of the way and out in the open. Yu all probably have more questions now too, lol. Ah well~ I'll hopefully get more of this out soon. For those of you that don't know yet, my story Underground has been updated with a second chapter and there's a new story out called The Search for Paradise that I'd love for y'all to check out.

Anyway, enjoy an hopefully I'll have another update of somethingfor you very~ soon~

Enjoy~

~Penny