Chapter Four

By His Persistence

Gin hadn't been able to get Tōsen's boy of the compound out right away, but he was safe as long as Szayel had him. He'd managed to arrange things with Szayel though. It took some doing, but eventually they got the boy's name out of him. One of the only words he could say was "Wonderweiss". Tōsen wasn't surprised as he stood in the room with him. He was upset and Tōsen imagined that he had become used to the canines he had been surrounded with. Tōsen looked up when the door opened loudly behind him. Even though he couldn't see, he still turned toward sounds. It was an odd thing, considering he had been blind since birth.

"Szayel!" he heard Gin yell out. It startled the blonde boy crouching in the corner into squealing and it almost sounded like he barked.

"Gin, what the…fuck…" Szayel said nearby. "Over here, on the bed," he commented.

Gin had managed to calm Ichigo enough to pick him up and run him to Szayel's office. He had been nonsensical completely, and Gin knew exactly what he was going to do. Szayel would help him. He could never come back once he did this, but he didn't care. He couldn't do it. He'd already dropped the files he would need into a mailbox yesterday morning. They should arrive at the Head Captain's office by the today if he was lucky.

He put him down, and realized that he was really out of it now. "The fuck happened?" Szayel said and began the process of checking Ichigo over. "His arm's broken," he muttered as he ran his hands down the swollen and purple limb. "Not compound, luckily, but a spiral break."

He moved down to his fingers, wincing as he went over them. "Jesus fuck, who the fuck did this?" he growled. "At least three of his fingers are broken, one might be shattered. Gin, grab a sheet, please," he said.

Szayel pulled a sheet over his lower body and peeled the remaining shirt back away from his ribcage. "Goddammit," he muttered under his breath. He moved his hands down his ribs and Ichigo's eyes opened in surprise.

"Ah, stop!" he gasped out and tried to get ahold of Szayel's hands with his unbroken arm.

"Ichigo," Gin said softly. "Stop." Gin pulled his hands away. "We're at Szayel's. Let me see how bad it is."

"Hurts," he breathed out, turning to look at Gin with damp eyes. "Ggio…he didn't…he didn't deserve to die, Gin. Why…"

"What?" Tōsen said from the other side of the room.

"One of the escorts Aizen had for the 'meeting' last night, looks like he overdosed or something, I don't know," Gin said, sighing as Ichigo struggled to stay still.

Ichigo squeezed his eyes shut. "He didn't take it himself," he nearly sobbed. "They…they gave it to him, and…and…"

Tōsen was silent as Szayel continued. Gin looked up across at Szayel and then back to Ichigo. "Szayel," he whispered.

Szayel looked up from checking Ichigo's ribs and locked his golden eyes on Gin's vivid blue ones. "Now, I need to go, now," Gin said softly.

The pink haired man nodded, understanding what Gin meant. Tōsen watched curiously as Szayel turned and left toward the drug cabinet. He unlocked it quickly and grabbed a vial and a syringe. He came back and smiled at Ichigo.

"Hey, I'm going to give you something to help with the swelling, okay?" he said, lifting Ichigo's arm.

Ichigo looked at him and nodded. It wasn't the first time he'd done that. He didn't expect the sudden and overwhelming dizziness that overcame him suddenly. He frowned and reached out to Gin.

"Wh-what…what did you…what did you give…" he panted, and it killed Gin that he looked frightened, that he was actually scared. He stammered a few more unintelligible things before he weakly grabbed Gin's hand.

"Relax, Ichigo, everything's going to be fine," he said quietly as he faded into unconsciousness.

"You've got about two hours, maybe. Depends how fast he processes the sedative. I'll put a temporary cast on his arm and splint his fingers. We can wrap his ribs, he's got probably three fractured, maybe more. Get him x-rayed as soon as possible to find out how bad. Be careful moving him, just in case the rib fractures are more severe than I think."

Szayel worked quickly, and Gin looked at Tōsen. "If you want to take that boy, I would do it now. When Aizen finds out I'm gone and so is Ichigo, he's going to lock down the place. I can take you with me to Urahara, they can get you to Komamura from there."

Tōsen thought for a long moment. Then, he felt Wonderweiss grab him around the waist, hugging him. Tōsen put his hand down on his head and nodded. "Szayel, him too."

Szayel finished with Ichigo and grabbed another syringe, injecting the smaller boy quickly before he realized what was happening. Wonderweiss squealed again and clutched Tōsen tighter. After a moment he stumbled and started to slide down to the floor. Tōsen reached down and picked him up. He stood and waited for Gin.

"Alright, come on," Gin said as he exhaled a long breath.

He gathered Ichigo up in his arms and headed toward the back of Szayel's office. There was a door back here that led to the garage. It was sort of like an ambulance entrance, where if someone was injured they just needed to pull up to the door and get the person inside. For now, it served as the only way Gin and Tōsen were going to make it out of the place. Gin got them to his SUV and buckled Ichigo's limp body in one side of the back seat, then went around and buckled the boy in the other. He grabbed a light blanket he kept in the back and tossed it over the two of them, just in case someone stopped them on the way out of the place. They were lucky, though, and no one found it strange that the two men would be going out of the compound together.

This time, Gin didn't hesitate as he got out of the car and banged on the door. He ran back to the car and started unbuckling both of them by the time Kisuke had come to the door.

"Gin, what the…Kaname?" he said, looking at Tōsen.

"Kisuke," Tōsen said softly, reaching into the back and lifting up the young boy. "We need your help."

Gin carefully picked up Ichigo and stared at Kisuke, turning toward him with the bundle. Kisuke stared at him and back to Gin.

"Please," he added.

Kisuke nodded and ushered them both inside the building and down the stairs. Gin headed over toward one of the beds and gestured for Tōsen to go to the other. Gin looked up at Kisuke who was going to the lab door again.

"Hisagi! Izuru!" he called through the door. "I need help!"

This week, Hisagi Shūhei and Izuru Kira were working with Kisuke on gaining their paramedic training. The requirement was actually new to the Shinigami, and the only person licensed as a paramedic had been Kisuke. Today was their last day. Both came out and stared at Tōsen and Gin and back to Kisuke. Both were not sure how to feel about this because ten years ago, they had both just been entering the Shinigami under the two men that were standing there. Kira had worked under Gin, and Shūhei under Tōsen. The two seventeen-year-old trainees had been hurt by their mentors both defecting. The time since then had been hard, especially since their closest friend, Momo Hinamori, had been under Aizen, and she had actually left with him, utterly and completely devoted to him.

"No time for it, Izuru, check the child, Hisagi, you and I will deal with Ichigo, I might need you to help me with him."

Kira went over to the bed and started checking over Wonderweiss while Kisuke headed over toward Ichigo with Shūhei following him.

"He needs x-rays," Gin said to him. "Chest and left arm. Szayel said he thought the arm was a spiral break, and he guessed there were at least three cracked ribs. Breathing seems fine, so we didn't think there was a punctured lung. Szayel splinted his fingers and arm until we could get here. We didn't have the time to wait for him to cast it."

Kisuke looked at Gin for a long time. "The head captain told us."

Gin nodded. "I figured he would. I'm sorry I couldn't do this sooner, I just…the danger was too great to him. It still is, but maybe he can handle it."

Kira spoke up from the other bed. "Kisuke, the boy is probably about thirteen, maybe younger, but he's malnourished. Other than that he appears in relatively good health."

"Okay, Izuru. Just stay with him until he wakes up," Kisuke said, sighing. He looked to Hisagi. "Let's get him in the x-ray room before the sedative wears off," he muttered and they rolled the bed into a room off to the side. Between him and Shūhei, they managed to get him positioned for the x-rays. Shuhei brought him back out while Kisuke looked over the x-rays.

Kisuke came out and Shūhei was starting an IV on him. "Kisuke, tie him down," Gin said, looking at him seriously. "He'll run, or try to, and he'll end up hurting himself more."

Shūhei frowned and looked over at him. "After someone did this to him? Why would he do something like stay there?"

"It wasn't Aizen," Tōsen said from beside the other bed. "It was the ones he let have him last night."

Kisuke looked at Tōsen for a long moment than back to Kisuke. "Gin…what…"

"Look, after the last time, he ended up breaking the bastard's jaw when he tried to get to him again. But Aizen was mad because he didn't 'need' to break his jaw. So he sent him to work Barragan's for a week, and I'd just got him back when he made him work the meeting with the Quincies. One of the others overdosed, and he looks like this," Gin said, leaning against the bed and threading fingers through Ichigo's hair.

Kisuke shook his head. "But Barragan…that's…"

Gin nodded. "The last straw, Kisuke. The last one, I couldn't watch it anymore. He told him he was going back every month from now on, and told him if he didn't double the amount next time he was going to leave him there longer."

Ichigo's fingers twitched a bit. "Seriously, Kisuke, tie him. Now. If you don't, he's going to do whatever he can to get back to Sōsuke."

"Why would anyone go back to that?" Kira asked and stared at him. "He obviously has been abused, why would he?"

Kisuke nodded though, trusting Gin's judgement. He pulled the leather wrist restraints out from the pocket they were in and buckled one on the uninjured side. He couldn't do anything on the other side, so he pulled out the strap that went across the thigh and the one that went across the shoulder and tightened them down. He wouldn't be able to pull them off that way, and it wouldn't be on his ribs. He was starting to come to consciousness though. Gin stood beside him and waited for the inevitable.

Shūhei was busy with the IVs. He ran a line to a saline bag and then put on another dose of antibiotics. Kisuke came over and handed him another small bag. He glanced at it, nodding. He supposed better safe than sorry as he hooked up the sedative to the line, clipping it closed. All he had to do was release the clip if it was necessary.

It took a few more minutes but Gin watched as his eyes fluttered and opened. "Hmm, Gin? What, why did he do that? Why'd he knock me out…" he said, and then his eyes moved around him and he realized that they weren't at Szayel's.

"Gin. Why are we here again?" he asked quietly and Gin knew that this was really going to be bad.

"Ichigo, I couldn't watch it, okay? I had to get you out, I couldn't…" Gin started.

"What the fuck, Gin!" he practically screamed at him, and started pulling at the restraints. "Why am I tied down…Gin let me up! Now! Goddammit! Sōsuke is going to be so fucking pissed! I need to get back, I never got to see him after the meeting! He needs to know about Ggio! Let me fucking up!" he growled, yanking hard against the restraints on the bed.

At the other bed, the Wonderweiss came awake suddenly from the noise and leaped to the floor and crouched there. He was growling and making doglike sounds. Tōsen turned toward him, kneeling beside him. Kira ran around the bed and when he reached for him, the kid bit his hand. Kira yelped and pulled his bleeding hand back in shock. Tōsen, though, got close enough to pull him close to him and he spoke soothing words quietly to him while he tried to get him to settle down.

"I can't, Ichigo, I can't…" Gin said after a long moment staring at Ichigo, and he felt like his heart was going to break again. "Ichigo, he doesn't care about you! Can't you see that?" he pleaded with him.

Kisuke and Shūhei stood behind the head of the bed where Ichigo couldn't see him. They were also partially watching the other boy.

"He does so! He loves me! I love him! Now fucking let me get up! I swear, Gin, I'm going to fucking beat the living shit out of you and every goddamned mother fucker between me and the compound when I get up from here!" he yelled, arching his back and trying to pull or break the straps. Along his shoulders where the strap ran, red marks were starting to appear from the force he was exerting on them. Gin cursed the strength the boy had. "I'm going to fucking rip you fucking people apart!"

Kisuke looked at Gin with a long look and he thought the other man actually was teary eyed. "Ichigo," Kisuke said, moving around to where Ichigo could see him. Ichigo turned what Kisuke could only describe as the most furious look he'd ever seen on a person. "Please, you are injured, you need to remain calm," Kisuke said softly.

"Fuck you!" Ichigo screamed, pulling hard enough on the wrist restraints that they could hear the stress the links were under. "Let me up! I have to go back home!"

"Ichigo, stop!" Gin said and put his hands on Ichigo's shoulders and pushed him down. "That is not your home! He doesn't care about you, he never has! Don't you understand? He sent you to a fucking whore house for a week and then demands you work harder the next time! Who does that to someone they love, think, Ichigo! Please!"

Ichigo glared at him. "No! I did it because I want to do it, dammit! I've told you before! I need to do it for him! He needs me to help him! He depends on me to do this for him because he can't! He says so!"

"He's lying to you, Ichigo," Gin said, and he closed his eyes, swallowing as he tried to hold onto his own emotions. "He's always lied to you! He murdered your mother, Ichigo. He murdered her, and then he kidnapped you!"

"She was a fucking drug addicted whore! She deserved to die!" he yelled at him.

Kisuke gasped. "What? What did he…he…?"

Gin looked over at Kisuke and shook his head. "Stop, she wasn't! He lied to you! She loved you more than anything in this world and she stepped between you and him because she didn't want him to hurt you! He took you from parents that loved and cared about you because he wanted to hurt them! He wanted to hurt your father and he wanted to do it by killing your mother and taking you from him!"

"My father is nobody! He didn't care, he was going to let her…sell…but…." Ichigo started to feel odd as a memory of his mother floated in front of his face. "No, that's not her, she…she was going…and he saved me…and I owe him everything!" he said and shook his head hard. "That's not it, that's not right! Sōsuke wouldn't lie to me, why would he lie, he doesn't lie to me!"

"Yes he does, Ichigo," Gin said, and despite his attempts he felt tears slide down his face. Ichigo stared in disbelief. "I tried, Ichigo, so hard, I tried to get him to stop. I told him not to do the things he did. Remember, Ichigo, remember when you came to me, and I stayed with you and you were crying, and begging to go home to see your sisters and your father, remember that? I sat with you for days until Aizen took you away. I tried, I kept trying, and he wouldn't listen! Remember that?"

Ichigo stared at him. He'd never seen Gin cry. Never. Thirteen years, and nothing had ever cracked his ever jovial face. "But…I remember…you, but I don't…" he was getting so confused.

"Please, Ichigo. Remember what he did to you. Remember how horrible he was. How he'd hit you until you couldn't stand because you didn't do something so insignificant? How he took you to his bed when you were fifteen and you slept shackled to the bed for months…remember?" Gin pleaded with him, he just wanted him to remember the pain as well as the idiotic notions Sōsuke had put in his head.

He knew that the others were listening, but he couldn't stop. He had to try and get through to him. He hadn't noticed that someone had come into the room while he was trying to get Ichigo to see. "He…he did it because he l-loved me, he said…he said…he…but…" he swallowed and yanked somewhat weakly on the restraints. "He said that people…did that…for…for people they love…" he gasped out, looking somewhat horrified at what was going on in his head.

"Ichigo, please, I need you to remember how he treated you, please. He didn't love you, he never did. Ichigo, he forgot you at Barragan's. I have no idea how long he would have left you there if I hadn't asked him where you were! He wasn't busy, Ichigo, he doesn't care!" Gin tried to choke back the rising bile in his throat. "He has been using you. He likes watching you do these things, he likes watching you be humiliated and hurt by these people, he doesn't care!"

"No!" Ichigo screamed. "No, no, no! I don't want to think that! He's…he's everything to me and he cares, he does! I want to help him; he doesn't make me do anything! I don't do anything I don't want to do! I don't need saving! I could save myself, Gin, so stop trying to save me! I don't want to be saved!"

Ichigo's eyes blinked slowly and he felt the world spin. He looked over to see Shūhei had unclipped the sedative in the IV. "Goddammit! You fucking mother fucking sons of a bitches! Let me fucking go!" he said as the sedative started weaken his struggles. "Just let me go, I want to see Sōsuke," he said as his eyes fluttered a couple times before they closed.

Gin let his head hang and he sighed deeply while he stood there holding his hands on Ichigo's shoulders. He squeezed the boy's shoulders and felt someone put hands on his shoulders. "Gin," a voice said that he hadn't heard in a very long time. He turned and met eyes with Isshin Kurosaki.

"I'm sorry, Isshin," he said, and Isshin saw that the tears were very real. "I couldn't…I couldn't get him out before, he would have killed him, I wanted to so much, I wanted to show him that someone who loved him wouldn't hurt him, and Isshin, I…"

Isshin had been prepared to be angry after he got the call from the headquarters. They were, of course, watching Kisuke's security feeds regularly now for this reason. He had been prepared to scream and punch the man who had kept his son away from him. But now, he realized that there was a lot more going on here than he had believed. The emotions that were playing on the face of the ever emotionless Gin were evidence of that. Could it be that he had found something else besides what he expected in Ichigo?

"No, Gin, don't. Let's just go forward. Just…tell me what's happened," he said softly.

Gin nodded, reaching up and wiping tears away. He turned his back toward Ichigo and sighed. "Damn, I don't cry," he muttered. "Um, he was brought to me that night. He was dirty, soaking wet, and screaming. We tried so hard to help him. He was so sad, so helpless. There was more than me that thought it was wrong. We knew it was spite that was driving Aizen. He wanted to make sure you left the Shinigami. He wanted Kisuke to leave. He knew that if he murdered Masaki, and he took Ichigo, both of you would back off, and leave. At first he said he'd let him go after you were out of the picture. He was so cruel to him, Isshin. Just…the child suffered at his hands so much. He…he would just strike him for the smallest infractions of the rules, then he'd change the rules. And that, that wasn't enough, though, he had to take it further. He had to take him to his bed, and Isshin he was fifteen. He…he just broke after that for a long time," he sighed deeply as he leaned back and tilted his head upward. "I tried to step in. But he sent me away after I expressed that I didn't think it was right that he do this. I was gone for a while, and when I came back, he'd already starting making him believe that he loved him. He…he told me, Aizen, that is, he said that if Ichigo loved him, that he would do anything he asked and he wouldn't run. He said if he made Ichigo feel important, like he mattered, then he'd stay. And he was right."

Gin put a hand to his forehead. "When the thing with Llargo happened, I nearly just stayed here with him. But I couldn't then, because everything I've spent fifteen years collecting would have been lost. I had to go back, at least until I'd gotten the evidence out of the compound. I did that yesterday, so this morning, when I saw him like this…I couldn't wait. I love…" he choked on the word and looked away. "He matters to me," he said instead.

"Ichimaru Gin," he heard from nearby and he looked up to see the Head Captain coming in from the stairwell with several others. He stood up straighter and nodded to him.

"Sir, I'm sorry, I couldn't wait, I…" he stammered, knowing that he had broken every rule that he had been given.

Yamamoto walked up and put a surprisingly gentle hand on Gin's shoulder. "No, I received the evidence this morning. And you did well. I asked much of you." The head captain glanced over at Ichigo sadly. "You did what you could for the boy. You are deserving of much praise, Gin. I will ask that you come back with me for a full debriefing, not just over Ichigo, but everything."

Gin nodded, giving a pained look toward Ichigo's inert form. "I…will he be moved to the Serietei as well?" he asked and turned, running a hand down the side of Ichigo's slack face.

Yamamoto nodded. "He will have to be. He has to be secure, and by the looks, he will resist our attempts to keep him away from Sōsuke."

Gin nodded. "Yeah," he said softly.

Yamamoto turned back to the others that had come with him, Captain Unohana and her second Isane had come to transfer Ichigo to the main Serietei building. They moved around and pushed the bed toward the loading elevator in the back of the area. Gin sighed, and turned back to Tōsen. "And this boy?"

"The child is more dog than child," Tōsen said from where he knelt on the floor, petting the boy's blonde head. "I think it might help if Komamura were to take him in. Assuming he still has the dogs."

Yamamoto nodded. "It would be for the best. Who is he?"

Tōsen shook his head. "No one, Aizen ordered me to kill him. I could not kill an innocent. His mother had been in one of the slums we owned. She was severely mentally ill, and the boy lived among a pack of stray dogs."

"Where is she?" Yamamoto asked.

Tōsen shook his head. "She was killed."

"Very well, Kisuke, arrange to have the boy transported. Tōsen, you and Gin will come back with me for full debriefings. And Tōsen, you left of your own volition, so I will warn you now that there will be consequences for your actions," Yamamoto said sternly.

Tōsen nodded. "I knew there would be, but I could not allow myself to stay knowing now about what had happened to Ichigo, and this boy."

Yamamoto nodded. "Tranquilize the boy, Kisuke. I will meet you at the Serietei when you have dropped the child with Komamura. He and his wife will be able to care for him better since he's used to being around animals."

Yamamoto turned and left. Tōsen and Gin both followed him. Wonderweiss reached for Tōsen as he left, but Tōsen looked back.

"Stay here, I'll return," he said, and left.

Wonderweiss jumped as he was injected with something and fell asleep again. "Alright, Shūhei, Kira, I'll stay here, can you two take this child to Komamura?" Kisuke asked.

"Yes, sir," Kira said as Shūhei picked Wonderweiss up and they headed to Kira's car. They settled the boy into the back and got in the front. Kira started the car but didn't move.

"What's up?" Shūhei said quietly.

"Just…all of this," Kira said softly. "Nothing is as it seems. Do you think Gin was telling the truth?"

"About the Kurosaki boy?" Shūhei asked. "You saw him, and you heard what he said. The boy's brainwashed or something."

Kira threw the car into drive and pulled out. "No, Stockholm."

"What?" Shūhei asked, frowning at him.

"Stockholm Syndrome, this thing where people who have been kidnapped or held hostage identify with their captors. It's like a self-protection thing. To cope with the trauma, they attach themselves to the perpetrator. It happens when people fear for their life, and the captor has offered token 'gifts' or something to them," Kira said, remembering the basic psychology class he'd taken at academy.

They were quiet a long time as they drove well outside the city limits. "How do you fix it?" Shūhei finally asked.

Kira shook his head. "Sometimes you can't," Kira said. "I think…it depends on a lot of things. But…he's going to go back to him, Shu. I know it. He'll somehow get out and get back to Sōsuke Aizen. And when he does, I don't think he'll survive it."

They pulled into the driveway of a large house with a huge fenced area around it. Both go out and Shūhei got the boy out of the back. They looked up as the tall Sajin Komamura came out with his tiny wife. It was always amusing. Luna was probably two feet shorter than Sajin.

"The head captain called," Sajin said, coming down the steps. "This the feral boy?" he asked. In the background, they heard several dogs barking.

Kira nodded and held out the hand the boy had bit. "Watch out, he's a biter."

Sajin smiled. "Do not worry, he only needs to be socialized. If he has been around dogs, we can begin there and work our way to helping him speak properly. He will never be what you will call normal, though," he said sadly. "But he will be happy and we will make sure of that."

Luna smiled as the boy was transferred to Sajin's arms. She stood on tiptoe and looked into his slack face. "He is a good boy, I can tell. Anyone with the heart of a perro is a good boy," she said, smiling.

Luna taught Spanish at a school nearby. She had actually met Sajin through her Spanish classes. They had no children, except the dogs that Komamura trained. They of course had their own dogs, in addition to the ones they raised and trained. Both of them loved each other very much, but only romantically. Neither had family pushing for children, and they were perfectly happy with that.

Kira and Shūhei nodded and headed back to the car for the long trip back. This time, the both sat in silence. They had no idea what to think.