Did I make another one? YES. Remember in Chapter 6 when Ichigo said he was thrown in jail for getting into a fight? This is the part where he gets into a fight, but here they aren't exactly boys... their pretty much men, yeah, haha. Took me FOREVER to come up with a chapter title! Ichigo is 15 years-old here and looking for food when he realizes he's in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It was fall again. Another year of school starting; another year which he wouldn't be attending. He wished he could spend his life normally like the other kids. Going to school, making friends, getting good grades, hanging out with friends. He couldn't do any of that now. Hell, he didn't even have a family anymore. He was a fugitive. It had been a whole year since he left his home. How he survived to this point was beyond him. He was shocked at himself that he didn't die jumping into that river back at home. A part of him was glad he got out of there okay, but another part of him kind of wished he would've just drowned. That way he wouldn't have to feel the pain of being shunned and the agony of being alone with absolutely no one.

The wind blew against his thin body and he winced, pulling his jacket tighter against him. It was September, but damn it was cold in this town! Ichigo didn't exactly know where he was, but he knew he was a good distance away from his home in Karakura. In fact, he's never heard of this place before, nor has he seen it. It was kind of depressing and looked a little old. Trash littered the streets and the buildings looked a little sketchy. He probably would feel a little more comfortable if it wasn't past dusk. The only lights that lit the area were the lights from inside restaurants and bars and the aged streetlights that lined the never-ending roads.

"I don't trust this place," Ichigo whispered to himself. He was anything but street-smart. Ichigo was more of a book person anyway. He continued to walk down the street with the wind blowing at him and happened to pass a close restaurant. His mouth flooded at the scent of pizza. He sighed dreamily, wishing he could stuff his face with food at the moment. He hasn't eaten anything decent since he left his home. At least at school he got a free meal, but now he was reduced to stealing and dumpster-diving. Something he wished he would never have to do in his life just to live. Ichigo's stomach growled and twisted painfully in protest. He squinted with a groan, apologizing to himself that he couldn't get any food. "If only I had some money..." he moaned. He sighed again, ignoring the pain in his gut and continued walking.

A few steps later he hard the sound of banging. He stopped and turned his head. The restaurant he passed; there was a man dumping a garbage bin into the dumpster by the door. Ichigo watched the man finish dumping the scraps before returning inside. He was relieved that he wasn't spotted and made his move.

Ichigo ran up to the dumpster and pushed the top up and leaned over the side, tearing open a bag. If it weren't for his stomach eating itself, Ichigo would've vomited at the smell of the thing. It smelled like it hadn't been emptied by a garbage truck in months. But at least the food being dumped now was from today. If he could find the right bag to open.

After a while of eating what he could, Ichigo slipped out of the dumpster, smelling not so pleasant. Now he needed a bath... great. And just where the hell was he going to find a shower?

"Damn... guess I'll have to find a river or stream somewhere." Ichigo said to himself. After straightening out his clothes and brushing off bits of gunk and whatever else stuck to that dumpster, Ichigo began walking forward, but before he could step out of the alley, a voice called out.

"Where do you think you're going?" Ichigo turned around and saw three figures walk out from the adjacent building of the alley. "This little punk thinks he can just waltz on our territory and get away with it." the voice said angrily. Territory? What was he talking about?

'Is this some sort of gang thing?' Ichigo wondered, backing up. He turned to run but ran into something-somebody. Ichigo stepped back as a taller figure walked towards him. Two others behind him.

"Gross, he smells like shit." he said. Ichigo was surrounded now. Six people were around him, cornering him against the wall.

"Maybe we should teach him a lesson on respecting other people's' property." the first voice said. Ichigo's heart was racing a hundred miles a minute. How did he manage to get into this situation? All he wanted was some food!

"N-no, you don't understand!" Ichigo protested. "I was just passing, honest!" he put a hand in front of him in defense.

"Is that so?" the first voice said again. "Is that why you walked in my alley and helped yourself to some garbage?" he mocked him. Ichigo didn't know what to say. They were watching him?

"I don't want trouble. I don't want to fight either. I just want to leave." Ichigo tried slinking away, but another person stepped in his way.

"Not so fast," another voice said.

"Not until you learn that you can't cross our terf and get away with it." before Ichigo had a change to speak, a blow was landed hard to his abdomen. The pain that once conquered his stomach came back and he fell to his knees. He gasped for air, coughing up blood. Another blow was sent to his side, his ribs exploding in pain, and he fell to his stomach, breathless and shaking in pain.

"Giving up now? Pull him up." the voice commanded. Ichigo was hoisted up with his arms pulled back. He was locked in a position where he couldn't break free with someone's arms restraining his from the back so his front was open for attack. If he wasn't so skinny from lack of food, he'd stand a chance to fight back, but what could he do? He felt so weak.

"Hit him." the voice said. A fist collided with the side of Ichigo's face and he bit his cheek from the contact. Blood flowed from his mouth, dripping and splattering on the ground. More hits were brought on by multiple people to his face, stomach, and chest. Ichigo's body was throbbing at this point, bruised and beaten and possibly broken in certain places. Ichigo was in too much shock to fight back. He was terrified. He swore that this was his time to die. He would die alone and broken in an alley far from home in a place where no one wants or cares about him.

A blow to the groin made Ichigo screech to the sky. He heard them snicker at his pain and he went limp in the man's arms. The hit made his stomach do a complete cartwheel and he couldn't stop himself from bringing up what he had eaten just minutes ago. As he lost it all on everyone in front of him, Ichigo felt the man's grip loosen. He saw this as his chance. He broke from the man's grip and swiftly turned around. He made eye contact with the taller man before landing his fist right across his jaw. There was a loud crack as his jaw snapped in two. With an exclaim of pain, the man fell, down and out cold. Ichigo froze. Did he really just do that?

"Get him!" a voice shouted, and Ichigo felt a weight on his back. One of the guys jumped on him, and for a reason not known to Ichigo, he felt the need to fight. He had to. If he was to get out of this alive, he had no other option.

"Get off!" Ichigo shouted and threw himself backwards. The back of the other guy's head slammed into the brick wall and he slid off Ichigo, hitting the ground unconscious. Ichigo was grabbed from the left, then from the right and held in place, and he thrashed wildly to get away. "I said let go!" Ichigo cried out. Another blow to his stomach, this time even harder, nearly knocked him out. All air left his feeble body as he fell to his knees once again, dazed and blacking out.

"We went easy on you before, now you've really asked for it." said the first voice, and a fist collided with Ichigo's cheek again. The impact dislodged Ichigo from the mens' grips and he hit the cement, motionless. The men snicker as they watched him twitch in pain. "No holding back this time." the voice said and Ichigo heard footsteps move towards him. He forced himself to his knees and managed to make it to his feet. He staggered forward before turning to face his attackers.

"I told you before... I didn't want to fight..." Ichigo groaned, panting in pain. The men stopped in front of him, glancing at him in confusion. "Now you're forcing me to fight, and you're going to regret it!" Ichigo shouted and bolted forward, launching at the shortest man in front of him. He tackled the man to the ground, hearing his skull connect with the asphalt. He was knocked out cold, but that didn't stop Ichigo from punching the living hell out of him. Ichigo was yanked back by the remaining three men, and felt all three of them pound on him. His head, face, chest, stomach, groin and back, all beaten by them, and he didn't like the feeling of it.

"You little bastard!" the first voice shouted, continuing to punch Ichigo senseless. Ichigo flashed his hand out and caught the man's fist, clamping down on his wrist. Bloody, Ichigo glared at the man with an icy stare that sent fear coursing through the man on top of him. Ichigo then turned the man's wrist as far to the left as possible, until he heard a loud snap, and the man's screams of pure pain echo through the alley. "Fuck!" Ichigo then leaned forward and threw the man off his torso, pinning him down to the ground and pounding him the same way Ichigo felt just seconds ago.

"I've had enough!" Ichigo shouted, landing a punch that cracked the man's skull, blood oozing from his ears and nose. If the man was dead was unknown, not that Ichigo cared, and the remaining two men backed away slowly, then bolted when flashing red and blue lights and sirens blaring came down the street. Ichigo's eyes widened at the sound and the realization of what he just did. "Damn it, no..." Ichigo hopped to his feet and began to run down the alley. He scaled the fence and ran even faster when he felt the lights hit his back. This was bad. This was really bad. He didn't want to get arrested. He didn't want to get in trouble with the law. All he wanted... was to go home.

In the chilly morning down by the creek under the bridge, a shirt, pants, socks and shoes lie drenched on the grass on the embankment, drying in the early morning sun. Ichigo, waist-deep in the freezing cold stream water, sank against a large rock, shaking violently with his arms crossed with one another in a failed attempt to conserve body heat. Ichigo shivered, tears tailing down his bruised and bloody cheeks. He thought the cold water would help ease the pain and burning of his injuries, but it was proving a failure. Everything still hurt. His body, his mind, his heart... Ichigo spent the night hiding under the small bridge that led out of that horrible town and onto the dirt road that led to the next highway. He slept in the freezing midnight water, hoping all night the police wouldn't catch him. They didn't, but that still didn't clam him down from what happened last night.

"It hurts..." Ichigo cried, holding his swollen cheek. He caught his reflection in the water. He looked like total shit. He wondered what his mother would say if she were still here. She didn't teach him to fight. She taught him to always be kind to others. To avoid trouble and be a good person. Now look what he's reduced to: a garbage scavenger and a... murderer.

Ichigo looked away and sobbed as the ice-water flowed past him and stung his entire body to the point where it became numb. He wondered if those guys he fought were dead... especially their leader. He hit him as hard as he could. With a strength he never knew he possessed. What caused him to lash out like that? Why? Ichigo looked down at his hands. They were bright red from the cold water. They weren't supposed to be used for fighting. He just wanted to eat and be on his way last night. Why couldn't that have happened?

"What have I done?" Ichigo put buried his face in his hands. He was ashamed of what he did. He had to get out of here. He had to move on and find a new place to live. Even if it meant traveling a great distance. Ichigo stood up from out of the water and wobbled painfully to his clothes and plopped himself down on the long grass, taking in the sun. His body hurt so bad. Moving on will have to wait, just for a little bit longer until he could walk properly again and ignore the lingering aches.

With a tired sigh, Ichigo looked up. He looked at the blue sky beginning to fill up with fluffy white clouds. His mind was exhausted. He wanted to sleep. He prayed he didn't have a concussion from last night's fight. But if he did have a concussion... maybe he could slowly slip into a coma and never wake up from this nightmare. But with the way his body was violently shivering, it was going to be impossible. Ichigo let out a shaky sob and closed his eyes, his head still tilted upwards. He wondered at this point if he would ever find a place to stay...

A small request asked by Wolfwind97. I enjoyed doing this for her! Took a while to actually come up with a scenario, but I figured, "Hey, pull something from the actual story that would fit in." and it worked, no? Anyway, I really did have a blast making this. But poor Ichigo! DX I should be arrested for the way I make him so badly beat up, but hey, he's experienced worse in the anime, right? Right! Our Berry can take anything! Thanks for reading!