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Shuuhei stood in front of the plain brown door and knocked. "Ayasegawa-san?" he called. "This is Hisagi. Are you in there?"

There was absolute silence.

Scratching the back of his head, Shuuhei backed away from the door. Should he knock louder? Yumichika could be asleep after all, he didn't know if it was a good idea to wake the man up, but...he couldn't help getting this ominous feeling when Yumichika didn't turn up for the dinner. First he didn't show up for lunch, and now dinner, too. Something wasn't right, Shuuhei could feel it.

"Ayasegawa-san?" he called again, then, after a brief hesitation, banged his fist on the door.

This time, there was the unmistakable sound of footsteps—very soft, unsteady, but footsteps nonetheless. Then came the rattling sound of the door being unlocked, and the door swung open.

"Ayasegawa-san!" Shuuhei gasped, shocked at the disheveled appearance of the man in front of him. It was unbelievable—Ayasegawa Yumichika, the prettiest, vainest shinigami in the whole of Soul Society, stood there in the doorway, his shihakusho rumpled and crooked, jet-black hair damp and hanging limply over his eyes. The orange collar-like garment that he usually wore was nowhere to be seen, baring his pale chest that was usually hidden underneath. Even more disturbing was the redness in his slightly swollen eyes.

"Hisagi-san," Yumichika said, sounding a little surprised.

It took Shuuhei a few more seconds to realize that he had been staring blankly at his friend. "What happened?"

Yumichika shrugged. "Nothing," he said cooly.

Shuuhei couldn't help getting a chill from Yumichika's odd attitude. "Are you alright? I, uh, didn't see you at lunch, then you missed dinner. I thought...I thought maybe I'd drop by and check on you, see if you're okay."

Yumichika gave another nonchalant shrug. "I'm fine," he insisted, stepping aside to let Shuuhei look into his room. "See? I was just taking a nap. Everything's fine."

"Huh," Shuuhei muttered under his breath. He poked his head into the room; it was neat and beautifully decorated, as was expected from his perfectionist friend. "Do you mind if I come in?" he asked. Everything looked normal enough, but the alarm bells in his head refused to be silenced.

"Go ahead," Yumichika said, opening the door wider. Shuuhei stepped past the man and walked deeper into the room. Now that he was further from the door, he suddenly realized that the room was eerily dim. Well, he supposed it made sense, since Yumichika said he'd been sleeping.

Shuuhei turned around and smiled at his friend. "It looks nice in here."

The expected smile of pride did not appear. Instead, Yumichika simply shrugged—again—and walked towards the kitchen. "Tea?" he said in a flat monotone that made his sentence sound more like a statement than a question.

"Yeah, sure," Shuuhei replied, sticking his hands into his pocket. It was an old habit of his; whenever he felt tense, he would place his hands into his pocket and clench his fists. He felt the reassuring weight of Kazeshini resting against his hip, and began to look around the room. Why...why did he still feel like something was off?

Minutes went by, and Shuuhei wondered if Yumichika had somehow fallen asleep in the kitchen. "Ayasegawa-san?" he called, walking deeper into his friend's quarters. "Are you—" His words died in his throat when he saw a brownish stain on the ground a few feet away from where he stood. At the sight, the warning bells in his mind went up another notch.

Crouching down next to the stain—now that he noticed it, it was more of a trail of stains, Shuuhei ran his fingers over the soiled area of the floor. His pulse raced when his finger came away with bits of maroon-colored crust. He brought his hand to his nose and immediately recognized the coppery tang that could only belong to one thing: blood. Alarmed now, he began to stand up.

"Ayasega—"


Standing above the crumpled form on the floor, Yumichika trembled, still cluthing the hilt of his zanpakutou in his hand. His breathing was labored, erratic, and, just as he thought he had run out of them, fresh tears began to stream down his already tear-streaked face. Judging by the force he had applied when he knocked Shuuhei out with the hilt of his sword, he figured the man would not be awake for another twenty, perhaps thirty minutes.

How dare he? Yumichika's lips quivered. How dare Shuuhei come waltzing in like nothing was wrong, talking as if he actually cared for Yumichika? It was bad enough that Shuuhei didn't feel the same way about him, but the man just had to rub it into his face by giving Yumichika the false impression that he actually cared. It was downright cruel. Yumichika's chest heaved as he struggled to force down the flood of emotions welling up inside of him. Just as he'd decided to accept his fate, Shuuhei had to come in and light that little flame of hope in him again. How dare he!

He didn't really understand the reason behind his sudden urge to attack Shuuhei. Perhaps he had been pushed past his limit, or perhaps he didn't want to hear the man talk to him like everything was okay...or perhaps, he just wanted to see the man defenseless and within his control for once. There were many possible reasons, but whatever it was, he'd done it; there was no going back. He didn't want to think about what would happen once Shuuhei woke up, for the moment, he just didn't want to think at all.

Yumichika went down on his knees and bent over Shuuhei. His hit had been well-placed; there was no bleeding, Shuuhei was probably out before he even felt the pain at the back of his head. He reached out and gently rolled the man over. Shuuhei fell limply onto his back, his eyes shut and mouth slightly slack. Yumichika sat down on his heels and stared. Even unconscious, Shuuhei looked perfect; his dark lashes rested on his cheeks, his nose straight and high, his lips were smooth and moist. His lips...those were Yumichika's favorite. In his dreams and darkest fantasies, he was always obsessed about those lips. They tasted like heaven, and they would say the sweetest words.

Then, he frowned. Shuuhei's harsh cries and shamelessly lustful moans from the other night rushed back into his mind. No, Yumichika tried to block the thought, no, no, no, no, no! For a few seconds he sat there with his hands tightly clasped over his temples, willing those hateful thoughts from his head. Then, as quickly as they appeared, the thoughts went away, leaving him whimpering.

When he finally calmed down, Yumichika took away Shuuhei's zanpakutou. He didn't want the man armed when he came around. He brushed his fingers along Shuuhei's cheek; it was smooth, flawless except the his tattoos that Yumichika loved so much. It felt exactly like Yumichika imagined. He ran his thumb over Shuuhei's lower lip and shuddered. He would really, really love those lips on him...

With sudden determination, he pulled Shuuhei along the floor and set him against one wall. The unconscious man's head slumped forward onto his chest, and Yumichika held his chin and tilted his head up. At the same time, his other hand went to Shuuhei's chest, feeling the steady rise and fall as the man breathed evenly. Yumichika's heart ached; why couldn't he reach Shuuhei's heart when Renji could? Subconsciously, his hand moved to the spot above Shuuhei's heart. He could feel it, the strong beating of the man's heart. Oh, the things he would do to be able to have a space there!

More tears flowed.


Bricks. That was the first thought in Shuuhei's mind when he woke up groggily. He must have been hit by a ton of bricks. With a groan, he cracked open his eyes. Odd, he was on his feet, propped against a...wall, he supposed. Where was he?

Then, everything came rushing back. Yumichika! That was he realized that his arms were immobile; he was bound, held by some thick, rope-like thing around his biceps.

"Ayasegawa-san!" he called hoarsely. Somebody must've attacked Yumichika when he was in the kitchen, then got to Shuuhei while he was focused on the blood on the floor. Yumichika was strong, if he had gone down without a sound, this intruder must be powerful. Shit, he needed to make sure if his friend was alright—

Shuuhei felt a shadow loom over him and he blinked, still trying to clear his head. With the light coming from behind the person in front of him, Shuuhei could only make out a silhouette. It was...a man, he supposed, although it was hard to tell just from the hair. The intruder's shoulders were not very broad, in fact, the man was quite skinny.

"Who are you?" Shuuhei asked, squinting to try to get a better look at the man.

The intruder stepped closer, and Shuuhei gasped.

"Ayasegawa...san..." his voice trailed off into a confused whisper. What was this, some kind of joke?

Yumichika simply looked at him silently. After a long stretch, the man cocked his head to the side. "You like this, don't you?"

Shuuhei blinked, feeling even more confused. "What?"

"Being tied up, helpless," Yumichika said in a monotone. "Weak, at someone else's mercy."

"What? I don't..." Shuuhei began, but his voice suddenly turned into a pained grunt when he felt a strong grip on his private part. He looked up, eyes wide, and stared into a pair of glassy, wild purple eyes.

Yumichika's fist tightened.

Shuuhei's head snapped back into the wall, leaving him dazed and breathless. "What the fuck!"

"You like it when it hurts," Yumichika said, again in that same eerily calm monotone, as if he was reading something out of a book.

"What the hell is your problem?" Shuuhei gasped, bending over from the pain that shot up his spine. His legs felt like they would have buckle under his weight if he had not been held up by the ropes.

Yumichika's eyes narrowed. "You like it," he repeated.

"No I fucking don't!" Shuuhei said, straightening up indignantly.

"You do," Yumichika said insistently. His fists tightened again.

Shuuhei cried out as another sharp burst of pain shot through his body. When he was able to breathe again, he took in shaky gulps of air and looked up.

"You like it when he fucks you like this," Yumichika went on, ignoring the glare from Shuuhei. "You like it when he hurts you, when he rapes you." Then he sighed.

"What?" Now Shuuhei was thoroughly confused. What was this about? It could only mean that Yumichika had seen... "I'm not sure what you saw exactly, but I assure that he wasn't hurting me."

"Does it feel good?" Yumichika asked, oblivious to Shuuhei's response. "Does it feel good when he..." He seemed to struggle to find the right words. "...when he...pounds into you so hard? Doesn't it hurt?"

Shuuhei looked at his friend in exasperation and disbelief. "It was just rough sex, what were you thinking?"

Yumichika cocked his head to the side again, as if pondering Shuuhei's answer. "Rough sex," he echoed.

Shuuhei stared at his friend. It was difficult to believe that this was the same man he had gotten close to over the past weeks. "Why are you doing this?" he asked. Finally, the pain was beginning to taper off to a bearable level.

"I wonder if you'll like it just as much when you do it with me," Yumichika said simply, sounding like Shuuhei had asked a stupid question.

"What?" Shuuhei gaped at his friend. Surely this was a nightmare. "I don't understand. Why are you—"

Yumichika grabbed Shuuhei's collar and yanked the man towards him. Shuuhei's arms strained against the ropes, and he groaned in pain. Before Shuuhei could say anything else, Yumichika leaned in and pressed his lips on Shuuhei's.

Shuuhei's eyes widened, then he clamped his mouth shut and struggled, twisting his head side to side to pull away from Yumichika's sudden assault. Somewhere during his frantic movements, he lashed out with his leg and felt it connect, hard, with Yumichika's shin. The man broke the kiss and doubled over, hissing in pain.

"Let me go!" Shuuhei yelled, legs flailing. He tried to yank himself free from the restraints but they were simply too tight, and he could feel his skin burn from the friction. Somehow, even though he knew what he was saying was useless in this situation, he couldn't help repeating those three words.

The only warning he got was a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye, then his head snapped to the side, and his vision blurred, accompanied by a burst of pain. Ears ringing, he turned around. The man he found standing in front of him was unrecognizable; Yumichika was panting, more in anger than in exertion, his hand clenched in a tight fist. The knuckles were red, and Shuuhei realized that he had just been punched in the face. He shook his head slowly to clear his mind, but only managed to get himself even dizzier. Then, something hit his legs.

Shuuhei looked down. Two thick ropes, identical to the ones around his arms, wrapped around his legs, gripping them so tightly that he couldn't help groaning out loud in pain. His eyes followed the rope, which extended from his legs all the way to...

Yumichika's zanpakutou.

With sudden clarity, Shuuhei remembered their fight on the roof, and realized that he knew what those "ropes" were. They were vines, not ropes—the real Shikai form of Yumichika's zanpakutou, Ruriiro Kujaku. He felt a chill as he recalled their fight...and his eventual defeat. He remembered feeling like he was dying as Ruriiro Kujaku drained him of his reiatsu, and he remembered now, the beautiful but deadly flowers that bloomed from the vines as they were fed with their victim's spiritual power. He looked into Yumichika's eyes; the man had stopped his zanpakutou midway through its attack last time, somehow, this time Shuuhei was pretty certain it won't stop.

"Ayasegawa-san, we don't have to go through this," Shuuhei said hoarsely, fighting to keep it steady.

"No, we don't," Yumichika agreed, much to Shuuhei's surprise. "This is just to make sure that you will do what I ask of you."

Shuuhei laughed mirthlessly. "And you're asking me to have sex with you?"

Yumichika shook his head. "No, I'm asking you to have rough sex with me. I want you to enjoy it when you do it with me, just like when you did it with your filthy lover."

Filthy lover? Shuuhei blinked in confusion. The venom in Yumichika's voice was clear, but Shuuhei didn't understand what the man had against Renji. They were all friends, Yumichika had always gotten along with them, he was even in the same squad as Renji. What happened?

"You don't know?" Yumichika asked when he saw Shuuhei's expression. "You have a strange way to show your love, and to receive love, Hisagi-san. May I call you Shuuhei?"

Shuuhei glared at him and kept his mouth shut.

And that was perfectly fine to Yumichika. He wasn't really waiting for a response anyway. "You love Abarai, don't you?" he asked.

When Shuuhei didn't respond, Yumichika grabbed Shuuhei again and squeezed. Shuuhei screamed, then with a choked cry, slumped forward, hanging limply from the vines.

"Do you?" Yumichika asked again.

"Yes!" Shuuhei said hoarsely. "Yes, I love him."

"And you show him that you love him by letting him hurt you," Yumichika said.

Shuuhei would've rolled his eyes in exasperation if he were not in so much pain. "I told you, he wasn't hurting me. He never hurts me."

Yumichika ran a finger across Shuuhei's lower lip, which had gone dry. He gently wiped away a tiny smudge of blood from Shuuhei's lip, which had split when Yumichika punched him in the face. Shuuhei stared into his friend's eyes and shuddered at what he saw there—they were lifeless, almost like the man had lost his soul. Yumichika had gotten himself lost in a very deep, dark place.

"I love you, you know," Yumichika said suddenly. "I have, for a long time, for many decades. Before you and Abarai got together."

Shuuhei blinked. What?

"All I'm asking for is that you love me," Yumichika continued. His eyes suddenly reddened. "Even if it's just a little."

Now Shuuhei understood; the sudden progress in their friendship, the kind gestures and company while Renji was away. "You..." he whispered. "You...love me?"

Yumichika nodded sadly. "Before he loved you."

Shuuhei closed his eyes and sighed. What was he supposed to say? Apologize? Offer comfort? What could he say or do that could make this any better for his friend?

"I don't know how to make you really love me, Shuuhei," Yumichika said, his lips frighteningly close to Shuuhei's ear. "But at least I can feel as if you do. I want you to hurt me, the way Abarai hurts you. If what Abarai does to you is love, then you can love me. And I'll prove that I love you...by letting you hurt me."

Shuuhei's eyes flew open as the implications of those words sank in. "That's...that's not how it works," he said, breathing heavily, partly from lingering pain and partly from desperation.

Yumichika's voice was barely audible when it finally came. "Won't you even allow me to believe it? It's all I have. It's the only way I can think of to feel your love."

What Yumichika said was filled with so much anguish that Shuuhei felt his chest clench. It was so terribly sad, so terribly wrong. "Ayasegawa-san..." Shuuhei began.

"Yumi," Yumichika said. His hands went to Shuuhei's obi and began to loosen the knot. "I want to hear you call me Yumi as you love me."

"That's not love!" Shuuhei cried hoarsely, twisting his body in a desperate attempt to escape from Yumichika's fingers. "This is not love, and you know it."

Yumichika flicked his wrist, and Shuuhei suddenly fell to the ground. He struggled to get up, thinking that this was a good opportunity to run, but he only managed to lift his body up briefly from the floor before the vines tightened on his limbs again, pinning him in a sitting position against the wall and floor.

"I can believe that it is," Yumichika said calmly, as if nothing had happened.

With a few more deft tugs, Shuuhei's hakama was pulled down to his thighs. Yumichika stared at Shuuhei's groin, then he reached out and touched the soft organ. When Shuuhei felt the cold fingers on his flesh, he flinched. Yumichika's fingers stroked and brushed along Shuuhei's length, sometimes slow, other times faster. As Yumichika gently massaged the head, Shuuhei felt his own body begin to respond.

No, no, no! Shuuhei screamed in his head, willing his body to stop. He didn't want to do this, didn't want to hurt his friend more than he already had. But it was useless; the more he struggled, the harder Yumichika stroked him, and he couldn't help it, he couldn't stop it—his body simply reacted to the physical stimulus like it was biologically wired to do.

"Please love me."


Not really a cliffhanger, is it? I've never written anything this dark before, and the real stuff hasn't even started yet. Sit tight, everyone, it's going to be a scary ride.