A/N This chapter explains a lot about Gin's past and you will soon make the connections as to why he is the way he is.

While Rangiku had been expecting a bad morning, nothing could have prepared her for this. She and Rukia were sitting on the bed as they discussed what had happened the previous night. The Kuchiki had been horrified to hear what had happened to her precious Tōshirō.

"Do you think he'll be alright…?" Rukia asked as she hugged one of her Chappy teddies tightly. "I mean…"

Rangiku understood Rukia's concern. She knew about Rukia's past, just like the Kuchiki knew hers. Neither of them had had a nice upbringing.

"Tōshirō is strong." Rangiku smiled as she placed her hand on the younger's shoulder. "He might have some problems for a while, but I'm sure he'll be okay in the long-run."

"…But…" Rukia frowned. "…Gin…"

"Gin probably suffered a lot more than he ever let on…" Rangiku finally understood. She had always believed that Gin had been completely honest with her about his feelings, but now as she realised that he was probably hiding things from even her…

"I understand that, but…" Rukia shook her head. "…Nii-sama and I…"

"Gin is a different case," Rangiku explained. "We had to put up with not knowing when the next stranger would use us. Sometimes, they just wanted to beat us. Other times, they would beat us and then use us…"

"I don't understand how this is different…" Rukia mumbled as she tightened her hold on her teddy. "…It's essentially what… what they did to us…"

Rangiku knew that Gin was the most important person in her life. No matter what he did, or what he was capable of, she would always love and defend him. She knew that.

"Gin didn't have parents, Rukia." Rangiku felt tears well up in her eyes as she thought about how lonely the Ichimaru must have been for all those years. "He didn't have a dad, his mother treated him like shit and abused him to the point where he didn't know how to be a child, and then the bitch just dumped him on the streets! His mother invited men to her home so that they could… could use him, and… he grew up, thinking it was normal! Rukia, you have no idea… He thought he was supposed to pleasure his dad… Do you know how hard it was to sit there and watch him beg Jūshirō for sex…? To try and give him oral as Jūshirō slept…?"

Rukia lifted her hand to her mouth. She didn't know about that. Come to think of it, she didn't know much at all about Gin… Everyone had always been so careful about what was said about him.

"I…" Rukia was lost for words. She reached out and hugged Rangiku, resting her face on the elder's shoulder. "…I didn't know…"

Before Rangiku could reply, there was a knock on the bedroom door.

"C-come in!" Rukia called as she pulled away from her friend. She rubbed her eyes as the door opened and Byakuya poked his head in.

"There are police downstairs," Byakuya said in his usual emotionless tone. "They are talking to Ukitake about what happened. They would like to talk to Matsumoto."

Rangiku bit her lip. She wiped her tears away before she jumped off the bed and hurried downstairs. Her heart pounded in anxiety as she thought about what could happen to Gin.

Gin was her best friend, her brother, the one she wished she could call boyfriend, the one and only she wanted to make love with… Gin was Rangiku's everything. Without him, she had nothing.

When Rangiku entered the kitchen, it was a shock to find a few officers seated at the dining table with Jūshirō there as well, nursing Tōshirō protectively.

The Hitsugaya's face was buried in his dad's chest. His body shook as if he had been recently crying. Rangiku was sure he had been. Jūshirō himself had a red face stained with tears.

"Byakuya said you wanted to see me…" Rangiku mumbled as she made her way towards Jūshirō. She reached down and placed her hand in the white mess upon Tōshirō's head.

One of the officers nodded. "If you would like to sit down for just a moment, we would like to talk to you about what happened last night."

Rangiku glanced at Jūshirō. He was watching her with tear-filled eyes, as if he were pleading silently with her to be careful about what she says.

"This is officer Ikkaku Madarame," one officer gestured to a balding man next to him, "and I'm officer Yumichika Ayasegawa. We understand that this is a hard time for you, but we would appreciate your cooperation."

Rangiku eyed the second officer. He had short black hair and odd feather-like things she was sure were stuck to his eyelid. He sure was a pretty-boy…

"What's going to happen to him…?" Rangiku found herself whispering.

Yumichika and Ikkaku shared a glance before they looked at the girl.

"Well, that all depends on what we can and can't prove." Yumichika's voice was gentle. He looked briefly at Rukia and Byakuya as they entered the dining room before he turned his attention back to Rangiku. "We would really like to hear your account."

Rangiku bit her lip. She looked down at her feet as she moved closer to Jūshirō. The white-haired man wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him, resting his head on her shoulder.

"…I-I don't really know what happened, honestly…" Rangiku mumbled. It wasn't every day she would accept such an intimate touch from her father-figure, but she knew that the male was really distressed and needed as much comfort as he could find.

"How about you tell us what happened from the time you went to bed to when you came here?" Ikkaku suggested.

"O-okay…" Rangiku glanced at Tōshirō before she begun. "…Well, the night really wasn't that different… G-gin was… somewhere, like he usually is… He has a habit of wandering, you see…? Before I had gone to bed, I went to say goodnight to Tōshirō, but he was already asleep. …He had a rough past couple of days, so I thought he must be tired…"

"What do you mean when you say 'rough', Rangiku?" Yumichika questioned. His eyes were soft as he spoke.

"…I…" Fresh tears welled up in Rangiku's eyes. Would she make things worse if she told them why…? "…Gin had come home drunk a few days before this, and… he bashed Tōshirō… I-I think he was scared Tōshirō was going to hurt me… Jūshirō pulled him off Tōshirō, but Gin got really angry and… told Jūshirō he hated him before he left again…"

"When you say that Gin was scared, can you tell us why?"

"I can't…" Rangiku shook her head, trying to avoid talking about Gin's past as much as she could. "…I-it's about his past, but it would take too long for me to recount when I still have to tell you about last night, too…"

"I see. After this, perhaps?" Yumichika's smile brought comfort to the girl.

Rangiku nodded, not sure if she would be able to give such personal information out without Gin's consent. "…Anyway, when he came home last night… It was really late. I don't exactly know what time, but it was really early morning. I couldn't sleep, so I was watching the TV. I could hear my adoptive dad and Jūshirō in the room next to mine making love, so I didn't think too much about it. Jūshirō had been sick, and they always make love when he gets better."

The two cops scribbled the information down in their notepads.

"This is why you say it was a normal night?" Ikkaku questioned.

"Yes. When they finished, I could hear them clean up and talk. I heard my adoptive dad mention something about a banging coming from Tōshirō's room, but I didn't think much about it. Tōshirō doesn't wake up throughout the night, but I thought that perhaps he had just been having trouble sleeping like the rest of us were."

Rangiku drifted off as tears dripped down her cheeks. She swallowed as she was gently encouraged by the two officers, aware of the way Jūshirō struggled to contain his sobs beside her. She sat on his lap beside Tōshirō, accepting the warm arm that wrapped around her in a protective manner.

"…I heard Jūshirō and Shunsui get out of bed to go and check on Tōshirō…" Rangiku mumbled as she leant against Tōshirō. "…It's not unusual for them to poke their heads in throughout the night… It's something they do every night and have always done it… But then I heard Jūshirō scream… And Tōshirō started seconds later… Shunsui was yelling, and there was a lot of thumping… I was scared…"

Yumichika frowned as he jotted this down. "I understand…"

"…When I looked in, I couldn't believe it… I never thought Gin would do something like that… I swear I didn't believe he was capable of it; especially doing it to his brother…"

"What was he doing?"

"…" Rangiku's tears came harder at this. She accepted the warm kiss on her forehead that Jūshirō gave her, knowing that it was his way of trying to comfort her. "…He was… was raping Tōshirō…"

Yumichika and Ikkaku nodded. They both had sympathy in their eyes, understanding that it was a stressful time for them.

"What happened next?" Yumichika hated having to ask questions like that, but it was a requirement.

"…Jūshirō picked Tōshirō up and told Shunsui that we were leaving…" Rangiku confirmed. "…He said we might not come back… We got in the car and came here…"

Yumichika nodded. "I understand. Thank you so much for helping us, Rangiku. I understand you want to rest, so is it okay if we come back later to keep talking to you? I think it would really help your brother if you told us about his past."

Rangiku nodded. "It's fine…"

Yumichika and Ikkaku stood. They bowed respectfully to the people in the room before they left.

The two Kuchiki had been watching in silence, but now that the cops were gone, it was clear that Jūshirō and Rangiku were taking it harder than ever.

Rukia stood up and pulled Rangiku away, leading her to the bedroom. Byakuya stood awkwardly by Jūshirō and Tōshirō's side, not knowing what to do. He wanted to help, but he didn't want to make things worse, and it seemed he had a habit of doing just that.

Byakuya sighed. He always meant well, but how was he supposed to know how to show it properly when he himself had only ever known cruelty?

-XX-

"I don't know where to start…" Rangiku whispered as she looked down at her lap. Her hands were clenching her pants and she trembled, not wanting to have this conversation with anyone – especially not cops.

"Just start where you think is best." Yumichika offered a gentle smile as he sipped at the cup of tea sitting in front of him. "You can always double back later."

Rangiku nodded. She pushed the plate of biscuits Jūshirō had prepared for her and the officers away, not able to stomach the thought of eating.

"…Well…" Rangiku tried her best to be strong; she knew that Gin wouldn't want her to be so distressed because of what he went through. "…Right from the start, Gin was alone… I-I was told this by Jūshirō; just hours after Gin's birth, his mother took him from the hospital and left…"

"Could she do that?" Ikkaku questioned as he nibbled on a biscuit of his own. "I mean; she would have just given birth."

"She was a bitch, apparently," Rangiku explained. "She did it to spite Jūshirō."

Yumichika nodded. "Already that doesn't sound like it would end well."

"It didn't…" Rangiku took a deep breath, trying to ignore the feeling of betraying Gin that was sitting in the back of her mind. "…Gin was left alone nearly all the time and was hardly fed and tended to… When he got old enough, his mum would beat him all the time for no reason and call him names and tell him that he was worthless and disgusting and that she hated him… and so many more cruel things…"

"That's so ugly…" Yumichika frowned. "I don't think I even want to know what else was said…"

"You don't…" Rangiku grimaced. "Not unless you want to hear how she always told him she was going to kill him…"

Ikkaku made a noise in the back of his throat that was indistinguishable as to what emotion it came from. Yumichika's eyebrows furrowed as he scribbled on his notepad.

"We've been to so many cases like this and already, this is turning out to be one of the ugliest treatments of child cruelty I've seen in a while…" Yumichika mumbled. "It's so ugly!"

"It gets worse…" Rangiku whispered. She watched the two officers brace themselves before she spoke again. "…She… brought men home so that they could… use them both…"

Yumichika brought a hand to his mouth. He shook his head sadly, not trusting himself to reply.

"How old was he?" Ikkaku questioned.

"Not very old... It started when he was almost one… And we met when he was three…"

"Ugly…" Yumichika whispered.

"…He had to live like that, but I guess he was strong enough to only start shutting down after a few years of it…"

"Shutting down?"

Rangiku nodded. "He stopped responding to everything. He explained that it was kind of like he would just sit there and stare at the walls, you know? Not notice anything around him…"

"Understandably ugly…"

"She must have gotten sick of that…" Rangiku felt the first of her tears drip down her cheeks now. "…She took him to the middle of the town and dumped him…"

The two cops looked saddened but said nothing.

"When I met him…" Rangiku choked on tears. "…When I met him, he… he couldn't even speak properly… H-he didn't know how… But he had accepted me into his life happily. We kind of run around the streets together, trying to survive. …Gin seemed happy with everyone who approached us… I assume he was looking for love…"

Yumichika shook his head as Ikkaku placed a half-eaten cookie down on his plate and instead glared harshly at his tea cup as if everyone that had happened were its fault.

"How long were you on the streets for?" Ikkaku asked.

"Two years?"

"What happened during that time?"

"…We stole food… The hunger pains were unbearable… We couldn't even find somewhere sleep to warm… And those men… The ones who approached us… They… they used us, and… Gin thought it was normal… He hated it – he really did – but he seemed to want it in a way… He never said no… He did what was asked of him… Even when they just wanted a punching bag… I swear, it was as if Gin was desperate for approval…"

The two cops looked at each other, shaking their heads. "How sad…"

"When Jūshirō found us, Tōshirō had just been born… H-he drove a long way on the basis of a few rumours… He took us home, and Gin… Gin was scared of him for a long time, but I could see it…"

"See what?" Yumichika asked.

"…Gin wanted to be loved… But he didn't know how he could get that… He didn't even know what love was… He once told me that he thought love was being raped because of all the men he had seen do things to his mother…"

"How did Ukitake-san cope?"

"At first? Not well… His wife had died giving birth to Tōshirō and he was struggling to cope. He cried a lot and had to take leave from his job. Gin and I stayed in the room he had given us because it was frightening for us to see him curl up on the couch with Tōshirō in his arms and cry. Shunsui was almost always over so that he could try and help, but he scared us a lot more than Jūshirō because he always seemed to have a glass of sake in his hand and he was very loud…"

"Poor things…" Yumichika mumbled.

"…Gin couldn't seem to help himself…" Rangiku whispered. "…He tended to ask for sex from Jūshirō a lot and didn't understand why he was being turned down. I think he thought it meant that Jūshirō didn't love him… But after about a year or so, Shunsui ended up asking Jūshirō to date him and he accepted. So Shunsui moved in and we had to learn to cope with another man in our lives, and Gin learnt that it was because Jūshirō loved us that he kept denying Gin sex."

"But he adopted you, didn't he?"

Rangiku nodded. "He wanted kids but he couldn't have any."

"Things settled down for you guys once Ukitake-san took you both in, right?" Ikkaku asked. "At least once you had adjusted to your new lives."

"Y-yes…" Rangiku admitted. "He had Byakuya-san over a lot, so we met Byakuya's sister and became friends with her. She helped out a lot because she had problems in her life similar to ours and it made us understand that we weren't alone. She introduced us to her other friends and we soon learnt to cope properly."

Yumichika smiled gently. "I'm glad things improved for you. I understand that this has been a very stressful day for you, so go get some rest and hopefully things will be okay. Thank you very much for your time, Rangiku-kun."

Rangiku nodded. "B-bye…"

The girl had waited for a few minutes after the cops had left the kitchen and then made her way out to the living room. She found Byakuya and Jūshirō sitting on different couches, but Tōshirō and Rukia were nowhere to be seen. She couldn't bring herself to question their whereabouts, so she approached the couch that Jūshirō was sitting on and sat next to the frail man. She accepted the arm that wrapped around her and pulled her closer without complaint.

Things were silent between the three of them. Byakuya was reading a book while Jūshirō borrowed his laptop and worked a bit more on the children's books he wrote. Rangiku was leaning against Jūshirō, trying to read what he was typing, but she was just too tired to keep her eyes open. She laid down, resting her head in the man's lap, and with the comforting hand that ran through her hair, she fell fast asleep.