A/N: Wow, I totally forgot that I wrote this way back when (seriously, I wrote this like 6 months ago) until I found it when scrolling through on my tumblr. It takes place only a few months after Hisana met Tatsuya (so like, around Chapter 2), which I know is super far back, but since I haven't posted any drabbles here in a while…
Warning: This is pretty freaking dark. In fact, I'm not sure if the rating should be T or M for this chapter, so that should tell you something about it.
"What's a little girl like you doin' here?" A drunken voice slurred. "You lost?"
I stiffened, pinning the man who'd slipped into the seat next to me with a sharp glare.
"Waiting for someone. Not that it's any of your business," I said curtly, wishing that Tatsuya would just hurry the hell up already.
"Well, I wouldn't feel alright just leavin' ya here. Someone might take advantage of a delicate thing like you," he said slyly. I didn't like the gleam in his eyes.
"I assure you, I'm quite capable of taking care of myself," I said, one hand drifting towards where my knife was strapped to my waist. Black eyes caught the motion and before I could do anything, one hand shot out and grabbed my wrist, squeezing hard. With a gasp of pain, I let go of my knife, the weapon falling to the floor with a clatter.
"Now, now, there's no need for that," he said, suddenly not looking as drunk as he'd been a moment before. "I'm just tryna' help you out, after all." I pursed my lips, trying not to panic as the stranger stepped forward, crowding me against the wall. Fuck Tatsuya and fuck his tendency to conduct shady deals in even shadier places.
"Let go of me," I demanded, trying to keep my voice from shaking. I didn't quite succeed.
"Oh, come on sweetheart. I won't hurt you—I just wanna have a little taste, yeah?" He leaned in, breath stinking of alcohol.
The hand that wasn't holding my wrist captive inched its way up my thigh and fuck everything, he asked for it. Gritting my teeth, I head-butted him as hard as I could. As he recoiled, clutching his bloody nose, I reached over and grabbed his sake bottle, smashing it against the wall. Before I could do anything—like gut the asshole with the sharp end, see if he could touch me when his innards were falling out—a heavy blow to my face sent me crashing to the floor, stunned. The taste of iron sat heavy in my mouth. Through the thick haze of pain clouding my mind, I noticed that a crowd had formed.
"What is going on here?" A familiar voice asked coldly, and I almost felt like crying with relief.
"Nuthin', Yamato. Just teachin' this bitch a lesson here," the stranger said, spitting at me. A glob of saliva landed on my bruised cheek and something in Tatsuya's eyes darkened. Whatever it was, it vanished a moment later, leaving behind a friendly, genial expression.
"Ah," Tatsuya laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck like a scolded schoolboy. "My apologies, Ueno-san. That one can be a bit of a spitfire, I'm afraid." Ueno made a noise of comprehension.
"She's one of yours, then?"
"You know me. I can never resist the wild ones," Tatsuya's smile widened, as he reached out to pull me against him. I played along, tucking my face into his chest. "Makes them so much more fun to break. Don't worry; I'll be sure to thoroughly punish her for this." I flinched; objectively, I knew that he was just trying to get us away without starting a fight, but the sadistic viciousness in his voice was still startling. I'd never heard it directed towards me before.
Ueno snorted derisively. "Make sure to train your pets better next time, Yamato." Leering at me, he added, "Make sure to fuck the little slut silly, yeah? Teach her some respect."
Tatsuya's returning smile was all teeth. "You can count on it."
He waited until Ueno was out of earshot before turning back to me. "C'mon. Let's get you out of here," he murmured, grabbing my arm gently. As soon as we were out of the bar, he took my chin with one hand and tilted my head to the side to inspect my cheek.
"You're hurt," he said softly. There was a simmering sort of fury in his eyes as he took in the sight of the bruise blossoming on my face. "He'll pay for this. I swear to you, Hisana-chan, he'll pay."
I laughed hollowly. "It's Inuzuri. I've had worse—we all have. This is nothing."
"Regardless." His fingers were gentle as he lightly skimmed my cheek with his fingers. "I take care of what's mine. Don't worry—he'll never touch you again."
"Goddammit," I swore to myself as I raced home. "Kaori's gonna kill me."
It was kind of ridiculous that I had a curfew again, but Kaori was weird about me staying out after dark. Then again, Inuzuri wasn't exactly the safest place for anyone, let alone a child. And this was my third time in the past two months that I'd lost track of time while picking herbs in the forest, so yeah. Kaori was definitely going to yell at me.
I was about five blocks from home when I caught sight of a familiar figure. Where the hell was Tatsuya going so late at night? I wondered, frowning. Making a split-second decision, I chose to follow him—hey, I was going to be in trouble either way. Maybe normally I would have let it go, but…he wasn't going in the direction of any bars or brothels or wherever the hell Kazuki and Tatsuya went to during their spare time (I wasn't stupid, I'd seen the lipstick stains). No, instead he was heading towards the outer slums, where Rukia and I had lived before Tatsuya had found us.
Sticking to the shadows like Kaori had taught me, I followed him at a safe distance, wandering through side alleys and mostly-deserted roads.
After about ten minutes, I debated forgetting the whole thing and just making my way home, but I'd already come this far. Not to mention, for the past two or so days, Tatsuya had been coming home with blood on his clothes—the dark coloring of his clothes didn't hide the bloodstains completely—and considering the fact that he never seemed to be injured, well…I was curious.
Still, this would be a complete invasion of privacy, and Kaori's warning about not getting on Tatsuya's bad side still rang in my head. And considering the fact that I had no idea how Tatsuya would react to me essentially spying on him, the logical choice was to leave quietly and run home as fast as I could.
As it happened, the choice was taken out of my hands. The wind picked up, blowing a cloud of dust into my face. Against my will, I sneezed. Tatsuya whirled around.
"Who's there?" He demanded, sharply. Wincing a bit sheepishly, I stepped out from behind a building.
"It's just me," I said, shifting my feet nervously. A flash of surprise crossed his eyes.
"Hisana-chan? What are you doing here?" Tatsuya asked, relaxing a fraction.
"Well, I was coming home a bit late…and I saw you walking in this direction. I, uh, got curious," I said, voice small. "I'm really sorry for following you, but you've been coming home with blood on your clothes and I've been worried about you and Kaori keeps brushing me off whenever I ask her about it and I just wanted to make sure you were okay." I said the last part all in a rush. Tatsuya's features softened.
"You don't have to be sorry, Hisana-chan." He tilted his head thoughtfully. "Actually, maybe it's for the best that you're here. C'mon, I have something that I want to show you. I think you'll like it," he said in a cheerful tone. "We're close. It's just around the corner aaaaand— here we are!"
"You wanted to show me a shack?" I asked flatly, staring at the abandoned, dilapidated house in front of me. Tatsuya laughed, grabbing me by the hand and dragging me inside.
"Of course not."
"Then…?" I asked questioningly. He winked at me.
"Just a little promise that I'm fulfilling. There!" Tatsuya pointed to the corner of the room and I froze abruptly at the sight of a miserable-looking figure tied to a chair. Even at this distance, I could see that he was horribly injured; his hands were swollen and inflamed from multiple broken fingers, one eye was bruised shut, and his breathing was unsteady. "Look familiar?"
"Tatsuya, that's–" I said softly, swallowing hard. He didn't reply, instead bouncing over and yanking the man's head back cruelly.
"Ueno-san! I've brought you a visitor today!" Tatsuya sang out, a kind of vindictive glee in his voice. And I'd seen hints of it before, that same sadistic satisfaction that only came at someone else's expense, but it'd never been this clear until now.
Ueno groaned, his one uninjured eye flitting open before settling on me. Cold hatred entered his expression.
"You! You're the bitch who–"
"Nuh-uh," Tatsuya chided gently, his tone a stark contrast to the way he reached down and casually broke another finger. Ueno let out a howl of pain and suddenly I understood why Tatsuya had chosen this location. No one around to hear the screams. "I wouldn't be so rude to Hisana-chan. That's what landed you in this mess in the first place, after all.
"Tatsuya, you–" I began again, trying to reconcile the teenager I'd come to trust over the past few months with…this. He looked up at me grinning, eyes bright.
"I told you that I'd make him pay, didn't I?" He said, and oh god, he sounded proud.
"You didn't have to hurt him like this!" I blurted out. Tatsuya sighed, an indulgent smile on his face.
"Still so kind. But if you insist…" He looked down at Ueda and a disgusted expression crossed his face. "It's your lucky day, Ueno-san. It looks like Hisana-chan is far more merciful than I am, so I'll give you a chance to redeem yourself. Apologize to Hisana-chan for your behavior the other day, and I'll make your death quick. But I want you to beg for forgiveness," he said softly, dark eyes glinting.
"Go to hell, you sick fuck," Ueno spat out, blood splattering onto Tatsuya's face. "Go ahead, kill me—my brothers will make sure that whore of yours dies painfully, and you'll be forced to sit there watching, helpless, as they take their turns with her, as she screams–"
A hand wrapped around his throat, cutting his words off abruptly. Tatsuya's face was carefully blank as he stared down at Ueno, and for the first time since we'd met, I felt afraid of him.
"Hisana-chan." I shivered at the coldness in his tone. "You might want to go outside for this."
I didn't need to be told twice.
I didn't know how long I sat there, arms wrapped around my knees, staring blankly ahead. All I knew was that I'd started covering my ears tightly sometime after the begging started. I didn't quite manage to block it out. An indeterminate amount of time later, there was an sickening snapping sound—final and unmistakable—and Tatsuya walked out, hands stained red. I scrambled to my feet.
"He's dead, isn't he." It wasn't a question.
"Of course. I would never allow him to live after what he did to you," he confirmed. I nodded, feeling oddly numb. A glimmer of understanding entered Tatsuya's eyes as he walked towards me.
"Don't blame yourself, Hisana-chan. I know that you hate seeing people hurt, but remember what he was like when you met him. He's dangerous, Hisana-chan, he wouldn't have stopped and he would've killed you if I hadn't been there. And who knows how many other girls he's left broken on the streets, or how many girls he would've raped and killed in the future. He's not innocent and he deserved to die. Now come on; let's go home." He reached out to me and I couldn't help it—I flinched away. Tatsuya looked like he'd been slapped, and for the first time, a hint of worry crossed his face.
"You—you're afraid of me," he said softly, voice pained. "I—Hisana, you know that I would never hurt you, right? Look at me." He took my face in his hands—the same hands that had snapped a neck without hesitation not ten minutes earlier—forcing me to meet his eyes. "I would never hurt you or Rukia, I promise. I've never lied to you, have I? And…and I know that I'm not a good person, but I'd only hurt those who threatened my family. I swear." Tatsuya's voice was impossibly earnest. "You can trust me."
I was silent for a long moment as I thought back to how my life had improved drastically ever since Tatsuya had taken me in, how I no longer had to worry about food or shelter or finding a knife in my back. How I never would have managed to find a life with Rukia here if Tatsuya hadn't been there to teach me the skills I needed to survive. How even now, I wasn't sure if I could survive on my own, with just me and Rukia against the world.
"I know," I said finally. The sigh of relief he made was unmistakable and I let him pull me into a tight embrace.
"Thank you. I promise Hisana-chan, I'll always take care of you," he murmured, holding my face against his chest.
"I believe you," I said back, closing my eyes. Because when it came down to it, it didn't matter what he'd just did. It didn't matter that he'd just tortured a man for a minor offense, that he killed as easily as breathing, that behind that smile hid someone who found enjoyment in another's suffering. It didn't matter because I was depending on him to keep Rukia and me safe.
I had to trust Tatsuya. What other choice did I have?
A/N: Man, was I in an angsty mood when I wrote this. I remember that I wanted to get Hisana's desperation those first few years down a bit better, because while WTL in general is pretty lighthearted, it isn't all fun and games. I mean, eventually Hisana did grow to genuinely love Tatsuya, but at the same time, she forced herself to turn a blind eye to a lot of his darker tendencies. What she couldn't ignore, she forced herself to forgive which…says quite a bit about her character, now that I think about it.
The tone actually reminds me of To Love a Monster (which is my newest story, starring an SI/OC reborn as Aizen's twin sister), which is...much less fluffy that WTL. Just a heads up, in case any of you decide to check it out :)