Three weeks later.

Shiro had been acting strange.

He'd been acting strange enough that even Ichigo noticed.

Shiro flinched when Ichigo touched him, avoided eye contact and even started sneaking out of the house at night. He'd never be gone for a more than a few hours, but while he was out Ichigo just couldn't sleep.

He couldn't trust him. Not while he was acting so secretive.

Ichigo listened as Shiro slid open the window and snuck out onto the roof. Ichigo crept up to the window, watching Shiro take off down the road.

He sure can run, Ichigo noted with slight venom.

He leapt down, landing quietly in the still night. He ran after Shiro, footsteps snapping against the pavement. Shiro didn't think to turn around; he didn't sense danger because he didn't know anything outside of Ichigo's patterns and routines.

Ichigo watched Shiro approach a jewellery store. He was about to stop Shiro from doing anything when he saw a young girl about five years old approach him. She took his hand and skipped with him inside. Ichigo's tensed shoulders relaxed. He found that he couldn't move, nor could he blink.

Two months ago that very same person had him begging for mercy, and now Shiro held hands with one of the most delicate things on the planet, a young girl. Ichigo shook his head, reminding himself that the hollow back then was not Shiro now. And maybe that was a good thing?

Ichigo had been standing there for about half an hour before Shiro came out of the store. He had a small box in his hands, white with something written and designed on the top.

"What'd he get…?" Ichigo wondered aloud. He realized that Shiro was now heading towards him. He stepped away from the corner and back into an alleyway. Ichigo hid in the shadows and stood in silence, watching as Shiro slowly walked by. He seemed to be completely obsessed with the box, as if whatever inside was his most prized possession. This only seemed to further Ichigo's curiosity.

He had a hard frown set on his lips as he trudged his way home. Occasionally he looked up at Shiro, but soon he got lost in his own thoughts.

Is this really where he's been sneaking out to? I want to know why… but it's not like him to feel safe enough to go out alone. It must be something important. Maybe Yuzu wanted it? Ichigo thought, tucking his hands into his pockets.

It wasn't until a sharp cry pierced the night that he realized he was no longer following Shiro. Ichigo ran forward, hunting for the noise. He knew there wasn't a hollow nearby. Even with his limited sensing abilities, he could tell that no pure hollow was around here.

He could feel an Arrancar-like presence, Shiro's presence, lurking somewhere a few blocks down.

That's where the scream had come from.

His heart pumped thick adrenalin through his legs. He was running faster than he'd even realised, skidding around corners and leaping over trash cans. He just about tripped over a stray cat, stumbling over his own two feet until he crashed against the pavement. Ichigo ignored the feverish burn in his hands in favor of listening to the voices whispering down the alleyway beside him.

"We found a nice one! What's your name, freak?" a male's voice asked.

Ichigo could hear Shiro whimpering.

"Back off!" a woman's voice snarled. "I found 'im, this one's mine!"

"Fine." The male held up what looked to be a necklace. "Then I get this thing."

"N-No!" Shiro shrieked, jumping for the necklace in the man's hand. There was a sickening sound of bones snapping. Shiro let out a pained cry. Ichigo could see the woman take out something from her pocket and open it, a pocket knife, and suddenly it was all too clear of what they intended to do.

They were going to rape Shiro.

Ichigo got up on his knees, just high enough to see Shiro's face. The horror in his eyes, his drooling and torn lips, it must've been exactly what Ichigo had looked like when Shiro had done this to him. Then the idea of Shiro getting raped didn't seem like such a bad thing.

A small smile tugged at the corners of Ichigo's lips.

After all, Shiro had done the exact same thing to him. It was only fair that he see what it was like to be the one pinned down and helpless.

The woman held the knife to Shiro's throat and Ichigo could see his Adams apple jerk nervously.

"This for you girlfriend?" The man spat on Shiro, dropping the necklace to the ground. "Well if I can't have it, no one will." He raised his foot and brought it down on the necklace. Shiro sobbed as the crunch of stones echoed through the alleyway.

Wasn't it wrong to let this happen?

The woman slit open a bit of Shiro's neck. "Shut up or all you'll get from this is pain."

But Ichigo deserved justice; some sort of punishment had to be given.

Shiro's sobs went silent; it was as if he wasn't even there anymore. The man got behind him, lifting him up from the wall as the woman cut open Shiro's shirt.

"You got a nice set here." She giggled. "Wish I didn't have to carve them up, but you've gotta be marked somehow. Don't want others stealing what's mine."

Ichigo slowly stood tall, his hand running over his neck. He knew they weren't there anymore; many of his wounds had faded away after Shiro was pulled from his body, but he remembered how Shiro had bitten his neck, marking him, claiming him as his own. It had been how he was finally broken, drained of blood and left there with little strength left.

But rape was rape…

Still, somehow it was different. Somehow Shiro himself seemed broken, desperate, just as Ichigo had been. Shiro hadn't been like this woman and this man. It wasn't out of fun; it was because he wanted Ichigo's attention.

And it had taken Ichigo too fucking long to figure that out.

Fist high in the air, Ichigo ran screaming into the alleyway. He punched the woman dead on the nose, not caring that she'd nicked him with her knife. The man cowered down, rushing out of Ichigo's way before his nose was broken like his partner's. She was down long enough for Ichigo to scoop Shiro into his arms and run away.

As he ran, he noticed several things. One, Shiro was bleeding and Ichigo could feel his blood soak into his own clothing. Two, Shiro was shaking, completely terrified of what had just happened. And three, Shiro's dry skin and light weight had returned.

"Pu… Put me d-down…" Shiro mumbled. Ichigo immediately skidded to a stop, letting Shiro lay on a nearby bench. Shiro's gigai eyes had apparently wearied thin, his gold on black eyes showing sheer signs of exhaustion and confusion. Shiro reached forward, trailing his boned fingers down Ichigo's cheek and over his lips. "I'm sorry… King."

Ichigo's heart skipped a beat. Shiro's arm fell and his eyes closed. Ichigo was relieved to find Shiro's chest steadily rising and falling.

But…

He'd just called him King.

I feel like it was rushed… x_x

Maybe it's just me? Ah, well, I've been criticizing myself too much lately.

Now, off to bed I go~!