The three of them moved quickly even in Gigai. They were wasting no time, because the sooner they got Karin out, the better. Ichigo was worried for her, wondering what they'd put her through already. Considering the perversity of Uesato, he was afraid for her. If he'd do things to someone like him, what would he do to a young, pretty girl like Karin? He shuddered to even think of it. The thought just pushed him forward, and Grimmjow and Renji were right beside him the whole way.

They got to the house and Ichigo knocked on the door after they bypassed the gates. The butler answered and looked at him strangely.

"Move, now," Grimmjow growled.

The butler stepped aside, letting them pass. Immediately, a couple of the guards for the house came running into the room. Grimmjow and Renji made short work of them while Ichigo headed for the stairs, guessing that Karin was upstairs somewhere. He had to find her, and then he had to get her out of here. Then? He had no idea. They were Yakuza and would keep coming for him. He heard Grimmjow and Renji coming up behind him and he motioned down the hallway to them. They both ran down to check doors, and Ichigo threw open the first one he'd come to. He froze.

Uesato was sitting at a desk, and across from it was Tadasu. Both of them stood up. "Well, if it isn't my chained dragon making all the noise," Uesato said, moving toward the door.

"I don't belong to you, not anymore," Ichigo said, glancing down the hall to see that Renji and Grimmjow were coming toward him with Karin.

"Of course, you do. There's no escaping us," Uesato said.

Karin came up beside him and grabbed his hand. Tadasu glared at him. "You would come to get your bitch sister."

"Yeah, I would. I'm not going to let you put her in danger," Ichigo said, feeling bolstered by Renji and Grimmjow's presence. "This is all your doing. It was you who lost the money and borrowed from Uesato. I allowed you to use me. No more."

Tadasu stood up slowly. "What, you have backup now, so you grew some balls?"

"I just realized I don't deserve to be treated as less than human," Ichigo said, squeezing Karin's hand as he said it. "What you did, there was no excuse for, and I've moved on."

"So, which one of them are you fucking, then?" Tadasu said, crossing his arms. "Oh, are they both fucking you?"

"That's none of your business," Ichigo said, face coloring a bit. "It doesn't matter who I sleep with, because it isn't you from now on."

Tadasu turned his eyes on Renji and Grimmjow. "He likes it rough, don't let his tears fool you."

"Why you…" Grimmjow tried to step forward, but Renji held him back. "I should kill you."

"Oh, you want to show off for him, do you? Well, go ahead. Beat me up, see if I care," Tadasu snorted. "It won't change anything. He's still useless."

"I'm not useless, no matter what you say," Ichigo managed. His voice wasn't steady, but he made the words come out. "I matter to other people, and that's what matters. Come on, Karin, we're getting out of here."

Uesato chuckled. "Go, chained dragon. You won't get far. These arms are far reaching, and I will find you again."

Ichigo ignored him and ushered Karin down the stairs with Grimmjow and Renji on his heels. They had to get out before too many other guards showed up. They were outside when the gun report happened. Karin stumbled, tripping and falling to the ground beside him. Ichigo gasped, dropping beside her and found she'd been shot in the back.

"Karin!" he gasped.

"Ichigo, we have to go, carry her!" Grimmjow said.

Ichigo scooped her up in his arms and they began to move as fast as they could, putting distance between the house and them. They got back to Urahara's in no time, and Isshin met them as they came running.

"Pop! She's been shot!" he said.

"Get her inside, let me look!" Isshin said, going into doctor mode already.

"Grimmjow, go get Orihime!" Ichigo said and he disappeared.

Ichigo laid her down on the mat and Isshin looked at the wound. He sighed, and shook his head. "Ichigo, there's no time. She's dying."

"It's okay," Karin said, smiling. "I'll go to Soul Society, right?"

"No, you can't die!" Ichigo said, grabbing her and hugging her to his chest. "I won't let you," he closed his eyes and held her close.

From the outside, the others saw a distinct blackish glow of reiatsu surround him, as his hand covered the wound in her lower back. It began to pool under his hand inside the wound, filling it with the energy. Then, he gasped and opened his eyes, both of them glowing slightly golden. He slumped backward, caught by Renji as Karin collapsed too.

"He healed her?" Isshin whispered as he checked over her back.

"Since when could he do that?" Renji asked, laying Ichigo's body down on the floor.

"He's never shown healing ability before," Isshin said, brushing Karin's hair out of her eyes. "Karin?"

She blinked slowly and opened her yes. "What is it, Goatface?" she groused. "I feel weird."

Grimmjow came rushing in with Orihime on his heels just then and just stopped and stared. "What the hell happened?"

Renji sat beside Ichigo and pulled his head into his lap. "Ichigo healed her."

Orihime looked somewhat shocked as well, as she went over and threw her shield over Karin and then Ichigo. Both of them were healthy. "I don't understand. Kurosaki-kun has never healed before."

"Maybe something changed when he got his powers back this time," Renji said, threading fingers through his hair. "I mean, he's not the same person he was before. He's changed a lot since then."

Ichigo groaned and opened his eyes, looking up at Renji. "Renji?" he asked.

"Yeah, hey," he said. "That was pretty amazing, what you did there," he smiled at him again.

"I don't know how I did it. I just knew I had to," Ichigo said softly.

"We'll find out from Unohana-taichou and see what she says," Renji nodded. "Are you alright?"

Ichigo nodded, pushing himself to a sitting position. "Yeah, but we have a bigger problem. The Yakuza are going to keep coming for me and my family."

Isshin looked at Urahara and back at Ichigo. "We were discussing that. The only thing we can do is go to the authorities, and then go into hiding."

"What?" Karin said. "You mean, leave Karakura Town?"

"We'll have to. We'll need to get outside the Yakuza's area of influence somewhere far away."

"I have a man in the police," Urahara said. "He knows about us, and I've worked with him before. I'll summon him. Isshin, you should go back to the house and get Yuzu and pack a bag for each of them. Come back here. I can protect you for now."

It was almost dark by the time Isshin came back with a frightened Yuzu and Karin. They'd packed essentials for all for all of them, including Ichigo. When they got there, a car pulled up on the street and a taller man got out and came to the door of the shoten. Urahara let him in and led him to the tearoom where Ichigo was seated with the girls and Isshin. Grimmjow and Renji stood against the wall and watched, and Orihime had gone home.

Urahara stood and bowed to the man who had come in. He had on square framed glasses, too. He looked around.

"Everyone, this is Joji Niikura. He's a detective with the police, and he'll arrange things for us," Urahara said.

Niikura bowed to them and then entered the room to sit at the table. Urahara proceeded to introduce everyone else to him, and then left to get him a cup of tea.

"So, tell me what you have on these Yakuza men?" Niikura said.

"Nothing physical. I mean, I can testify what happened to me there, but that's about it. They'll come after my family again if I don't do something," Ichigo sipped the tea a little nervously.

Niikura took out a voice recorder and put it down. "Alright, let's start at the beginning."

Ichigo swallowed. "It was a couple years ago when my boyfriend got involved with some low-ranking Yakuza men. He would bring them home and they would do drugs together, and I would hide out in my attic room alone. Unless they needed something from me."

"What would they need?" Niikura asked.

Ichigo sighed, face turning a shade of red. "He wanted me to perform sexual favors for them."

"Was this the first time he'd done this?"

Ichigo licked his lips. "I mean, he'd been rough and harsh with me already. And I had to do what he said, or he'd go after me with the belt. So, you see, I had to do it."

Niikura only nodded. "What changed?"

"He started gambling and losing lots of money, so much we couldn't eat. Then he started borrowing from Uesato. And that was fine at first, but then, Uesato called in his debt and Tadasu didn't have the money. I don't know how they came to the idea, but Tadasu said if I loved him, I'd help him pay off his debt to Uesato. So, I said I would. They took me to Uesato's house, and he forced me into sex, getting violent when I fought him, and drugging me." He paused. "I figured out if I acted like I wanted to be there, he wouldn't hurt me."

"Did they threaten your family during this time?" Niikura asked.

Ichigo nodded. "The first time, Uesato said if I didn't cooperate, he'd see to it my family suffered in my stead, so I really had no choice."

"And then, this happened again?" Niikura said.

Ichigo sighed again. "Yeah, several times. Uesato seemed to be sated with using me for his whims for a few days, and then he'd send me back, and Tadasu would get angry with me then for sleeping with someone else. I couldn't do anything right for him."

Niikura nodded. "Okay, Ichigo. I'll take this back and return tomorrow with paperwork. I'll set up a new identity and home for you in another country, and you should be safe from them."

He left, and Ichigo sighed deeply. "I'm so sorry," he said.

Isshin put an arm around him. "Son, don't be sorry."

"Because of me, you'll all be uprooted and live in some strange place," he said.

Yuzu reached over and took his hand. "Anaki, don't be like that. It's not your fault, it's Tadasu's fault. Okay?"

Ichigo looked at her and nodded. "Okay." But he didn't believe it for a second.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Over the next two weeks, the Kurosaki family was quietly taken to America, in Topeka, Kansas. The Kurosaki name was given up, and they took the name Watase. Karin became Keiko, Yuzu became Riku, Ichigo was named Ichizo, and Isshin's name was Miyazaki. They were Japanese immigrants who came to America so that Isshin, or Miyazaki, could practice medicine at a local hospital. Of course, they brought Kon with them, and after they settled into the new house, Ichigo immediately handed over his body to the mod soul.

"You're sure about this?" Kon asked. "You don't want to live here at all?"

Ichigo shook his head. "I'll come visit, but I want you to make Ichizo you. You choose what to do with the life. I'll stay in Soul Society."

So, Ichigo went to Soul Society, where he stayed for a while with Byakuya and Rukia. Renji went back to his duties and Grimmjow decided to stay as well. Byakuya let him stay at his house as well, after some convincing that he was there for good reason.

Ichigo went to Unohana and told her about the healing episode, and she began training him immediately. He had never known much about the demon arts, but he was amazed at how easily healing came to him as he was taught.

Months passed by, and he spent much of his time at the fourth with Unohana, and the rest with Renji and Grimmjow. Neither pushed him, but Ichigo knew they both wanted to take things further than they had in the bath house. Of course, the lack of privacy was an issue, because he was always around someone else. That was until Rukia came to him with news.

"There's a house you can have!" she said.

"A house?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, it's empty, and near the edge of the Seireitei but it would be big enough for the three of you," she said with a slight grin.

"The three of us?" Ichigo said, looking at her a little baffled. Were they that obvious?

"Don't give me that look. I know what's going on. Those two have been trying to court you for the last few months ever since you came from the World of the Living. It's obvious they want you to themselves, but they can't get you alone for any amount of time," she said. "Take the house. Take them with you and build yourself a home."

So, Ichigo did exactly that. They soon had put together a house and set everything up within it that they wanted, including extras from the World of the Living and bits of technology that Urahara and Kurotsuchi came up with to work in Soul Society. After a few days, they'd set up the house and had everyone come visit. It was like a housewarming party, and everyone brought things for them to use. Strangely, no one seemed to question the fact that the three of them were living together. It appeared that over the last few months, people just became accustomed to them being together so much that it was nothing when they all moved in together.

After everyone left, Ichigo flopped into the sofa in the living room of the house and sighed. "That was a lot of people!"

Grimmjow came in and sat down on one side of him, and Renji dropped down into the other side.

"Well, now, what do you want to do?" Renji asked, still sipping at a sake cup.

"I don't know. This is the first time there's been a chance for us to be alone," Ichigo admitted.

"Then why don't we break in that bed of ours," Grimmjow said, leaning in close to Ichigo's face. "After all, we haven't had a chance to do anything fun since you came to Soul Society."

Ichigo felt his face heat, but he had to admit, he wanted to see what the two of them had in mind, so when Renji got up and reached a hand out, he took it and was led back into the bedroom. Ichigo felt his heart starting to race because he'd thought of this many times, and he was wondering what they'd do. He still had Tadasu's expectations in his mind, though, so he wondered if he'd have to pleasure them both or what.

Grimmjow slipped his top off, nodding at him. Ichigo didn't know what to do, but Renji was behind him, untying the obi and sliding his hakama down off his hips. He looked over his shoulder at him and he immediately latched lips on his, slipping his tongue into his mouth immediately as Grimmjow pushed his kusodo off his shoulders and down his back.

"You sure you're okay with this?" Grimmjow asked, leaning in and kissing his neck gently.

"Oh, yeah," Ichigo said as soon as Renji released his lips.

"Good, good," Renji whispered, proceeding to suck on his throat, leaving a mark within a few minutes of doing it. "Everyone is gonna know who you belong to when we're done," he said and bit into his flesh lightly.

Ichigo groaned as Grimmjow reached down and began to stroke his incredibly interested arousal.

"What do you want to do?" Grimmjow asked over Ichigo's shoulder.

Renji smirked and licked Ichigo's neck. "How about we each take one side of him, and fill him full?"

Grimmjow returned the half smile and nodded. "Come on, up on the bed."

Ichigo crawled up on the bed, watching as Grimmjow pulled himself out of his pants. "Renji, take his ass," he said. "I'll take his mouth."

Ichigo's heart began to pound in earnest then. He licked his lips and looked up at Grimmjow. Renji slipped his hands down his hips and pulled him backward. He could already feel him hard against him. He'd done this before, but this was different. He actually wanted to do this with Renji and Grimmjow. He dipped his head down in Grimmjow's lap and took him easily down into his mouth. He was bigger than Tadasu, but that was okay, he didn't mind.

He felt Renji slip his cock into him without warning, but it was easy, so he guessed he'd used something, an oil maybe. He groaned around Grimmjow and gripped his arms around his legs. Grimmjow buried both hands in his hair and pushed his head down, forcing his cock deeper into his throat. Ichigo breathed around him and then felt Renji start to thrust in him. He felt good, holding both of them inside him at the same time. There was something intense and freeing about it, and he didn't know how to explain it.

It didn't last terribly long, because just from all the stimulation, Ichigo felt himself go over the edge easily without even being touched. It was almost a surprise that it came on so quickly, but it was intense and fast. Renji gripped his hips hard, perhaps enough to leave marks, and Grimmjow thrust into his throat until he was coming down it. Renji wasn't far behind, as he felt his cock throbbing as he came into him.

Things got fuzzy for a while, then he was snuggling into arms and feeling a rain of kisses on his back and chest. It felt amazing as he came down off the high of having perhaps the only pleasant sex encounter he'd ever had aside from the hand job in the baths. He mumbled something he didn't remember and felt the arms tighten around him, and he fell asleep.

The next morning, he woke still wrapped up in Renji and Grimmjow and he smiled. Things were going to be okay, he knew.