Chapter Three

Obsession and Death

Ichigo wasn't sure what to do after Sho left the room and the dark-haired man came to him. He was shivering but he wasn't really cold. He struggled to get to a seated position, wincing at the pain as he did so. He still was having trouble grasping what just happened. His wrists ached and his now white outfit was smudged and stained in places. He swallowed thickly and wondered if the dark-haired guy would manage to help him, or if he was lying to him.

He'd never encountered anyone like Sho before. He didn't know what to do. He was still thinking about it when the door opened, and he saw it was the Shinigami from before.

"Ah. Sho seemed awful satisfied with himself. Now, I see why," he said.

He came into the room and knelt in front of Ichigo. Ichigo glared at him, knowing that the look lost some effect considering how red and blotchy his face was. "Who the hell are you?"

"Seibei Yoshizawa," he answered, reaching out and dragging a finger over the side of Ichigo's face. "And you are a perfect research subject."

"Get away!" Ichigo snapped and jerked away from him.

"Aww, are you a little sensitive after Sho raped you?" Seibei said with mock concern in his voice.

Ichigo's breath caught, and he stared at him. "Just leave me alone! Both of you!"

Seibei didn't move, only smiled. "Oh, that won't happen. Sho's agreement with me was I got to do my work with you, and he got you the rest of the time. He couldn't quite kidnap you all on his own, so I helped him with that."

"Why would you help someone like him?" Ichigo said with disgust in his voice.

"Because he's a good research subject, too. And he's been quite useful. Now, you will be useful. Come," he said and grabbed Ichigo's arm to pull him to his feet. "Time for some work."

Ichigo pulled back on him, but with his power sealed, the full power of a Shinigami was enough to manhandle him out the door and into another room. They passed an area with sofas laid out and he saw Sho reclined on one of them. Despite how hard he tried, he felt his heart speed up when he saw him. He was dragged into a room with a chair sitting in the middle and tables situated all around. Seibei pushed him into the chair awkwardly with his hands behind his back still.

"Let's move this," Seibei said, reaching behind him to unbind his hands.

Ichigo didn't let the moment pass without taking advantage of it. Immediately, he yanked both hands away, the cuff dangling off the right one, and tried to push Seibei away so he could get up and run. Seibei, though, caught his hands easily and managed to get the other cuff back on him in front of him.

"Now, now, don't be so rowdy. We're going to make some excellent progress here tonight, I just know it," he said, clipping something on the chair to the cuffs around Ichigo's wrists. Ichigo saw that it was a chain that led to somewhere nearby.

"What are you going to do with me?" Ichigo demanded, trying to project strength he didn't have into his voice.

"Oh, listen to you, trying to be forceful with me. As if you aren't about to collapse from what Sho did to you. He thinks it is love, you know. What he feels is anything but, however we'll let him believe what he likes," Seibei said, turning to pick up something off one of the tables.

Several hours later, Seibei dropped a nearly unconscious Ichigo into the room on the mattress and locked the door behind him. What he'd done for that amount of time amounted to some kind of torture to Ichigo, and he wasn't sure what good any of it was. Most of it had to do with his hollow nature, he figured out from the things Seibei would say as he worked, but some of it seemed to just be done to see how far he could go with the tests. The door opened again, though, and Ichigo's eyes went wide.

"How are you?" Sho asked, smirking as he entered and closed the door behind him.

"Leave me alone!" Ichigo said, hands now locked in front of him.

He raised them up as if to fend him off, but Sho was on him in a second, forcing him to his stomach and already feeling him through his clothes.

"I can't resist you now that I have you," Sho said softly, working his hand into the hakama and starting to stroke Ichigo. "I want to make you come for me again, so many times."

Ichigo sobbed, already choking up. "No, please, don't. Anything but this!" He much rather have the torture Seibei inflicted on him than the utter and complete shame that came with being forced into an orgasm for Sho. There was nothing more humiliating than experiencing pleasure in combination with being forced into it.

Sho chuckled. "Don't be silly. You'll do exactly as I want because if you don't, I'll slit the throat of one of those sisters of yours, and don't think I won't. So, you'll come for me. No matter what," Sho said and began sliding the hakama down off his hips, fingers on his free hand already rubbing insistently at his entrance.

Ichigo tried to put it out of his mind. He tried to be anywhere but present in the moment as he thrust into him harshly with no preparation whatsoever. He choked again because his cock was throbbing with need as Sho stroked him along with taking him from behind. It was more shameful than anything to be experiencing pleasure at Sho's hands. He sobbed a bit despite trying to hold it back as he came hard from the work Sho did with his hands and the insistent prostate stimulation he was getting from inside. Sho chuckled, thrusting a few more times before Ichigo felt him throb inside him. Sho pulled out and then slapped his ass hard, causing Ichigo to flinch.

"What a good boy you are," Sho said, replacing the clothes on him and then standing up.

Ichigo pressed his face into the mattress and panted for breath. He didn't know how much of this he could take. But his body was tingling from the pleasure, and even though he experienced so much embarrassment at coming for him, he wanted to do it again. He swallowed and turned to look at him.

"Please, just let me go."

"You're mine now," Sho said, kneeling and grabbing his face harshly. "Get used to it. I'm going to be forgiving for now, because this is new to you, but if you continue to resist me, I'm going to show you what I'm willing to do so that I can keep you, and you won't like it. Do you understand?"

Ichigo was shivering again, his body's betrayal of him still weighing on his mind. "Please…"

Sho pulled his hand back and punched down hard, bloodying Ichigo's lip and making his nose bleed. "Stop begging."

He stood up and left the room, leaving Ichigo staring after him. He was silently crying, though, as he laid there. He was stuck. He had no access to his power. He couldn't even break the bindings that were on his wrists. He had to hope that Chad would realize something happened to him and try to get help.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Chad and Ohma looked everywhere near where the hollow had been heard. Ichigo was just gone, it seemed. There was no real evidence that anything had happened, he just was missing completely. They made their way back to Urahara's after a couple hours of searching. As they came to the shoten, they saw two people standing outside talking to Urahara.

"Setsuna?" Ohma whispered beside Chad.

"You know the one with long dark hair?" Chad asked, frowning. The other was Isshin, he could tell as they neared.

"Yeah," Ohma said as they came near.

Setsuna's eyes fell on him and Chad saw the change come over him. It was as though he saw something that greatly delighted him, but then the reaction faded and he looked more serious. Chad thought it was interesting, but he didn't say anything.

"Chad, Ohma," Urahara said as they came up. "This is Isshin Kurosaki, Ichigo's dad, and Ohma, seems you already know Setsuna, here."

"Yeah, I do. What are you doing here?" Ohma asked, getting to the point quickly it seemed.

"It seems that Setsuna know Ichigo's location right now," Isshin said.

Ohma looked at Setsuna sharply. "How is that?"

Setsuna looked at him, then Chad. "I was picked up by the people who have him, but that doesn't matter now. I left just before sunset telling them I was going out for a walk. If I'm gone too long, they may decide to move him."

"So, we have to move quickly," Chad said. "We can tell our stories later, once Ichigo is safe. Let's go," he nodded emphatically to Setsuna.

Setsuna led them, Chad, Ohma, Setsuna, Urahara, and Isshin, to the place where Ichigo was being held. As they walked, Chad thought about what he'd felt since Ichigo's disappearance. His heart ached and he wanted to find him, but at first, he didn't understand the very base reaction to him being in danger. He'd never examined his feelings before, but he'd never had a reason to do so. Now, he was beginning to see those feelings for what they were, and he needed to talk to Ichigo about them to see if he had similar feelings or not.

They came to an old warehouse that looked like it had been abandoned. Setsuna took the lead, opening the door. But apparently, they were expected, because Setsuna gasped and stumbled. Chad and Ohma pushed past him, finding a Shinigami using some sort of Zanpakutō power on Setsuna, then it hit both of them, dropping them to their knees as well. Chad had never felt anything like it. It was like all the moisture was being sucked from his body, making him dizzy and unable to fight it.

Chad heard a door slamming, and he didn't see anyone else. He was so out of sorts from the effect of the Zanpakutō that he barely heard Isshin say "Getsuga Tenshō" and the blue arc of energy flew through the air. The sensation began to fade and Chad got to his feet, seeing that Isshin's attack had been enough to render the Shinigami unconscious.

"Where's Sho?" Setsuna gasped as Urahara helped him get up. "Sho's not here!"

While Setsuna, Chad, and Ohma recovered, Isshin and Urahara began to search the place. Chad went to the back of the room after a few minutes, following the voices. Ohma and Setsuna seemed to get themselves together and came after him.

Isshin and Urahara were in a room with a dingy mattress stained with blood. There was an extremely faint feeling of Ichigo's reiatsu in the room, so it was obvious he'd been held there.

"Sho left with him," Setsuna said, leaning against the doorframe.

"Why?" Isshin said, turning to him.

"Sho was obsessed with him. He-he wanted him all to himself. He made a deal with Seibei, the Shinigami, that he'd let him research Ichigo as long as he was able to have him once he was done with him," Setsuna said. "Sho thinks he loves him, but what he's calling love is anything but…"

Chad looked over at Ohma and then to Isshin and Urahara. "We have to find him."

"Why can't Ichigo fight him?" Urahara asked, looking up now.

"Seibei put some kind of collar on him, it made his clothes turn white. He said it was like some sort of stone, and that it locked his powers up so he couldn't use them," Setsuna explained. "I tried to take it off, but it was like it was completely sealed to his neck and I couldn't find a way to get it off."

"Alright, let's get this Seibei back to Soul Society so they can interrogate him," Urahara said with a sigh. "Perhaps he will know more about this Sho. While Isshin and I take care of him, why don't you all blanket the area and see if you can find any trace of them? Regroup at the Shoten afterward."

Chad nodded, turning on his heel and not waiting for more instruction. Ohma and Setsuna easily caught up with him.

"What are you doing here?" Ohma asked as they walked.

Setsuna sighed. "I don't really know anymore," he answered cryptically. "Things are different than they were before," he said. "I thought I knew what I wanted, but then I saw what Sho was doing to Ichigo, and when he raped him, I couldn't be a part of it anymore."

Chad stopped, turned and stared at Setsuna for a moment. When he spoke, there was a dangerous edge to his deep voice. "He what?"

"I told you he was obsessed. That he thinks he loves him. He believes that he has him in every way," Setsuna explained.

"But to go that far…" Ohma said.

"We must find him, quickly," Chad said, turning and walking again as they exited the building.

For the next couple hours as the darkness settled in on them, they searched the area. Sho, however, had apparently been careful even in his haste, because while there was a trail near the warehouse back door that led away, they lost it when he reached the sidewalk. There simply was no way to tell what direction they had gone, then. Defeated, the three of them headed back to Urahara's place.

Isshin and Urahara were waiting for them. "No luck?" Isshin said sadly.

"The trail ended at the sidewalk," Chad said.

"We handed Seibei over to Soul Society. It seems he escaped about two years ago. He was a member of the twelfth division and had an unhealthy obsession with Sōsuke Aizen and his research into hollows. We found that he was investigating the acquisition of hollow abilities by way of Fullbringers and through Ichigo's birthright." Urahara sighed. "He was not much help with Sho, however. He said that he wanted Ichigo and had found him stalking him. He decided to use him to help kidnap Ichigo to use as a research subject, and agreed to all of Sho's demands in order to get him to help."

"What do we do now?" Ohma asked. "We have to find them."

"Setsuna, I know you were staying with them, would you be okay will staying with us for the next few nights? We have room," Isshin said, turning to him. "And Ohma, I'm sure you can stay with Chad while we work on this."

"Okay, I don't mind staying with you while we figure this out," Setsuna said, nodding.

"And Ohma can stay with me," Chad confirmed.

"Alright, everyone get some sleep and we'll start canvassing the area come morning. They can't have gotten too far away before Sho had to stop for the night," Urahara said with a nod.

Chad nodded and took Ohma back to his apartment, still unsettled, but there was nothing he could do about that now. Come morning, they would search again.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

"Wait!" Ichigo gasped as he stumbled again.

Sho had a grip on his upper arm and was pulling him along in the darkness. "Come on, we have to move."

"I can't!" Ichigo said, stopping on the sidewalk.

Sho turned and glared at him. "Either you keep moving, or you're going to regret it."

Ichigo swallowed and heaved a breath. "With my power cut off, I'm weaker than you! We have to stop!"

"Fine," Sho said, looking around. "There," he said, pointing to a darkened house with weeds growing around it. "We'll hide there."

Sho dragged Ichigo toward the house and then broke the lock to get in. He threw Ichigo to the floor and shut the door, propping it closed with a nearby chair. Ichigo panted, exhausted and unable to move much. Sho stalked past him and into the house, looking around.

"This will do just fine," he muttered, then looked back at Ichigo. "And you won't run from me, because if you do, I'll go after those you love, understand?" Sho glared at him harshly.

"I know!" Ichigo said, staring at him.

"Now, all this excitement has got me going, so we're going to have a little fun before bed," Sho smirked and pulled Ichigo to his feet.

"Please, no, not now," Ichigo said, not even sure if he would stay conscious long.

Sho growled, then pulled back and slapped him hard across the face. "What did I say about begging?"

Ichigo turned away and sighed. He couldn't do anything. He wondered what other effects the stupid collar had aside from sealing his powers, because even as a human, he shouldn't have been this weak. But there wasn't much to do, even if he could get his arms free, he couldn't get the collar off, and unless he could kill Sho, he couldn't leave him to go after his family. So, his only choice was to kill him somehow. But he had to wait for the right moment to do so. Until then, he had to do what he said.

Sho dragged him stumbling into an empty room and threw him to the floor again. Ichigo was almost used to it now as he pulled at his clothes again. He numbly did what he said, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling the entire time. He couldn't do anything else, letting his body do what it wanted to do, and making Sho happy.

Then, Sho was done with him and laid down on the floor beside him. He fell asleep soon, and Ichigo waited with a held breath now and then. He waited until he was sure he was deeply sleeping, then he got up and began to search the house for anything he could use as a weapon with his hands bound in front of him like this. He was about to give up when he came across a screwdriver. He picked it up, gripping it tightly in his hands. He would stab him. One good stab to the heart would kill him, then he could get help. He moved carefully back to the room where Sho was lying.

Ichigo had never outright murdered anyone before, and even though it was someone who had promised to kill his family, he still hesitated as he stabbed downward. Just before the screwdriver impacted his sternum, Sho's eyes opened and his hands shot up, grabbing Ichigo and slamming him to the floor, screwdriver flying away.

"Ichigo, that was a naughty boy," Sho whispered as he held him down.

"Dammit!" Ichigo growled, staring at him through frustrated tears.

"Now, I'm going to show you what happens when you don't listen," Sho whispered, then punched Ichigo across the face, sending him into unconsciousness.

Sometime later, Ichigo groaned, coming awake slowly with a throbbing head. He blinked, seeing light coming in the windows. He sat up slowly, looking around.

"You're awake," he heard Sho's voice. He turned around and stared in disbelief.

"Keigo?" he asked.

Sho was standing in the entrance to the room, standing beside a bound and gagged Keigo. Keigo was staring at Ichigo from frightened eyes. Sho reached down and undid the gag.

"Ichigo! What's going on? Who is this guy?" he stammered.

"Sho, stop. Don't hurt him. I won't try anything again," he said, eyes wide as he realized Sho had a knife in his other hand.

"I don't think you believe me. I told you I know all your friends and family, and I am serious about killing them. You are mine now. This proves my devotion," he said, pulling Keigo's head back by the hair and placing the knife at his throat.

"Ichigo! Help!" Keigo yelped.

"Sho, no, stop! I promise, I won't try to kill you or try to run away again, okay? Just listen—"

The knife flashed across Keigo's throat and there was a second when nothing seemed to happen, then a fountain of blood began to gush down his front. He gurgled and gasped for breath, then the color just drained from him and he fell limply to the side.

"I told you," Sho said. "Look what you made me do! You made me do this, Ichigo! You, not me!"

Ichigo stared at Keigo's body numbly. He actually did it. He murdered someone Ichigo cared about because of Ichigo's action. He'd caused this. He swallowed and looked up at Sho.

"No…" he whispered. "Keigo."

Sho came over and grabbed Ichigo by the shirt, pulling him closer to the blood pool. "See this? This is your doing!" he yelled. "You, no one else! I warned you, but you didn't listen! You forced my hand! You might as well have held the knife yourself, Ichigo! You killed him!"

Ichigo was starting to panic. There was no other word for what he was feeling. He just was having trouble coming to terms with the fact that Keigo was actually dead. After everything they went through, he was dead because of him. Ichigo's actions had led to his death. He'd gambled and lost Keigo's life in the process. It couldn't happen again.