Chapter Two

A New Life for An Old Soul

Ichigo spent the night like that, unable to get comfortable with the plug inside him. He felt disgusting, to be honest, and he would have given anything to be able to shower. More than that, he had to figure out how to get out of this situation. He was lucky. At least he spoke English. If he hadn't, this would be far scarier than it already was.

The lights were off, and he couldn't seem to sleep for the longest time. After all the time on the ship, when the only thing to do was sleep, he wasn't tired in the least. His thoughts were racing, too. He couldn't seem to shut them off no matter how hard he tried.

He tried to figure out what he could have done different. No matter what he tried, he could only put the blame on himself. If he hadn't gone out to the bar that night, if he hadn't had a few drinks, he wouldn't be in this position now. If he hadn't had to try and help someone… No, he couldn't think that way. He'd always come to someone's aid that needed it. He couldn't ignore someone's plea for help like that. It just wasn't in him. Even when doing so put him in this situation.

He could only hope that the rest of his family was safe since he'd been picked up by the Yakuza. They had him, so they shouldn't need to harm his family. But now he was mixed up not only with the Yakuza, but this mafia organization that Russo was a part of. Even if he did escape, could he even go home? He'd just put them in danger if he did.

Eventually, he fell into a fitful sleep. He woke sometime after sunrise, as far as he could tell from the dim light in the room. The curtains on the windows were thick, though, and blocked out most the light. He knew it had to be morning because his stomach, as used to being empty as it was, was starting to ache a bit. His mouth was also dry, so he knew it had been a while since he'd last had something to drink. He put his head down on the pillows and waited, willing the bastard to come back and take the gag off of him, and pull the damn plug out of him. It was starting to get more uncomfortable the longer it stayed in him.

It was a little while later when he heard the door open. He picked his head up and saw it was Russo. He was dressed in another suit like he had been when he met him, and he looked very self-satisfied.

"There's my good bitch boy. How was your night?" he asked, coming over and sitting close to him on the bed.

Ichigo yelled through the gag at him, but it was muffled. He frowned and did his best to glare at him. He wasn't sure how effective it was considering the position he was in.

"Aw, not happy? Don't worry, you'll get used to this. Or I'll kill you. Don't doubt that, by the way, boy. I will not hesitate to murder you and have your body disposed of by my men. And then, well, then, I'll go after your family after you're gone." He smiled at Ichigo's pained expression. "Yes, I got all the information about you from the Jap bastards that brought you to me."

He reached out and grabbed Ichigo by the hair, twisting his head to the side a bit. "See, I do this because I abhor anyone that's not white. I said I wouldn't hurt a woman, I know, but I'm also willing to give a chance to a white man. You? You yellow pricks don't deserve my time. But the men who gave you to me made me a good deal, so I took you in exchange for some useless international corporation they wanted."

Ichigo frowned. This guy had given the Yakuza a company in exchange for his life. He was just amazed that these things happened in this day an age. He couldn't imagine the people living in this house who knew he existed already, and they just ignored the fact this guy was keeping some foreign-born human being captive. He even had a wife who knew what he was doing. He wondered if he had any kids and if they knew.

"Now, let's see, I'll leave you alone for the day, but you'll be locked in this room, so don't think you can get out," he said, reaching out and releasing his hands from the bed.

He untied his wrists with extremely deft fingers. Ichigo watched him and then didn't move once he'd finished untying his hands. He wasn't sure what he could do.

"I'll send in food. There's a bathroom over there. I expect you to keep yourself clean. There are robes in the cabinet for you."

With that, he turned and Ichigo heard the door lock behind him. His hands went for the back of his head to release the gag first, and he opened his mouth and stretched as much as he could, but it was sore. His teeth ached from biting into the ball so hard. He then reached down and removed the stupid plug. He felt gross, too, so he rushed in the bathroom and turned on the shower as hot as it would go and got in. He found a loofa sponge, and he scrubbed himself from head to toe. He cleaned himself as well as he could, noticing how sore he was from him and the ridiculous plug he'd made him wear. When he was done, he toweled off and found the robes in the cabinet. He slipped into one and then went back in the bedroom.

He sat down on the bed, wincing a bit as pain shot through his ass. He definitely didn't like that part of this whole situation, but he didn't know what to do about. He'd made it clear what he intended to use him for.

The keys jangled outside the door as it was unlocked, and a woman came in. She was shorter and had long, brown hair down past her shoulders. She wore a pair of tan slacks and a magenta-colored button-up shirt. She was carrying a tray with her. She sat it down on the table beside the bed and looked at Ichigo. Ichigo's eyes went to the door which she had left open. He swallowed, debating trying to run past her. He had to try.

He was up and dashing past her in a second before she could even say anything to him. He got through the door, and he almost thought it was too easy. Then someone was grabbing him by the arm, and he was smashing into the wall. He sucked in a breath and set his feet to try and throw whoever had a hold on him, which he managed after a second, sending whoever it was off him, and he dropped to a crouch just in time to miss being hit right in the face by a flying fist. There were two of them, he realized. He kicked out, trying to sweep the guy's legs from under him, but found the first guy was back and trying to grab him again. He managed to avoid him, and shot between the two of them, trying to remember the layout of the place as he did so.

He thought he had slipped them, then someone clotheslined him as he tried to go for the stairs, knocking him to the ground. He started coughing and looked up to see Russo standing there with a grin on his face.

"Knew you'd try it," he said, reaching down and hauling him back to his feet. "I warned Dahlia that you would go for the door the moment it opened."

Ichigo cleared his throat and looked to see the woman, Dahlia he guessed, standing in the doorway watching them. "Who's she?" he asked.

"Dahlia is my wife. Now, you're gonna learn why you don't run from me. Handcuff him," he said to one of the two guys that had been standing outside the door.

He tried to push away but he was soon handcuffed and being dragged down the stairs. He had no idea where they were taking him, but they came down to the first floor, then descended a second set of stairs. They came out into a dark basement. Russo turned on the light, and Ichigo looked around. There were a pair of chains hanging from the rafters, and in short order, he'd been chained up on them, hands high above his head.

Russo came around and grinned. "You don't run, or you come down here and the boys get some time with you. Now, I tell them, all I care about is that you're alive when they're done with you. Otherwise, they can use anything down here, and trust me, there's a lot of fun things down here for them to play with."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes at him. "I'll never stop running."

"Oh, you will. Trust me. Take this as a lesson," Russo said, cupping his face. "You will suffer for every infraction. I will ensure that."

Ichigo swallowed, looking at these other two men. Russo put a hand on one, this one with short brown hair and hard hazel eyes. "This is Robert." He then moved over and put a hand on the other, this one with long blond hair in a tail and bright, rather stunning, blue eyes. "And this is Terrence. Get to know them, because they're going to get to know you. Intimately."

Ichigo shook his head. "Look, I'm sorry. I won't run again."

"Tsk, tsk. I don't believe you. Now, have fun, Robert, Terrence." He turned his back and walked up the stairs. Ichigo felt his heart hammering in his chest as the two men came closer.

Both these guys were built. Ichigo wondered where Russo was finding these guys because why were all these guys so big?

Robert stepped up and pulled the belt on the robe he was wearing, letting it fall open. Ichigo looked at him and shook his head. "Don't."

"Why not?" Robert said, smiling. "You're not going to be able to do anything about it. But first, we're gonna have a little fun."

He reached over behind Ichigo and came back with a set of brass knuckles. The other guy put his hands on his hips from behind and he could feel him pressing against his ass. These guys were serious. They planned to rape and beat him all because Russo told them to. Ichigo closed his eyes and willed it to be over.

It wasn't over anytime soon. They both left eventually, leaving him hanging by his wrists, losing feeling in his hands long before. He was dripping blood from his face and nose, and he was sure his nose was broken, and maybe his cheekbone because his face was on fire. His ribs had been pummeled and so had his back. He thought maybe they'd broken a rib, but he couldn't be sure. He was still breathing okay so they hadn't punctured his lung. They'd both had a go or two, he couldn't remember that much, and he felt something running down the back of his legs. If it was blood, or come, he didn't know for sure, all he knew is he was in pain.

He had no idea how long he waited until eventually, Russo came back down with the two of them. Robert and Terrance. He wasn't going to forget them anytime soon.

"Aren't you a pretty mess?" Russo said with a smirk. "Now, take him back up to clean up in the bathroom. Send Jared to fix him when you do," he said as he turned and went back upstairs.

Terrance pulled down his hands and he collapsed to the floor immediately. "Ugh, get up!" Terrance said, kicking him in the leg hard.

Ichigo managed to get to his feet and stumble after him as he was dragged back up both flights of stairs. Robert came around and took the handcuffs off and shoved him toward the bathroom.

"Clean yourself up," he snapped and then they both left, locking the door behind them.

Ichigo teetered there for a second, then stumbled again into the shower. Luckily it was a standing shower, so he didn't have to climb into a tub. He just turned on the water and stood there for the longest time under the spray. It hurt his face and ribs, but he didn't care. After the water started to go cold, he decided to get out. He dried off with a towel, gingerly pressing it against his face and looking in the mirror. Hi right cheek and nose was already turning purple. He looked at his ribs and saw that they were starting to turn colors too.

He sighed, finding a new robe in the cabinet and going out to the bed. He crawled into the bed and collapsed uncomfortably. There were a few minutes until the door opened again, this time shutting again almost immediately and locking. He looked to see a dark-haired man with glasses that kind of reminded him of Uryū. He had a doctor's bag with him.

"I'm Jared, the doctor in the house," he said as he approached the bed. "I'd prefer not to have to call Robert or Terrance in here to help me with you, so I'd ask that you cooperate."

Ichigo just stared at him and sighed. "Yeah, whatever," he said and sat up painfully on the side of the bed.

Jared came over and began looking his face over. He tutted and pressed on his cheek, then checked his nose. Ichigo winced and his eyes watered as he set his nose back in place. He then had him take off the robe and show him his ribs. He felt around and seemed satisfied with it and told him to put his robe back on.

"Bruised ribs, broken nose, pretty sure they cracked your cheekbone, but overall, you're not in that bad a shape after they got done," he said, sighing.

"Not that bad a shape?" Ichigo said, staring at him.

"Considering what I've seen before, no, not that bad." He sat the bag on the end of the bed and looked in it, coming up with a pill bottle. He shook out one and handed it to Ichigo. "Take that. It'll let you sleep without so much pain."

"What is it?" Ichigo asked, staring at it.

"Does it matter? Just take the pill," Jared said, shutting the bag. "You don't want to spend the entire day and night in pain, do you?"

Ichigo supposed not, so he swallowed the pill, taking a cup of water from the tray beside the bed to take it with. "Why do you work for him?"

Jared stopped as he was picking up the bag. "Sometimes, people don't have any choice, much like you."

He left, knocking on the door to be let out. Ichigo sat there and wondered about that. His stomach grumbled rather loudly, and he realized that the food that Dahlia woman brought with her had been taken away, and by now it was well after lunch, and probably almost dinner. He'd spent an indeterminant amount of time down in the basement and had not eaten for two days almost. He sighed, wondering if she'd bring him any more food today.

He laid down in the bed, slipping under the covers, and hoped the pain pill worked because he was not going to be able to sleep otherwise. He was about half asleep when he heard the door open and close again. He sat up with some effort and saw it was Dahlia again. She sat down a tray of food and went to leave.

"Please, don't go yet!" Ichigo said. "He said you were Dahlia," he said.

She turned and nodded. "I am. And you are Ichigo. I know who you are."

He had to know if she was a willing participant in this or not. "You're his wife."

"I am," she answered. She smiled a little sadly. "And I'm sorry."

She turned and left, knocking like Jared had so they would let her out. Ichigo wasn't sure where she stood, though, even at that. He instead uncovered the food to find a rather meager meal of peanut butter and jelly and a glass of milk. He supposed it was better than nothing, though. He finished it and felt his stomach ache a little after being so empty for so long. He sighed, crawling back into bed feeling sluggish. The pain pill was working, he guessed as he drifted off to sleep.

Luckily, Russo didn't visit that night, and he slept through most of it until the pain pill wore off, leaving him aching so bad he couldn't stand to sleep anymore. He restlessly tossed as much as his sore ribs would let him. He was thinking about everyone involved here, and he had such a hard time understanding how these people could just live like this.

Early in the morning, the door opened again, and Dahlia brought him breakfast. She sat it down and looked at him. "Did you sleep?"

"Until the pain meds wore off," Ichigo answered, sitting up painfully.

"Just don't try to run. There's nowhere to go," she said with a strange look on her face.

"Why don't you leave?" he asked suddenly, not knowing why he would ask such a thing.

She blinked and looked at him. "He needs an heir. I'm to birth his baby, eventually. If I ever conceive."

"How long have you been with him?" Ichigo asked, frowning at her.

She looked a little uncomfortable but answered anyway. "Five years now."

"And you haven't had a baby yet?"

She shook her head. "Not yet. The doctors say I'm fine, but he won't go be tested so it may be because of Ernesto. We don't know."

Ichigo bet it was because of him if they'd been trying for five years already. "So, you just stay with him?"

"My family expects it. I was married to Ernesto as an alliance between families."

Ichigo started to say something else, but she held up her hand. "I have to go."

She left and Ichigo ate his breakfast, seeing it was toast and jelly. Not much, but something. He spent the rest of the day in the room, receiving meals from a quiet Dahlia, and later, Jared came in to check on him. He gave him another pain pill, and he fell into bed again.

Things continued for almost a week like that, with his wounds steadily healing, and he hadn't seen Russo at all. He was a little nervous about that, mostly because it was too good to last, and he found out he was right.

It was after dinner, a meager offering of peanut butter and jelly again, and he was just laying in bed when the door opened and shut again. He looked up to see Russo looming over him with a grin on his face.

"So, did we learn a little lesson?" he asked.

Ichigo swallowed and nodded. Russo was still grinning and reached down and grabbed his hair, dragging him out of the bed. He sat down on the bed and opened his robe that he was wearing. "Suck."

Ichigo looked at him and nodded, afraid that if he didn't, he'd end up in the basement again. He did what he wanted, nearly passing out more than once as he forced his cock down his throat, but he managed to get through it. When he was done, he left and Ichigo went and threw up in the bathroom.

Weeks went by, then months. Ichigo lost track of the days. He ended up in the basement twice more. Once for resisting Russo, and once for some reason Ichigo couldn't remember afterward. He didn't even think he did anything. Both times he got beaten badly, once with Russo joining in the beating. He took a knife to him that time, making cuts on him, then he did something around his eye that put it out. He didn't know what happened, whether he punctured his eye, or what he did, but he couldn't see out of his right anymore, and in the mirror it just looked milky. After that, he decided that there was only one thing left to try.

He had to give up.

He didn't want to do it, but he couldn't think of any way to get out other than to earn Russo's trust. And it would be a process. So, he started "enjoying" their time, and asking to do things for him. He'd initiate, and he found Russo was susceptible to being flattered. Eventually, he even started treating him more like a lover and less like a slave. It took a painfully long time, but eventually, he started leaving the door open and letting Ichigo roam the house. There were guards stationed at the exits, so he didn't try to get outside, but he came to know a few of the other servants, and he realized they didn't know he was against there against his will.

That was how he got the knife from the kitchen and hid it in the bedroom. He'd decided there was only one way to get away, and that was to kill Russo and run. So, when it came the night when Russo visited him, he fell asleep in the bed. Ichigo quietly got the knife out and held it over Russo's throat. He hesitated, trying to figure out any way he could do this without killing him, but he couldn't. This was it. He had the keys to the doors leading outside, and he could sneak past the men guarding it. At least, he hoped he could.

Russo, though, woke up, eyes hardening. "What are you doing?" he asked, grabbing Ichigo by the wrists.

Ichigo gasped, holding tightly to the knife and struggling against him. Russo fought back, and shoved Ichigo to his back, pressing the knife back against him, and Ichigo wondered if this was it. Either he was going to kill Russo, or Russo was going to kill him. Either way, this was going to end right then.

He didn't know how he did it, but he managed to get a burst of strength and embedded the knife in his chest. Russo looked shocked at it as he tried to speak, but nothing came out. The strike had been true. He died quickly, and Ichigo crawled out from under him, blood covering him from where it had rained down from his chest.

He went in the bathroom and got a fresh robe and then came out to find Dahlia standing at the bed, staring at the body. Ichigo looked at her and she turned to him.

"You did it," she whispered. "You have to go. You have to hide," she said. "Come with me," she said and led him out of the room down to the basement.

Ichigo resisted going down there at first, but she convinced him it was the only way. They passed the chains and came to a door leading to the outside. She unlocked it with a key on her keyring and looked at him.

"I'm sorry, I hope you find your way home," she said softly.

"Thank you, but I don't think home is a place I can ever go again," he said and took off out the cellar door.