Chapter Three

On the Run from the World

Ichigo ran from that place. He had no way of knowing, but it had been over two years since he was stuffed in a shipping container and sent overseas. Of course, because things can never be easy, as he was climbing the fence to get out, someone spotted him and demanded he stop. He scrambled, trying to get over the fence as quickly as he could. He heard the shot, but he had no way to move out of the way as it ripped through his back, propelling him over the top of the fence. He tried to hold on, but his hands slipped and had no grip and he fell the rest of the way. He groaned and managed to get to his feet, running again despite the pain in his back and shoulder.

Somehow, he managed to get away without being shot again. He didn't know how it happened, but he was in a city, and he found an alleyway where he went down and crouched by some garbage cans. He couldn't get a good breath and he had no idea what to do. He couldn't go to the hospital. He had no ID and he was in the US illegally to start with.

"Hey, you okay?" he heard.

He looked up to see a guy who looked homeless staring at him. He must have looked a sight, bloody and dressed in a pair of pajama pants he'd grabbed. He was barefoot and ached everywhere from falling down the back of the fence.

"No," he said truthfully.

"You need a doctor?" the man asked. He was dressed in a light shirt and a pair of ragged jeans. He was carrying a backpack and looked to be around thirty or forty years old with scraggly, unkempt facial hair.

Ichigo looked at him. "I can't go to the hospital."

"Most of us can't. Come on, I can take you to someone," he said and reached a hand out for him.

Ichigo didn't know what to do, but he hurt, and his breathing was not right, so he worried he'd done something to his lung. "Alright, I'll go," he said and let the guy pull him up.

"Name's Paul," he said as he helped him to his feet.

"Ichigo," he said stumbling against him.

"This guy's good. Used to be a doctor but got in trouble, so now he works for us here on the streets. He'll take care of you," Paul said and led him through the maze of alleyways until they came to a door.

He knocked on the door and it was answered by a tall, darker skinned man. He looked them over. "What's this, Paul?"

"Ray, found this guy. Needs your help," Paul said.

Ray, apparently, looked at him for a moment. "Bring him in," he said and stepped out of the way.

Ichigo lost track of time then. Ray had him sit down on a chair at a kitchen table, then he went to work on his back and shoulder. The pain was incredible. He said something about digging the bullet out, and Ichigo realized it could hurt even more than it had. He didn't yell out, something that Ray praised him for, as he bandaged up his back and shoulder.

"You were lucky. That bullet coulda hit something major if it had been a little to the side," Ray said as he sat down across from him. "Gonna tell me your story? Maybe I can help."

Ichigo looked at him. "I don't think anyone can," he said.

"Try me."

Paul had long ago left, and they were the only ones in the small place. "I'm Japanese. I got into some trouble with the Yakuza, I saw a murder I shouldn't have. I got shipped overseas to this Mafia man. I spent a long time with him, and eventually I earned his trust enough that I could kill him and get away."

Ray sighed. "Sounds like you've had it rough. I can direct you to a couple people that can get you home, though," he said.

"I can't go home. The Yakuza will go after my family if I do. And I can't stay here, since I killed the guy," he said with a sigh.

"Who'd you kill?" Ray asked, frowning.

"Ernesto Russo," he said quietly.

"You what?" Ray asked, looking shocked. "You killed Russo?"

Ichigo nodded. "He held me for a couple years at least. That's how I lost use of my eye, what him and his men did to me," he said as he looked down at his hands.

"What did he hold you for?" Ray asked.

Ichigo felt his face heat. "Just reasons."

"Reasons? That's not an answer," Ray said with a look on his face that said he wasn't going to take that answer.

"Look, I don't want to talk about it, okay?" Ichigo said, getting mad now. "It doesn't matter anyway, what's done is done."

"Alright, if you don't want to talk about it, I can't make you. Though it would help me with your care if I knew what happened." He looked him over with a critical eye for a moment. "But that's up to you."

"Look, I got beat a lot, and I think I've had things broken that never healed right. I've been in pretty constant pain for a while now, and I think there's some damage to my wrists from where they'd hang me by them. I don't know. I just know I have to get somewhere where they can't find me again." Ichigo sighed.

"What are you willing to do to get by?" Ray asked, looking rather serious.

Ichigo looked at him with an equally serious look. "Anything."

"Look, I know some people. They can get you out of New York. They expect something in return, though, and I don't know what you'll do to pay them off."

"I can work," Ichigo said. "I can do manual labor. Things like that."

"It may not be enough, especially since your illegally here," Ray turned and grabbed a notebook from behind him. "But I'll contact them."

He had Ichigo go sit in the living room, where he wondered what was going to become of him. He was alone and in the United States. He was sure there were worse places, but he had to get by without immigration finding him, and he knew that. He waited until Ray came in a few minutes later.

"She's on her way over," he said with a nod. "I can't say what you'll end up doing, but it won't be easy. Getting paid under the table is hard to do in this day and age, so I'm not sure."

Ichigo nodded and waited. About an hour later, there was a knock on the door, and Ray got up from his chair to go answer it. He came back with a dark-haired woman in jeans and a rock band t-shirt with a pair of heavy boots and heavier makeup.

"Ichigo, this is Raven."

Ichigo stood up and gave her a slight bow. She looked at him and Ray shrugged. "He's Japanese, they don't shake hands."

Ichigo looked at him and realized that he was right. He stepped forward instead and reached out. She smirked a little and shook his hand.

"I hear you need to stay under the radar," she said, her voice rather raspy sounding.

"Yeah. I need to get out of New York to somewhere safe, somewhere where I can make it on my own," he said with a nod.

"Well, you speak English pretty well. You actually do pretty well for someone who was raised elsewhere. I take it you took English in school," she said, crossing her arms over her small bust.

"Yeah, since I was a kid. My dad thought it would be useful."

"You're lucky. Some people in your position don't even speak English at all, and that's tough to do anything about," she explained. "I think I know where to send you. I know a guy looking for unloaders in St. Louis. It would pay enough to cover the cost of getting you there after a while. May have to squat in a dive or something to live, though, don't know how much you'll get to keep."

"Whatever it takes," Ichigo said. "I'll do it."

It took almost a week, but before long, transport had been arranged. He took a bus under a fake ID they made for him. He knew everything they did was going to cost him in the end, but he had little choice but to do this to get away. He couldn't stay in Russo's area, especially after he found out that there had been some fallout after he was found dead. Apparently, a rival was accused of the hit, and it was looking like an all-out war was on the horizon. Ichigo didn't want it to come to light that he caused his death, but he had to wonder, out of everyone who knew he was in that house, why didn't anyone tell the truth? Did they just not want it known that he kept captives and one of them broke free and killed him?

As he sat on the bus, he had plenty of time to think it over. Nothing good ever came to mind, and he just hoped that St. Louis was far enough from New York that he wouldn't be found. Right now, his biggest worry was living on forged papers and trying to go without being found. So far, he had a forged birth certificate that gave his birthplace as someone in Montana, a Missouri state ID, and a social security card. He'd been told that if anyone looked too deep, they'd find out they were fake, so he had to hope no one ever went into his past. It would be enough to keep him from getting in trouble, he hoped.

He arrived at St. Louis and was met by a young man who waved him down.

"Hey! You're Dave, right?" he asked.

"Dave? Oh, yeah, Dave Brown. That's me," Ichigo said, almost forgetting the name that was on his forged papers. That was going to take some getting used to.

"I'm Victor Muenz. I'm going to take you to the docks where you'll be working," he said.

Ichigo nodded and adjusted the backpack he was carrying. He followed him to a plain looking four-door car and got in the passenger side. He was quiet as this Victor took him to the docks. Ichigo had never seen a river like this before, and he had to admit it was massive. He'd never worked loading and unloading ships, but he supposed any work would be good. He looked over at Victor.

"Do you know where I can stay?" he asked.

"Ah, no, but I can direct you to a couple hostels. You'll need some money first, unless you can convince them to wait until your first payday. Of course, you'll only get what's left over after my people take their fees," he said.

"Yeah, I know. I'm in debt for a long while," he said and looked out the window again.

They got to the docks, and he was introduced to the people he would be working for. They took him without questioning anything, and he guessed these people didn't do much more than looking at his ID without actually running the information.

He spent three months on the job. It was hard work, and he was constantly sore and tired. He worked as many hours as he could, sleeping when he was done. He managed to convince a hostel owner to let him stay until his first check, so he had a bed to sleep in. When he got that first check, it was barely enough to cover food and the room he was in, but it was something.

It was during that time that the dreams started. He didn't know why, but they would leave him feeling wrung out like he hadn't slept at all. It was always his inner world, the sideways skyscrapers, and the hollow and old man were there. They would speak, but Ichigo couldn't hear them no matter what he tried to do. It was just outside his hearing, and it was frustrating to no end.

Of course, he also had the nightmares where he was back with Russo. Those, he would wake up sweating and panting in the middle of the night, almost waking the people in the room with him. He'd sometimes get up and vomit as the memories and events flooded his mind. No one ever asked him about those nights, but then, he came to find out a lot of the people there were on the run from something, even if it was just their old lives.

He'd gotten used to the routine, almost happy in it, really, when the accident happened. He was loading a crate, and there was a spot of water on the dock. He slipped, catching his leg in the strap. Before he knew it, it had felt like someone was ripping his leg completely off. They managed to lower the crate down and release him, but his hip had been dislocated. They wanted to call an ambulance, but Ichigo wasn't sure if that was going to be okay or not. He didn't have much of a choice though, he just had to hope that they didn't investigate his ID too far.

At the hospital emergency room, they reset his leg, which hurt almost as much as having it pulled out. They took his information down, wrote down the fake social security number, and put it in their system. He knew he had to leave quickly, so when he was left alone, he got up and limped his way out of the hospital. He managed to get out, and though he was in excruciating amounts of pain, he had to keep moving.

"Where have you been?" Angela, the hostel owner, asked as he came back.

"Ah, accident at work. I'm okay though," he said with a shrug. "I'm going to sleep, I think," he said, limping to the bedroom and falling into the bed.

He couldn't sleep for the pain though. And the next morning came too soon. He didn't know what to do. There was no way he could work like this. He could hardly walk, let alone lift anything. He cursed his luck because things had been good. He fisted frustrated tears out of his eyes and sighed. He was still in bed near noon when Angela came in to check on him.

"Honey, don't you have work?" she asked, standing beside the cot.

He turned to her, and she saw his face. "I can't work like this. The accident yesterday dislocated my hip, and now I can barely move it. I don't know what to do."

She patted his shoulder. "Aw, well, maybe we can find something for you. Ever thought of fast food?"

Ichigo looked at her and shook his head. "I can't work just anywhere. I'm illegal."

She looked at him a second. "I'm guessing Dave isn't your real name."

Ichigo shook his head. "It's Ichigo. I'm from Japan."

"Well, that makes it difficult, but I'm sure we can figure out something," she said.

"I have to call the people who brought me here. I owe them money for the transportation, and I'm not done paying them off, so I have to have money, and quickly," he said.

He sat up painfully and dug out the cell phone they'd given him. He plugged it in to the wall and waited for it to charge up. Eventually, after a few minutes, he turned it on. He hadn't pulled it out since he started the job and hoped he wouldn't need it. He dialed Victor's number. He answered and Ichigo explained what had happened to him. Victor was silent for a time, then told him he'd have to make money somehow. He knew a girl that might be able to help, if he was willing to do anything, that was.

The next morning, he limped his way to an alley nearby, where he found Victor and a girl wearing skimpy clothing. She had styled blonde hair, obviously dyed that color judging by her brown eyebrows, and a lot of makeup. Her skirt was short, and so was the midriff exposing shirt she was wearing.

"This him?" she asked.

"Dave, this is Shelby. She's knowledgeable of the streets, and might be able to help you out," he told him.

She looked him over. "You're fit enough. You willing to work on your back or are you too good for that?"

Ichigo's eyes went wide and he looked at Victor. "You didn't tell me it was this kind of work."

"What do you expect? You can't do manual labor, and you have to pay us, or you're going to be in more trouble. You agreed when you were brought here. We can easily send you back to where you came from, you know, Ichigo." He smirked and looked at him. "You're out of options."

Ichigo swallowed and looked at Shelby. "Alright. I don't have a choice."

"Well, welcome aboard, Dave. What kind of name is that? You need something better to work the streets. Ichigo is your real name, right? What's that mean?"

"One who protects," he said, sighing. "But it often gets mistaken for strawberry."

"Heh, Berry. That works. Come with me, we'll get you set up on a corner with one of the girls. Don't have a lot of boys, so you'll work the same area as some of the girls do," she said and gestured for him to follow her.

He went back to the hostel after he met with her, but Angela met him at the door with his bag. She handed it to him. "You're working for Shelby. I can't have you here. I'm sorry, but I have to keep my place safe."

Ichigo nodded, understanding that she had to take care of her own. He didn't blame her, but now he had to find a place to stay for the night. He was lucky because it was still April, so the weather was good. He eventually curled up in an alley and slept for the night. He woke up when he felt someone pull on his bag, and he glared at a homeless man leaning over her.

"Sorry man thought you were dead," he mumbled and shuffled away.

He got up and wandered around until it was time for his first night at "work." He didn't know how this was going to work, but he had to do something and as he limped along, he felt like he was definitely at the lowest point of his life.

It turned out his first night was without clients, which he was kind of glad of. But he knew once word got around, he'd have clients. The girls had decent business, especially since it was illegal in the US to do this, but it seemed to be a bustling business for Shelby. The next night, and the ones after that, turned into good business for Ichigo. He was numb to the sex, and just did whatever was expected of him. He had male and female clients, though the male ones vastly out numbered the females. He always had a pocket full of lubes and condoms, and he kept them stocked no matter what. The last thing he needed was to catch something nasty from someone.

He still hadn't found a permanent place to stay, so he ended up just staying in hotel rooms when he had the money or when the client paid for it. It wasn't the best, and sometimes he ended up sleeping in the alley or in a homeless shelter, but no one asked questions, and he managed to get by. After about six months, he'd finally paid back all the money he owed the people that brought him to St. Louis, but he still was stuck. There wasn't a way out that he could see.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Kisuke Urahara had been searching for almost three years for Ichigo. He'd been missing since the incident with the Yakuza, and from what he could find out through the channels he had access to, he had left the country at some point. Ever since he found that out, he'd been working on devices that sensed low levels of spiritual energy. He knew what he was looking for, he just didn't know if Ichigo would be releasing any.

So far, he'd found a great many spiritually aware humans that had low levels, and they were an interesting find, but not what he was looking for. He tuned it to the more hollow nature, and found hiding hollows which he dispatched but still no Ichigo.

That is, until today.

He had a reading that was low level and hollow, but not entirely. It had to be him, but it was far away. The easiest way to get there was through Soul Society. He didn't tell anyone what he was working on, because he didn't want to get anyone's hopes up that they'd find him. All he knew for sure is that he hadn't passed over to Soul Society. So, he was alive somewhere. And now he thought he might have found him. He needed to find him, but what he didn't say out loud was he needed to find him for himself, not the others. There was a deep connection between them, and he missed him greatly.

He left his Gigai behind, deciding instead to investigate first. He stepped out into the World of the Living in a busy American city. He looked around, holding out the small device he had with him, and followed the signal. Eventually, he noted it was coming on evening, and then he saw someone ahead of him, with the strongest signal.

He turned and Kisuke's breath caught. The hair was longer, pulled back in a messy looking bun, but it was the right color of bright orangey red. He moved closer, seeing he was talking to a man in a car that had pulled up next to him.

"So, you're firm on those prices?" the man in the car said.

"Get out of here if you're going to argue," Ichigo said, waving at him. "I gave you the price, do you want to pay it or not?"

The man in the car, a blond man with beady dark eyes, looked thoughtful. "You go all the way for that, right? No stopping halfway?"

"Look, I gave you a price for the full deal. That's the deal. Taking it or not?" he said.

Kisuke realized suddenly what kind of transaction was going on here and he gasped, covering his mouth, not believing Ichigo was doing this. He wanted to stop him, but he wasn't in his Gigai. He watched as to his horror the man handed Ichigo money and he got in the car with him. Kisuke followed in a flash step, keeping up with the car easily, as it pulled into a motel parking lot. Ichigo and the man got out, and the man was shorter than Ichigo by several inches. Ichigo just followed him for a minute to the main door, letting him go into motel without him. He looked thinner, Kisuke thought. He also noted he had a significant limp when he walked, and as he turned to look his direction, he realized there was something wrong with his right eye. It looked milky like it was unusable anymore.

The man came back out and led Ichigo down a few doors and then into one of the rooms. Kisuke couldn't stop this, but he had found him, so that was something. He opened the way back to Soul Society and went to retrieve his Gigai. A few minutes later, he stood outside the hotel, wondering what to do.

He was about to leave when the door opened and Ichigo came out of the room and lit up a cigarette. He leaned back against the building and looked out in Kisuke's direction. He stepped out of the shadows and came forward, coming up to him.

"Ichigo?" he said.

Ichigo blinked, turning his head and staring. "Getabishi?" he said with a shocked face.