Chapter Two
Belts and Bruises
"Are you sure this is okay?" Ichigo asked as his new friend opened the door to his place, a second story apartment on the other side of Karakura Town.
Ichigo had been cleared to leave the hospital after three months. He wasn't supposed to be going out and drinking; he was supposed to be home resting. He hadn't done that, however, and he'd agreed to go out with Tadasu, an orderly who had been extremely kind and helpful to him.
"Yeah, fine, my old boyfriend is long gone, so come on, I promised you we'd have some fun, right?" Tadasu asked with a smirk.
Ichigo was more than half drunk already. At the bar (owned by a friend of Tadasu and willing to serve under twenty at his request), between them, they'd drained almost a bottle of sake. Ichigo was stumbling, but Tadasu's feet were uncharacteristically steady for a man who had just drunk so much sake. Of course, what Ichigo didn't know was that he was the only one drinking the sake. Tadasu was switching his out with water. Tadasu had planned this night from the moment he'd fallen in lust with the orange headed patient. He had to have him, there was no other way about it. He was going to take his first time, one way or another, and with as resistant as he was to even talking about sex, Tadasu knew large amounts of alcohol were going to be necessary.
"So why is it that you keep saying you 'lost it all'?" Tadasu asked as he eased him down onto the bed. Ichigo hadn't even noticed where they were, he was so far gone. He grabbed a bottle of whiskey he kept by the bed and poured a shot.
"I used ta be a Shinigami, well a subs'tute anyway," he said as he reached up and took the shot glass. "Why'd tha bar turn into a house?"
"Don't worry about that. Tell me about why you lost it?" A Shinigami? Interesting. He was far too drunk to lie about that.
A story came out slowly of a teenager thrust into a world without knowing what he was doing. Tadasu listened, and more than that, he believed him. He'd seen the black outfits before, and he'd seen the monsters no one else could see. He always hid from them, ever since he was a child. And he knew exactly what it was like to see spirits as Ichigo described when he was young. However, Tadasu didn't tell him any of this.
"I believe you."
"Wha'?" Ichigo blinked and stared at him. "Y'b'leeve m'story?" he slurred, having taken at least five more shots.
"Why wouldn't I believe you? I told you I like you, remember? And I should believe the person that I want to be my lover," he said and gently kissed Ichigo's lips.
The next few hours were more struggle than he preferred, though. He found that Ichigo really didn't want to be topped at all, and probably, given a different set of circumstances, would never bottom for anyone. That wouldn't do, Tadasu though, and changed it right quick. He was in control of the situation, no matter how much he cried and begged him to stop even in his drunken state. This was going to happen, and Ichigo just had to accept it. Afterward, he'd spent the next day apologizing for drunkenly taking advantage of him, and smiling, accepted his statement that he didn't want to do that again. That would change, Tadasu knew.
Tadasu knew what he was doing. He was older, almost twenty-one compared to Ichigo being nearly seventeen. He overwhelmed him with affection, giving him everything someone could ever want. That was necessary as he snuggled with him, and they went on dates to the beach. Nothing ever went amiss, and Tadasu was the perfect gentleman. To make this work, he had to spend a lot of time on this part, because he was not getting away, not at all. Ichigo was his, and soon, not even his family would take his attention away.
-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-
After Rukia left, Ichigo went back inside to find Tadasu standing just inside the door. "I'm sorry she came by. I haven't seen her in years."
"Were you fucking her?"
"No!" Ichigo exclaimed in disgust. "I told you when we met I'd never done it with anyone, not a girl or a boy," he said and crossed his arms. "R-Rukia was like my little sister."
"Finish dinner. The guys are coming over again tonight," Tadasu growled and turned to go back to the living room and his tv show.
Ichigo exhaled and went to finish dinner. Dinner was nonnegotiable for Tadasu. He couldn't be late with dinner, and he couldn't mess it up. Doing either of those things led to trouble and he really didn't want trouble today. He hadn't been in trouble for Rukia's visit, so that was good. Too good, he thought to himself as he served Tadasu's food in the living room and put his into a container to take to his room. He went and stood beside the chair until Tadasu gave him his plate. After he finished the dishes and put them away, he headed up to his room. If his step was a little lighter, Tadasu didn't seem to notice it.
He had to figure out how to let his pets go potty, but he had managed. He'd take them down and put them out the back door every few hours, and to his glee, they would come right back. He had no idea why this cat and dog had decided he was their owner, but it didn't matter. He was happy to have something he could take care of.
"Hi, guys," he said as he came in and put the food container down.
It was a good thing that Tadasu expected him to eat in his room. And missing one meal a day wasn't that big a deal. He just hoped that Tadasu didn't realize he was taking more than usual from the food each night.
Ren came out and sniffed at Ichigo's hand as he put out the food for him and Grimm. "You two are so polite, and you don't make any noise. Sometimes I wonder if you aren't like the bird that Chad used to have. He turned out to be a spirit bound into the body of a bird. But Chad could talk to him because he was spiritually aware, like I used to be, you know." He petted both Ren and Grimm and he was much happier for it. He heard the door open downstairs and close and knew that the guys had come to smoke with Tadasu. He always liked it when they smoked weed. Tadasu would get really mellow, and he never expected anything out of Ichigo on those nights. The bad nights were when they shot speedballs or something like that. He missed the way Tadasu had been at first; he hadn't done drugs at all. Now, though, he did all kinds of things as long as these Yakuza wannabes were doing them too. It was distressing because Ichigo had thought he'd make a very good nurse.
"He should be busy tonight," Ichigo said with a sigh as he snuggled with Grimm and Ren on the cot. Having someone, even just a couple animals, in bed to snuggle with was a great thing to Ichigo. He didn't feel nearly as lonely anymore like that.
He'd fallen asleep when the sound of someone coming up the stairs woke him. In a panic, he got up and shoved the dog and cat under the cot. Something had to be wrong for Tadasu to come up and get him; either that or they weren't smoking weed and they needed "entertainment". The door slammed open and he could smell the chemical smell that came wafting up when they were smoking meth along with the marijuana. That didn't bode well, because that was when Tadasu got really violent. However, it wasn't Tadasu standing in the doorway when he locked eyes on the other person.
"Ryu?" Ichigo gasped, pulling the covers around him.
Ryu Yukawa was one of the people that often came to share drugs with Tadasu. He was also a low-ranking enforcer for the local Yakuza branch that Tadasu was desperately trying to get into. More than that, he was someone that Ichigo had been "lent" to before.
"Hey, Ichi, I got a problem, and my cock needs some relief, c'mere."
"Ah, no, Tadasu told me to stay up here. I can't go downstairs unless he says so," he gasped. No, this wasn't how it worked.
"Are you denying your boyfriend's good friend?" Ryu said and came into the room, closing the door behind him. This wasn't good. This was where Ichigo was sent to be alone, to be punished sometimes by being alone, but it always was safe from others. Someone being in his private space was completely, and totally nerve wracking.
"No, he won't be happy if you…" Ichigo found himself pulled off the bed and thrown back onto his belly, clothes already pulled off. This was bad; he didn't have the strength to push this guy off his back. Perhaps skipping food wasn't the best idea; he was even weaker than normal.
"Stop!" he yelped as Ryu finally managed to slide himself into him. Ichigo bit his lip and buried his face in the bed because there wasn't much he could do. The sudden, lancing pain up his spine was enough to set his knees to weakness.
The door slammed open again, and he gasped as the weight was off his back. He slid back onto the floor against the bed in time to see Tadasu, a joint haphazardly in his mouth, knocking the hell out of Ryu with his left hand while he held him against the wall with his right. He spoke with each punch he laid on the other man's face.
"What. Did. I. Say? Never. Without. My. Permission."
He then opened the door and tossed Ryu down the stairs. Ichigo cringed to hear the thumping and the groan when it stopped. Then, Tadasu was on him, dragging him up and onto the bed by his hair. Ichigo knew what was coming when he heard the clink and swish and he wasn't going to be able to stop him. He cried out with the first hit across his back and he did his best to stifle the noises he made by biting into his left knuckle as he striped his back raw with his belt. After twenty solid hits, the belt hit the floor and Tadasu grabbed him by the hair again, wrenching his head back as he tried to stop crying from the pain and humiliation of the whole thing.
"You let him come up here and fuck you?"
"No, no, he wouldn't stop…" Ichigo gasped out.
"You worthless, used up, cum dump. You just let him come into your room without throwing his skinny, worthless ass off of you?" Tadasu hissed in his ear. "Are you that much of a slut now? Or are you just that useless and weak?"
"No!" Ichigo sobbed now because he couldn't stop it. "He didn't listen when I said you wouldn't like it, and he…"
There was a pause and Ichigo felt him let go of his hair. "Alright. I guess I shouldn't have gotten so mad over it. He knew not to come up here at all, now, here," he said and Ichigo felt him reach for him.
Despite what he'd just done, Ichigo went to him, putting his arms around his waist and letting him pet through his hair as he rested his head on Tadasu's thigh. There was silence as it seemed that he was thinking. Ichigo would do anything to stay like this, just holding onto him and being together but then Tadasu spoke again.
"Open your mouth," he muttered.
"What?" Ichigo asked, looking up at him with wide eyes as he dragged off the joint he was smoking. Now the whole room would smell like weed.
"I said, open your fucking mouth," he said, glaring down at him.
Ichigo did so, not knowing what to expect now. "You're being lippy. More than you should. Stick out your tongue and don't you dare pull it back in until I tell you."
Sticking out his tongue, Ichigo realized what he was going to do and he wasn't sure how to react. He took the joint and put it out on his tongue. Ichigo gasped, pain lancing through his mouth at the burning sensation as he ground the cherry into him. He smirked at him, and Ichigo felt the tears running down his cheeks.
"Swallow that." Ichigo's eyes widened and he didn't know what to do. Swallow it? "Fucking are you deaf or just fuckin' stupid? Swallow it. A little weed and paper ain't gonna kill you. Now do it or do I need to get the belt again?"
Ichigo did as he was told but felt his stomach rebel. He was glad now he hadn't eaten. Tadasu laughed and then squished his cheeks with one hand. "Good boy, good boy. I knew you could do it. Don't throw up on the bed or I'll beat you again," he hissed as he stood up and left, slamming the door behind him. Ichigo could hear the click in the lock this time. He tried to hold his stomach, but he was throwing up into the trash immediately. He collapsed onto the floor and felt the soft licks of Ren licking at his tearstained face. He smiled.
"I'm fine, Ren, I'm fine. I've had worse." His voice was beginning to sound weird as he felt his tongue swelling up. Worse came out more like "woorss".
Grimm, though, came around and nuzzled into Ichigo's neck and Ichigo was glad as he clutched the blue-gray cat and then the tears really did come. "What am I? I'm nothing now, look at this," he cried. "I am so fuckin useless I let this happen. What do I do? What am I even worth? The only reason I don't kill myself is because of a stupid couple animals I found that I'm pretty sure if he finds out about I'm going to get in way more trouble."
"Trouble" was the word that Tadasu used to mean he was going to punish him. Ever since the first time he'd grabbed him and tied him to the bed and beat him with a belt, it had been trouble. At first, he had to tie him down because Ichigo wasn't going to take being beaten with a belt boyfriend or not. Then, he had to tie him down less and less as it just became the normal thing that happened when he got in trouble.
Still, he sobbed into the fur of the blue-gray cat and the red dog like he'd never cried before, and he had no idea why he was so emotional over a pair of stupid animals.
-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-
"He's being abused."
"You're kidding, right? Ichigo Kurosaki? Abused?" Ikkaku said with a snort. "That's ridiculous. He'd just fight back!"
"You don't understand, Ikkaku," Yumichika said as he stared at Rukia's concerned face. "That doesn't matter with abuse. Power isn't the point. It sounds like whoever this is, has made Ichigo this way."
"Abuse?" Uryū said from where he sat across from the two eleventh members and beside Orihime. "Really?"
"You're the one that told him he was useless," Rukia snapped, glaring at him.
"I did not!" Uryū responded.
"You kind of did," Orihime said, sighing. "Kuchiki-kun is right, remember when he got stabbed that night? He was in the hospital for so long and I couldn't help because everyone was watching him so carefully. He got that nasty staph infection in the wound, and then he nearly died from pneumonia before he could leave," she explained to Rukia. "You told him he was only human. He… He probably thinks that you meant he was useless."
"I didn't- That's not what I meant! He put his life in danger and didn't have the abilities of a Shinigami! That was stupid!" Uryū grumbled.
"That was Ichigo, though," Yumichika reminded Uryū. "Even before he was a Shinagami, he was the type of person to fight for others. And you told him to stop being himself."
Uryū looked abashed at the thought he'd had any part in things. "That doesn't explain why he'd let some guy abuse him."
"It isn't about letting anyone do anything, Uryū," Yumichika sighed and shook his head. He looked away. "Before Ikkaku, I was stuck with someone that hurt me. It wasn't that I liked being hurt, it was that I loved him with all my heart, and I believed him when he said that he hurt me because he loved me. I could have walked away at any time. But I couldn't. Not really. It is about letting someone get close enough that they can abuse you, and you see that abuse as the way they show love."
"So, he loves the guy? So how are you going to get him to leave that situation?" Ikkaku asked, summoning the waitress for another noodle bowl.
"Me?" Rukia asked. "He wants nothing to do with me, and he told me to not come back."
"You aren't seriously going to listen to him, are you?" Yumichika asked as he delicately sipped his tea. "He needs to know he has worth other than being a Shinigami to you. That's why he turns you away. He feels like he has no value to you anymore."
"He's my friend. I care about him because of that, not because of his powers," she said sadly. "And I could have gotten a Gigai at any time and gone to see how he was doing. This is my fault as well."
"Not to change the subject, but any word yet from Abarai-san?" Yumichika asked as he watched Ikkaku devour another bowl of noodles with abandon.
"No, I haven't heard anything-" she began only to hear the communicator buzz. "Oh, I be tthat's news on what happened to him," she stated and headed out to return to the sixth division to see what the news was.
When she got there, she found that Kurotsuchi-taichou was leaving with Nemu on his heels. He had a self-satisfied grin on his face. That was good news. She came into her brother's office to find him sitting behind the desk looking amused.
"Nii-sama, has there been news?" she asked with a half smirk.
"Yes, and you're being ordered to go to the World of the Living to locate Abarai-fukutaichou and Grimmjow and bring them back," Byakuya said as he shifted paperwork.
"And how should I do that?" she asked, thoroughly confused.
"It seems that the readings your returned with show that the hollow had the ability to transform spiritual beings into other living beings. You will be looking for extremely low reiatsu readings that can be picked up on this," he handed her a box with an emitter array on the top. "It should glow brightly when in the presence of the reiatsu readings of either Abarai-fukutaichou or Grimmjow. Bring both of them back, no matter what form they have taken."
Rukia stared at the small box. "Any idea on what type of forms?"
"Living creatures was all Kurotsuchi-taichou said. For all we know, they could be insects. He indicated that the effect was temporary, but it was dependent on the spiritual power of the person hit. Considering that Grimmjow and Abarai are roughly equivalent in power levels, I'd imagine they are still in a transformed state. Almost a week has passed in the World of the Living since you 'lost' them." Byakuya nodded emphatically. "I've already informed Ukitake-taichou that I've decided to send you. I know Ishida-san is still present, perhaps take him along with you, and the woman as well. Their time in Soul Society is at an end anyway."
Rukia nodded, taking off for the noodle place to retrieve the two humans. Within a few moments, all three were walking down the streets of Karakura Town with the beeping device. "Are you sure that thing works?" Uryū asked skeptically.
"Yes, yes, look, the reading is getting stronger this way," she muttered as she followed the readings.
After another twenty minutes, the dial was bright, and she was staring at a familiar doorway. "Oh."
"What is it, Kuchiki-kun?" Orihime inquired.
"This is where Ichigo lives. Why would the reading for them lead me here?" she wondered.
Uryū snorted and turned away from the building. "Let's knock and find out if we can go in."
"This guy won't let you in, I'll have to go in spirit form. You two wait out here," she said as she went into the building following the meter.
The place was immaculant, and really, if she didn't know that someone lived there, she'd think the place was vacant. She found her way to a living room where several men lay around futons, fast asleep. It was early morning, though, so she guessed they'd had someone over the night before. She noted one of the men looked rather beat up. She stepped around them and followed the meter toward the steps. She looked up at the door to the attic and knew the reading was strongest from there.
"What the fuck are you doing in my house?" came the voice of the man she'd seen before.
She turned and glared at him. He could see her. He had red-rimmed eyes and looked half asleep. "None of your business."
"It is my business. I knew that you were one of them because he told me that you were. Now get the fuck out of here," he growled and stepped toward her menacingly.
Rukia easily stepped around him, flashing to stand behind him. "If you know what I am, you know that as a human, you stand no chance trying to fight me. So, step back and let me do what I came here to do."
He stepped forward and tried to punch her. She huffed a breath and dodged it easily, this time flash stepping to the top of the attic stairs and ignoring him. She muttered under her breath and turned to place the binding kido on him so he'd stay put. He screamed in frustration at being easily bound. She heard the door open then and looked to see both Uryū and Orihime come running into the room.
"What is this, a freak convention in my house?" he snarled.
"He's spiritually aware," Rukia explained. "But the readings are coming from up here." She reached down and saw the door was locked so she clicked it and opened it. She frowned as she stepped into the small attic and saw it was Ichigo's room. He was lying asleep on a small cot, and cradled in his arms was a small blue-gray cat. Snuggled against his back was a fluffy Pomeranian dog in bright red. She sighed, recognizing the dog that had been yapping at her when she killed the hollow.
"Renji," she said just loud enough that the dog sat up and then stood wagging his tail as hard as he could.
"Hmm, Ren, go back to sleep," Ichigo muttered, reaching out and putting a hand on the dog.
Behind her, she heard the guy, Tadasu she thought was the name that Ichigo had called him, screamed out again. He was obviously still angry at being bound. At that, Ichigo sat up, throwing the cot to the floor when he did.
"What? Tadasu?" he gasped, turning to look through Rukia at the open door. "Why is the door open?" he mumbled as he reached down and grabbed the cat. He put him besdie the dog. "Stay here, something's wrong…"
Rukia's heart ached and she would have given anything to have a Gigai right then. He stumbled as he got up, and she saw he was wearing plain blue pajamas, but they were threadbare in places. He went down the stairs, shutting the door behind him and blinked as he saw Tadasu bound in a ffamiliar position on the floor.
"Who's there?" he asked, looking around.
"Rukia," Uryū said as he stepped into Ichigo's vision. "Rukia is here."
"Wha?" he asked. "Why… What are you two doing here?" he asked as he stared between Orihime and Uryū. "Go away!" He crossed his arms over his chest and snorted. "Rukia, you too, I said to leave me alone!"
"She says that she can't because Renji and Grimmjow are here, and that's why we came," Uryū interpreted. He was staring at Ichigo with wide eyes.
Ichigo frowned. "What? How?"
A second later, the door to the attic opened and the transformed pair came running down the stairs to sit at Ichigo's feet. He stared at them. "Wait, no, really?"
"What the fuck are those?" Tadasu growled from where he laid on the floor. "Why the fuck are there animals in here, Ichigo?"
Ichigo immediately looked away from him. "Sorry, I saved them…"
"You said you saved a cat and dog, not brought them home. You fuckin' lied to me?" Tadasu struggled against the kido again and snarled at him. "I'm going to fuckin' kill you when I get up from here."
Ichigo flinched and shook his head. "I'm sorry, whatever you decide."
Rukia shook her head and glared at the man on the floor. "You sorry bastard. You're not going to touch him again; do you understand me?" she hissed.
"What do you mean, bitch?" he smirked at her. "He's going to be here with me when you're gone, and I'll do whatever the fuck I want. He won't walk when I'm done with him this time."
Ichigo started to chew his thumbnail and looked away but he caught Uryū's eyes. He looked frightened but complacent. Rukia shook her head. "No, he's leaving here with me. There is no way you're going to get to him. Where he's going, you'll never touch him again."
"Oh, you're going to take his weak ass to that Soul Society of his?" Tadasu snarked. "I'd like to see that. He can't even see spirits."
Ichigo looked at the space where Tadasu was staring. "What? You want me to go back?"
"I've brought something to make sure he can go back, and he's not weak, you sorry bastard," Rukia said and summoned a Zanpakutō from her belt that hadn't been there before. "I didn't think I'd get to use it so soon." She walked over toward Ichigo and pulled back and slammed the sword forward through his middle. There was a familiar wash of power and when the smoke cleared, Ichigo teetered for a second, black clad once again and staring wide-eyed at her.
"What did you do?" he gasped.
"Reawakened your powers," she said as he fell to his knees. He sat there, stunned for a minute, dressed in the black shihakuso before he fell forward in his human form again onto the floor.
Tadasu glared at him and then back to Rukia. "I still own him. He's mine from now on. No matter what you do, he'll never truly belong to you or anyone else. Not after what I've done to him. I've made him so he can't live without me."
"I doubt that," Rukia said as she lifted him up in her arms easily despite her small size. She glanced at the dog and cat. "Uryū, get them. They'll stop being animals and turn back soon."
Uryū scooped up the dog and cat, and followed as Rukia took off with Ichigo to Urahara's place. Rukia regretted that Renji and Grimmjow hadn't had the chance to change back in front of that bastard. Not everything could work out perfectly, she supposed as she set down in front of the door. She knocked upon it and Urahara answered just as Uryū appeared with Orhime and the two animals.
"What is this?" he asked, sensing Ichigo's power had returned. "You gave him the infusion already? I thought we were going to discuss it with him before we did it?"
"Circumstances warranted action," she mumbled as she walked past Urahara to lay Ichigo down in one of the rooms. "I'll be back; I'm going to get Kon. Take care of Renji and Grimmjow."
She disappeared out the door just as Uryū walked in with the two animals. Urahara stared at them and then Uryū. "That's where Renji-san has gone?"
Uryū nodded and put both Renji and Grimmjow in the room with the unconscious Ichigo. He explained what had happened to Urahara as much as he knew. Rukia appearened with Kon clutched in her hand. She went into the room and separated Ichigo from his body. He was still heavily unconscious, but Kon was wide awake.
As soon as Kon stepped forward he gagged and started pulling at his tongue. "Ah, ah, ah, the fuk…"
"What is it, Kon?" Rukia asked as Kon stood with his tongue sticking out. Rukia blinked. "His tongue is burned. Can Tessai do something about this?"
"I'll get him," Urahara said as Kon stood there and rubbed various painful places on his body.
"Is there something else?" Rukia requested, concerned now.
"I hurt, and I don't feel right. I'm sick feeling," he said and staggered to sit down on the floor. "The whole body is exhausted and I want to go to sleep."
Tessai came in a few minutes later with Urahara and proceeded to use healing on Kon in the body. As he did, Rukia began to take mental notes of the bruises. Kon shifted uncomfortably and started to wince. He then leaned forward and removed the pajama shirt and sighed.
"Oh, that's better, my back is killing me…" he muttered.
Rukia went around and gasped, both hands covering her mouth. Tessai, who was casting a healing on his mouth leaned his head to the side and stared. "Oh my. There's infected places in that, but the wound on his tongue is also infected. Who did this to him?" he asked in his deep voice.
"What's wrong with his back?" Uryū asked and walked around behind him. "What is that? Those look like…belt marks?"
"Hard enough to break the skin," Rukia whispered as she knelt behind him and touched the scabbed flesh. "There's scars under them. Orihime, you'll need to help."
After an hour, Kon was no longer in pain and felt somewhat better. He still complained. "I feel gross. Like, my hair is awful," he groused and pulled at the red-orange strands around his face. "Hasn't he cut it in the last four years?"
"I don't know that Ichigo has done a lot in the last four years," Rukia said as she stood up and sighed. "I'll check on him."
She went slid open the door and then nearly laughed out loud. Both Renji and Grimmjow had transformed back into their natural forms and both were intertwined with Ichigo. All three of them were deeply asleep so she stepped forward and gently plucked the three Zanpakutō out of the way and pulled a blanket over the trio. She had no idea what all Renji and Grimmjow had seen, and how long the two had been under Ichigo's care, but she imagined that the abuse that Ichigo's body had taken would be explained once they woke up again.