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Ten – RESCUE

Ichigo slowly cracked his eyes open. His head felt light and empty, as if he got drunk.

«I knew you would wake up quickly» a low voice murmured, «you're a tough one. Some ether stolen from Chemistry lab wasn't enough to knock you out for a full hour even.»

Ichigo shook his head, trying to regain his senses. Someone tied some duct tape around his wrists and ankles. He had a piece on his mouth as well, judging from the muffled sound he emitted when he tried to tell his jailor's name aloud.

Kaname Tosen. So, he thought, his guts knotting, they had been betrayed.

He looked around, trying to guess where he had been imprisoned. He saw a narrow window casting a dusty light in a dirty and untidy room. Kaname, or somebody else, hide him behind a pile of old pallets and empty boxes. After a while, Ichigo heard a bell ringing somewhere over his head, followed by the sound of numerous feet moving at the unison.

Kami-sama. They were still in the school.

«We didn't move from the school, if this is what you're wondering» Kaname said, as reading his thoughts, «but we aren't staying for long.»

Those words were like a cold shower to Ichigo.

«What are you planning to do?» he asked, frightened, but the gag on his mouth made his words incomprehensible.

Kaname ignored him, staring into nothing with his eyes that couldn't see. «I guess you're wondering why I'm doing it» he whispered. «Being on Aizen-san's side, I mean. Teaming with the enemy.»

Ichigo held his breath. No, he desperately thought, he didn't want to know. It was much better thinking that Kaname and Ichimaru had no valid reasons to follow Aizen. It was much better thinking that they acted just out of evil, than analizing their reasons.

«I believe you won't understand» Kaname went on, «but I'll try the same. See, Ichigo, loving a man like Aizen-san... it's a little like taking a knife and digging it into your flesh, deeper and deeper. It's a love that consumes, and that is destined to destroy you. I knew since the beginning, actually. I was fully aware he was a dangerous man and that I shouldn't fall into his web, exactly as Ichimaru-senpai knew... but still, I couldn't avoid falling for him. We couldn't do it. It was written, I guess, written in my, in our, destinies, that we all end up ruined because of him. And you'll be next, Kurosaki.»

Nonsense, Ichigo thought. Love! What Kaname was talking about didn't even remotely look like love. Shuuhei's face danced across his mind, as fast as an arrow.

Shuuhei, he thought, desperate, Shuuhei.

«Honestly, I don't know why he decided to kidnap you» Kaname said, his voice monotonous and gloomy, «he couldn't be sure it was you who told everything to Kyoraku-sensei. Hitsugaya, Abarai or even Kuchiki could have done it as well. Anyway, it doesn't matter. He decided you're the only culprit, this is why you're here. And before you ask» he added, not without a cruel irony, since Ichigo couldn't talk, «yeah, I'm really afraid he wants to kill you, even if I don't know how or when, since he would never reveal something like this to me.»

Ichigo shivered. Killed by a crazy pervert old man with a passion for young boys, he thought, terrified. Or better, by a crazy pervert old man made even more furious because, after all, he was the one who ruined not only his career, but his entire life.

It was so unfair. So unfair...

He groaned against the gag, trying to get Kaname's attention. The blind boy wasn't even looking at him. He kept staring into nothing, his white eyes far from him and the dusty room.

Aizen was different from everyone else. Kaname kind of guessed it since the first time he met the Maths teacher, but he got it fully only later, when he got friends with him. A student and his professor: how could it be a sincere relationship? It was weird, it was out of every scheme, it was just plain wrong, but still, Kaname enjoyed being around Aizen so much that he soon found himself addicted to the older man's presence. If it was a day where he didn't have to attend Maths class, he would feel uncomfortable, even a little sick. If, for some reason, he didn't sense Aizen around during lunch or cross his path in the corridor, his insides would knot horribly. If he didn't grab the handkerchief he gave him when he went to sleep, he would spend the night fighting with nightmares.

Thinking about it, it all started with that handkerchief. He barely knew Aizen, before that day.

It happened only a few months before, but it felt like ages. Shuuhei was sick and couldn't move from his bed, so Kaname had to walk to class by himself. He decided to take the elevator, since the stairs felt unfamiliar, without Shuuhei's strong arm to guide him, but when the automatic doors opened, he was clumsy and fell over.

Lying on the floor, he heard people laughing, and his heart sank. His cheeks burning, he got on his feet, trying not to stagger. He didn't recognize any of the voices surrounding him, and he wasn't sure he arrived at the right floor. He felt lost. He felt lonely. He felt vulnerable...

And then Aizen came. «Are you okay, kid?» he asked, with his deep voice. «Are you hurt?»

Kaname felt so humiliated he was on the verge of tears. «I'm fine» he whispered, desperate to get away from all those whispering voices. People was still laughing at him. «I need to go to class, now.»

«You aren't going anywhere» the man said, «you're bleeding.»

Then, the softest, gentlest fingertips Kaname had ever known brushed against his cheek, eliciting a faint sting of pain. The man was right, Kaname thought, his shame increasing even further, he had indeed hurt himself like an idiot while falling out of the elevator's door. What would have Shuuhei said? He would have called him an idiot, and he would have been perfectly right.

«Come» the man commanded, but in a gentle tone. Then, talking to the boys that gathered around: «Are you done staring, boys? I guess looking is easier than reaching out to help, isn't it? Get back to class now!»

Kaname was amazed to hear the hammering of dozen of shoes running away. With just a couple words, that man sent all those vultures away. And his hand grabbing his one felt so soft and strong against his sweaty palm...

He smelled meds and cleanliness, when they entered the infirmary. «The nurse isn't here, obviously» Aizen grumbled. «She's never here when you need her. Are you okay? You look pale.»

«This is impossible» Kaname replied without thinking, «I'm black.»

Aizen laughed. A nice, warm laughter. «Oh, I swear it's possible. You look as pale as a washed rag. Sit, now» he commanded, guiding him to a chair, «and please stop acting like the hero. You must feel terrible, after what happened. Seriously, all those horrible children. Just a bunch of spoiled kids. I hate them so mu... did I say something wrong?»

Kaname shook his head. He didn't mean to cry, but tears started falling on his cheeks while Aizen was speaking. He was trembling, and he felt so sick he could throw up.

He understand what the professor said, because he agreed with him. He hated them too... that horrible bunch of spoiled kids who never had to fight for anything, who surely were all handsome, smart and, damn them, healthy. None of them would have never had to fight with a fucking elevator and being laughed at. None of them was a foreigner, none of them was of a humble family... They were all so different than him. Even Shuuhei couldn't fully hide the fact that his stepfather was a wealthy man, and Kaname always felt mortified when he noticed how his best friend sometimes hid his new clothes from him, to prevent him from feeling uneasy. But he couldn't deceive him... not with his new, expensive electric guitar and his tons of foreign CDs. He was one of them too, he was just a little kinder than the other, but he still was one of them.

He was alone, completely alone.

«Now, now» Aizen murmured, kneeling next to him and brushing his dreadlocks away from his face. «It's alright, now, kid. There's no need to cry.»

Kaname sniffed, while Aizen wiped tears and blood away from his cheek with a clean handkerchief which faintly smelt of him. «I have a couple free hours» the teacher said. «What about a little talk?»

And that was exactly what Kaname did. He stayed, talking with the teacher until the bell announcing lunch rang. He started loving Aizen on that day, and he never stopped since then.

Ichigo jumped when the door was smashed open.

«You did a good job, Kaname» Aizen said, stepping in. «Nobody seems to care about this utility room, even if the school is already full of cops.»

«It's because it's so close to the kitchens» the boy lowly murmured, «in their little minds, it's too obvious to be a good place to hide for a fugitive. They will never think to check this place.»

«Such a smart kid» Aizen cooed, ruffling Kaname's braids. Ichigo stared at them, bewildered, wondering how he never realized about the fact that those two shared a obviously deep bond. If only he had paid a little more attention to Kaname...

Aizen looked frightening. His chin was covered in a thin layer of beard, and his eyes were all red and veiny under the glasses. His hair and clothes were a mess, as if he slept in them for many nights. He strongly smelt like alcohol, also.

Eventually, the man realized about his gaze. «Here's our little spy. Well, aren't you cute.»

Ichigo backed away from the hand reaching out to touch him, bumping against the piled boxes behind him. Pressing his lips in a tight line, Aizen grabbed the duct tape and tore it away from his mouth. Ichigo cried coarsely, coughing.

«I guess you already know what you did, telling that idiot Kyoraku» Aizen went on, discarding the crinkled tape, «you ruined my life, and this poor boy's one too.»

«Gin's also» Kaname quietly added, but Aizen waved his words away as if they weren't much important.

«Yeah, yeah, Gin, right. What really matters, though» he said, suddenly grabbing Ichigo's hair and yanking his head forward, «is that now you have to pay for what you did.»

Ichigo shrieked in fear and pain. Was he going to die? Aizen's eyes were completely crazy, he thought. His whole expression was totally insane. God, oh God, he thought, whimpering when the man, who lost a little weight but was still much stronger than him, grabbed his arm and pressed him against his chest. «Such a cute little one» he murmured, before sticking out his tongue and licking Ichigo's cheek.

It was disgusting, it was horrible. And yet, Ichigo couldn't move. Fear got him paralyzed. His karate classes could do nothing to help him, in that moment. His mind was blank, and his heart was twisted in panic. How long had he stayed in that place? From looking out of the window, it seemed like evening was just starting to fall. Maybe his absence had already been noticed. Shuuhei would have for sure.

Shuuhei...

His eyes swelled with tears, as Aizen let him go. Please, God, he prayed, even if he never really did it before, please, dear God, let Shuuhei come and save me.

It was such a crazy thought that, for a moment, it made him laugh hysterically. Aizen froze, staring at him.

«You little fucker» he growled, suddenly furious, «what are you laughing at?»

He grabbed his collar, shaking him with force. «What THE FUCK are you laughing at?!»

Ichigo stuttered some excuses, just to make him calm down, but Aizen threw him against the piled boxes, sending him flying across the room. The pain hit him sharply, making him cry out.

«You have no fucking right to laugh at me» Aizen said, in a whisper. «To laugh at us.»

He walked to Ichigo, sitting on his heels. He stared at the terrified boy for a while, then he took out a knife from one of his pockets. It was just a kitchen tool, but its blade shone in the semi-darkness, making Ichigo start to tremble all over again.

«I was called a freak, in my hometown» Aizen murmured, as if he was talking to himself. «Someone leaked out I was gay, and everybody suddenly started to laugh at me. Can you imagine what it meant? I went to the grocery, and I spotted people laughing at me from behind the counter. I went to the restaurant, and those who recognized me started to muffle their giggles. I went to work, and my boss fired me. Can you imagine it? Can you fucking PICTURE it?» Aizen's lower lip trembled. «I moved, but it would all start over again, when people found out. I kept changing towns like a woman changing her clothes, and everything would be the same. It never changed. People kept laughing and laughing. It was exhausting. It was sickening. Until I came here... and until I met Kaname.»

Something unpleasant happened to Ichigo's insides, when he noticed the way the older man gazed towards the blind boy. Aizen loved Kaname for real, he understood. A twisted, different kind of love, but it still was love.

«Kaname was the only one who understood me fully. The humiliation, the teasing, he had to endure them as well. He was the only one who made my life bearable... he was not just some horrible little whore who would spread his legs to me. He was a grown man trapped in a boy's body. He was a gentle soul. Too gentle to share my same condition. Too gentle too endure all this pain…»

Ichigo looked, transfixed, as Aizen came closer to Kaname and bent down to kiss him gently on his mouth. «Nobody could understand» Aizen went on. «They would call me a pervert, or even a pedo, if they ever found out I loved one of my students. They are all so stupids, aren't they?»

«They are» Kaname agreed. «They all are.»

And they both stared back at him, as if they wanted to squish him like a bug with their look. Ichigo felt his heart sink.

«I'm sorry» he begged. «I'm so sorry for all that happened to you. It's not fair, I agree with both of you. You had to suffer so much...»

«Shut your fucking mouth, kid» Aizen spat, before pushing him away and sending him on the floor again. When the man's foot pressed over his ribcage, Ichigo bellowed. It was more than painful. It was... agonizing.

Now he really was going to die.

Shuuhei, please, he called, not daring opening his mouth to speak aloud, please, Shuuhei, come to save me.

While Aizen kept kicking him, he stared at the closed door. What if it would open, and his beloved would appear for real, in all his beauty, to defeat his torturers? Ah, but it was just a dream. Just a fantasy. Nothing so absurd could never happen in reality...

When the door opened for real, his eyes were already closed.

He woke up in a white place.

«Is this Heaven?» he wondered, staring at the white ceiling, the essential furniture and the many bottles of medicines on the shelves.

«Sadly it isn't» a known voice replied, next to him. «It's just the school infirmary. How are you feeling?»

Ichigo stretched out on the small bed. «Not so bad, after all» he confessed. Shuuhei smiled, hovering over his face.

«Nice to hear that. I managed to sneak in while anybody was looking. You made me worry, do you know that?»

Ichigo closed his eyes. «I'm sorry» he replied. He was starting to remember. Aizen's speech, Kaname's face while the professor kissed him, the pain of the beating. Surely Shuuhei noticed his expression darkening, because he covered his hand with his one, caressing his fingers with his thumb.

«You aren't badly hurt. Just a few bruises here and there. You really are a tough one, even the nurse said it.»

«It was you... it was you, who saved me?»

«No» Shuuhei corrected him, smiling a little sadly. «The cops did that. I just stayed in the dorm as Kyoraku said, smoking and crying.»

«Crying?» Ichigo was surprised. «Did you cry for me?»

«I did.»

«I...» Ichigo choked on his own words. «Oh, God.»

«I was scared of losing you» Shuuhei suddenly said. «So scared I was going crazy. I think I startled Renji and Byakuya a little with my hysterics, too. I shall apologize to them, later.»

«It's my fault» Ichigo sighed. «I shouldn't have gone wandering around all by myself in a moment like this. I should have known it would have been too dangerous.»

«And I should have known Kaname had been lying to me all the time» Shuuhei added, miserable. «See? We're even.»

They kept silent for a while. Shuuhei's thumb was still caressing Ichigo's hand, which sported a band-aid on the palm. Aizen managed just to barely scratch him with his little knife, whose blade wasn't sharp at all. It was the last attempt of a desperate man to grab a bit of justice, and he didn't even realize that the knife he stole was one of those good just to peel the vegetables.

«They're both under arrest, now» Shuuhei said, noticing his gaze, «you've nothing to fear.»

«I wasn't thinking about that.»

«What were you thinking then?»

«It's just... Aizen talked to me, when he held me captive in that utility room. He kind of explained to me why he did what he did. And it was so... oh, Shuuhei. If only someone had tried to help him, maybe he would...»

A fierce expression crossed the brunette's pleasant features, and Shuuhei reached out to grab Ichigo in a tight hug. «Don't torture yourself with these questions, baby» he murmured, holding him against his warm, familiar chest. «You're safe, now, and this is all that matters.»

He placed a kiss on Ichigo's brow, then he bent down to do the same on his lips. «I was dead worried for you. I was so scared I could lose you forever.»

Now it was Ichigo's turn to comfort him, tightening his arms around his waist. «It's alright, now, love» he said, smiling, «I'm back.»

Shuuhei smiled in spite of the tears gathering in his eyes. «I love you» he said, making Ichigo's heart skip a beat, «I love you so much that-»

«What the hell is happening here?!» an angry voice shouted, while the school nurse, a middle-aged woman who looked like an enraged dobbermann, stepped in. «I said NO VISITORS!»

Tbc

Next chapter's teaser: Now Kira had no good reasons left to go on running away. He had to face reality, now. He really couldn't keep avoiding Otoribashi-senpai's obstinate courtship.