When Hichigo said he wanted to take her life, murder had not been his intention. Well, maybe homicide had been on his mind at first, but then he decided to seek something far more unpleasant and emotionally poisonous that would equate to a living death. He meant to steal her very soul by taking away what it meant to be an autonomous human being. His desire was to make her an extension of himself; not just by making her his but by making her a part of him so she could not live without him. Then he would no longer have to be alone in his pain of being dependent on his master, Ichigo, for his survival. Something had happened to him that he had never thought possible. In Mina, he believed he had found his soul mate, someone who could truly understand him. Therefore, he wanted to keep her forever.
Mina was aware that the chains with which he was binding her were growing longer and stronger everyday. Not literal chains as the ones used in masochism and bondage but the chains that bind the heart and mind to link her to him in a more enduring way. Chains fashioned by manipulating emotions, artfully strumming the heartstrings, were far more insidious and nearly indestructible. Every day she felt herself slipping a little further down that precarious slope to becoming hopelessly emotionally entangled with him. For reasons she could not explain or understand, she did not want to be set free.
Hichigo created strong links in the chain using charming, poetic phrases along with great sex and a lot of it. He was working on her mind on a chemical level as well by using her own body against her. Each magnificent orgasm she experienced released oxytocin which has been referred to as the 'love drug.' The release of this hormone promotes the attachment of a woman to her partner. Violence tempered with kindness forged other links. On occasion he would inject a bit of violence in the form of a forceful slap on the ass or clawing her back, mostly during sex, to remind her he was truly the boss. Although she would be reluctant to admit it, intermittent shows of extreme force such as choking her or spanking her behind until it was red and sore had a tendency to heighten her pleasure rather than detract from it. With him she did not feel ashamed or fearful to explore her more fierce compulsions. Not once did he ever cut her or stab her which was something that had obviously happened to her many times before. Her memories would sometimes come back to her in brief flashes of single moments in time, but nothing significant that really made sense to her.
Hichigo had made her dependent upon him for even the most basic necessities. She ate at the times he appointed as mealtimes. Not only did he dictate when she could eat, he determined what she would eat. To further establish his unspoken absolute rule over her, she could only eat by allowing him to feed her by his very own hand. At first she had stubbornly resisted this method of receiving her nourishment. After going without a few meals, hunger overruled pride.
Hichigo did extend certain kindnesses to her, all of which worked to make his grasp on her that much more secure. He permitted her to spend days reading books in the study to pass the time when they weren't sleeping or having mind-blowing sex. Mina was also allowed to wander around the manor at her discretion. No room was off-limits to her explorations. Unfortunately, most were empty rooms or rooms full of dusty antiques and unused furniture. Since Ichigo/Hichigo were the only inhabitants, there were no hidden secrets beyond the man(men) who lived there.
Bath times were intimate encounters that Hichigo and Mina enjoyed equally. Sometimes he joined her in the bath; other times he merely sat on a stool at the edge of the tub to clean her body. He delighted in taking care of her, doting on her while he added yet another link in the chains to keep her bound to him mind, body, and soul. He surmised the treatment she had endured before him had been literal torture as evidenced by the scars on her face. Upon further exploration of her body, he had found the marks of many tiny cuts and small burns located on the innermost and tenderest parts of her thighs and upper arms. Restraints formed out of fear and pain could be powerful but seemed to be more brittle and easily destroyed than the connection he was making with her. His time to secure his hold on her was growing short. He was weakening as his master was fighting to regain control of this body. Any day now, Ichigo would return. He hoped the bearer of goodness and justice would not destroy all of his hard work in trapping Mina in the cage that he had carefully constructed.
~...~
Mina was awakened by the most awful sound. It sounded something like a chainsaw operating under the water. To her sudden horror and infinite embarrassment, she realized the sound was coming from her. She had been snoring. Groaning and wriggling around a bit, she felt something slimy under her cheek. Ewww! She had been drooling too. How gross. Grabbing a handful of the silky cotton sheet to wipe away the offensive mess, she realized she had not been slobbering on her pillow. Her hand moved over an unyielding pectoral muscle that was covered in her drool. Oh, dear. She jerked up the sheet to wipe away the grossness before he awoke. Once the evidence of sleeping with her mouth open had been removed, her fingers drifted over the supple, hairless skin that was tanned a shade darker than hers. Tanned? She instantly sat up straight to look at the man sleeping beside her. Who was this guy with the hair the color of the sun setting in autumn and skin with a fabulous golden tan? Where had Hichigo gone? Her eyes followed the angle of this man's sharp nose, skirting over all of his angular facial features that were softened to a cherubic appearance by sleep. He looked familiar but then again...not familiar. She was confused. Her fingers reached out to touch his spiky orange hair that was extraordinarily fluffy and soft like the down of a baby chick. His lips were the color of the blossoms on a cherry tree. He was definitely handsome verging on prettiness despite all of his manly attributes. Speaking of manly attributes...she lifted the covers to take a peek at the proof of his manhood. This was not the same man she had gone to bed with last night - or was it? What identified him as a male certainly looked familiar. But how could this be the same man? Fascinated and curious, she lay on her side beside the human chameleon, propping on her elbow to study him more. Her fingers followed every line and curve of his face, tracing the prominent tendons of his neck down to his collar bones. This guy must really be exhausted to not be disturbed by her unrestrained exploration. A smirk tilted her lips when she remembered that he had a good reason to be tired after all of their physical exertion last night. Her hand slid lower and lower still until her fingers carefully grasped his manhood. She squeezed slightly, making him moan and shift beside her. Although his hardness was merely an uncomfortable way that all men greeted the morning, that fact did not deter her from being a lustful opportunist. She pushed him over onto his back, straddling his hips. After guiding him inside of her, she rocked her hips to take advantage of the poor, unconscious man.
Ichigo did not often have sexually explicit dreams but this one was so hyper-realistic he could feel it. With shocking clarity, alertness crashed in to rip him from that wonderful state between sleep and wakefulness. His eyes popped open to see a woman sitting on top of him. He could not see her face well because half of it was covered by her white hair that hung down to her chin. The back of her hair was so short he would have guessed she was a boy if he had seen her from the back. Watching her sizable breasts bouncing up and down with each movement on top of him, he was reminded he would have committed a grievous assumption because she was undoubtably a woman. Although he wanted to stop this woman from having sex with him, simply because he viewed it as not being 'right,' he could not because he had been pushed past a certain point in pleasure. Dismayed due to his lack of ability to physically react, he gazed at her in open mouthed astonishment. He could no longer say she was taking advantage of him because he had begun to savor the incredible sensations of ecstasy she was giving him - and herself. Damn that, Hichigo. The woman cried out in pleasure, rotating her hips in circles as she ground herself into his body. Oh, and damn this woman. His fingers moved to her hips to hold her against him as his hips pushed up into her. He could not stop his body from reacting to her in a positive manner. Her body, warm, wet, and tight around him, felt great. It had been a long time see he had experienced sex with a woman. Hichigo had been selfish in claiming all of those sexual encounters for his own. His fingers burrowed into her curvaceous hips to pull her into him with greater force to raise the bliss they were both experiencing.
"Tell me your name," she ordered him.
"Wh-what?" Ichigo stammered, a whimpering groan tearing from his lips as her body contracted around him.
"Tell me your name, please," she begged, opening her eyes to look down at him. She found herself mesmerized by the most gorgeous pair of burnished chestnut eyes. He was so different. How could this be the same man? But it wasn't. Not really. Two completely different men forced to share a single body: a living, breathing Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. "I only know his name. Tell me your name. I want to know what name I should scream when I come."
It came as no surprise to him that Hichigo had not divulged the duality of his existence to this woman. Never before had one remained alive long enough for it to become necessary. Ichigo opened his mouth to say his name but found it difficult to form the word as he looked into her yellow gold eye that was visible. Her eye reminded him of the color of Hichigo's eyes. Finally finding his voice, just as a surge of orgasmic bliss seized his body, he gasped, "Ichigo."
"Oh, Ichigo!" she exclaimed, giving in to the wave of pleasure that crashed into her. She closed her eyes to allow the euphoria to drench her senses , soaking her body with a warm feeling from head to toe. Flopping onto her back, she sighed with contentment. She lazily opened one eye to watch the handsome orange haired man rise from the bed. He seemed angry and embarrassed and acted as if he could not get away from her fast enough. But why? Had she done something wrong? Biting her lower lip, she pulled the cover around her body as she curled into a tight little ball. Shame tainted what should have been the comfortable afterglow of sex. She missed having Hichigo's arms around her, his lips brushing across her forehead as they relished the warm, fuzzy sensations that would surge through their bodies after great sex.
Ichigo snatched his robe from the bedpost to cover his body. He shivered as guilt replaced the tranquil warmth of the post orgasmic high. Although he knew a shower could never wash away this feeling of shame, he rushed to the bathroom to boil himself in the hottest shower possible anyway. At least he had not awakened to being covered in blood or worse yet lying next to a corpse. This time he awakened to having sex with a woman. He had to admit that this was a first time experience. As far as his awakenings after being Hichigo went, it was really not a bad experience at all. She seemed to be enjoying herself greatly. At least his alter ego had not raped her. The fact he had not murdered her was simply astounding. He wondered why Hichigo had allowed her to live. His hand moved down his abdomen to grasp his half erect manhood. As he washed himself, a lascivious grin tilted his lips. It had felt really good to be inside of that woman. No, he could not think that way. He immediately flipped the smile into a deep frown. He could not permit himself to revel in any of Hichigo's misdeeds or their consequences - even if this result was actually a positive one. The question plaguing his mind at the moment was what should he do with this woman. There was a pulse in the pit of his stomach and rush of blood flowed downward.
"Not that, stupid," he chastised himself through gritted teeth. If he sent her away, Hichigo would only go looking for her. He might kill her once he found her thinking she had run away from him. Although judging from recent events, this woman had no desire whatsoever to leave. Quite the contrary actually. He pressed his throbbing forehead against the tiles of the wall that still held a small bit of coolness despite the steaming hot water beating down on him and splashing the walls. Letting her stay would not be a good idea - for him or for her. He had come here to be alone, to cut himself and the beast within off from contact with the world. Besides, Hichigo would grow tired of her and kill her eventually. He would be saving her life if he told her to leave. But would she go?
~...~
After emerging from his attempt at ridding himself of remorse in the shower, Ichigo had found the woman in the study reading a book. Pulling up another wing back chair upholstered in crimson velvet, he sat down across from her to study this stranger who had become a part of his home in his absence. What had she become to Hichigo? He was surprised when she placidly continued to read her book as if he were not even in the room. Only when he reached out to touch her did she finally acknowledge his presence. His fingers pushed aside the long hair covering her face to see her. Startled, he gasped sharply and loudly before recoiling from her. His humiliation increased when the womanly sighed noisily before closing the book gently to set it on the small table beside the chair. It disturbed him that she was accustomed to this reaction. It also made him feel that much more chagrined for reacting so immaturely. But those scars...
"Ask anything you want," she said, leveling her one good eye on him.
Ichigo gulped, trying not to the think about the milky black orb hidden under her white hair. She might have been a striking beauty once, but someone had taken that away from her in the cruelest of ways. He could tell the scars were old so at least he, being an extension of Hichigo who was capable of that sort of thing, had not tortured her to cause them. "What happened to you? And why are you here?"
"I'm not sure. I don't know who did this to me or why. I believe I was running from that person and found your hideaway," she explained as best as she could since she was not sure of the details herself.
"Has he hurt you? Hichigo, I mean," he added to clarify who he was referring to in his question.
"No. He's been nothing but kind to me," she answered, her voice taking on a defensive tone on Hichigo's behalf. "He's treated me like a queen."
A sardonic grin lifted Ichigo's lips. Her choice of words was uncanny considering Hichigo called him King despite doing so out of disrespect and spite. "What is your name?"
"Mina," she replied flatly.
"Mina, you should leave. You don't belong here," he informed her, noticing her eyebrows draw together and her lips turn downward in fury.
"You're wrong," she muttered, her voice sounding something like a rumbling growl. "I do belong here. With him."
Ichigo pressed himself back into his chair. This woman was almost as frightening as Hichigo. No wonder the man had decided to keep her around; he had finally met his match. Ichigo tightened his hands into fists as he leaned forward to glare at the woman sitting across from him. "You must leave."
"I will not." She folded her arms under breasts, glaring at him with enough ire in her golden eye that he could feel his skin growing hot.
Ichigo sighed as his frustration began to rise. Convincing her that it was in her best interests to leave was going to be more difficult than he had thought.
~...~
"No," the irritating woman stubbornly proclaimed. She crossed her arms and legs simultaneously while turning her face away from him. Through obvious verbal and nonverbal communication, she had told Ichigo, again, that she would not be leaving the manor.
Ichigo was beginning to understand Hichigo's need and willingness to commit heinous crimes. This woman had proven herself to be quite the pig-headed, unyielding nuisance who refused to listen to logic. To make matters worse, she had taken off the gray kimono robe she had been wearing in an attempt to offset her unwilling host in hopes he would stop his campaign to make her go away. Although he was about to burst into flames due to his overwhelming embarrassment, his rage assisted Ichigo with pushing past his discomfort of her immodesty to continue to argue with her as to why she should leave. In addition to denying his demand to vacate his home, Mina had steadfastly refused to get dressed. She had ignored each polite entreaty and continued to ignore him even when the gentle appeals for compliance became angry orders. Finally, he had snapped, throwing her over his shoulder to take her to the bedroom. He wrestled her to floor to sit on her back while he jammed her flailing limbs into a pair of his boxer shorts and a t-shirt. Thankfully, her nicely rounded edges filled out the clothes enough to keep them on her body. To his ever-growing discomfort (and erection), she actually appeared quite alluring in his underclothes. Not to be deterred from getting her out of his home, he immediately began asking her to leave all over again. Cordial entreaties became hostile threats all to no avail. The woman would not budge.
Ichigo had grown tired physically and mentally. He raked his hand through his hair in exasperation, turning away from her. His anger had simmered for hours, rising to a boil that threatened to overflow. What the hell had happened here? Had this woman actually fallen in love with Hichigo? He would not dare to say that the woman had fallen in love with the evil bastard because she seemed as incapable of love as the white wonder himself. Hopeless infatuation, yes. Consuming passion, yes. Frightening desires and freaky fetishes, oh hell yes. But love? No!
They were once again in the study, sitting facing each other in their chairs. Ichigo glared at the bizarre, scarred woman who was now shamelessly pouting. Mina. She had not given him a last name, just her first, claiming she could not recall her last name. She also claimed not to remember anything about who she was, where she came from, or why she was so marred. The most likely explanation was that her own mind was protecting her from further trauma by preventing her from remembering the ordeal she had suffered. Whatever it was, it had to have been like experiencing hell on earth for her. She might have been beautiful once, but all that remained was damaged exterior on an empty container. Maybe it was better this way for her, just to start her life over. But he would not let her do it here and certainly not with Hichigo. What kind of beast would she become then? The possibilities were too scary to even entertain. The last thing on earth he wanted to become was an incidental guardian forced to babysit a broken stranger who happened to tumble into his sanctuary. She was the intruder so why should he have to take care of her?
"No. I don't care what you say. You will leave," Ichigo stated decisively. He would take nothing less than compliance from this woman. Standing up from his chair, he strode confidently over to her to pull her up from her seat.
"Hey, wait, what are you - " Her words were interrupted by a scream of surprise and anger when he hefted her over his shoulder once more.
Mina was beginning to feel like a sack of potatoes. This was the second time on a matter of hours that this man had carelessly tossed her over his shoulder like so much baggage. It was obvious he wanted to get rid of her, but she was not here because of him. She wanted to stay here for Hichigo, and she would remain here until he returned.
"I'm taking you to the nearest village," he informed her, ignoring her fists that were beating his back as if he were a drum. It actually hurt. Her strength surprised him.
"No! I don't wanna go there!" she howled like a furious toddler. "I want to stay here!"
"I don't care. You're going. Trust me...it's for your own good," he announced with his best parental attitude to give levity to his words.
"How do you know what's good for me?" she whined with the petulance of a teenage girl with PMS.
"I don't," he admitted, pushing open the back door that led from the house to the stables. "But I know there's nothing good for you here."
"How can you say that?" she asked, her voice possessing only a marginal amount of whine this time.
Ichigo put her down on her feet in front him to stop her from bruising his back any further. He closed his eyes to avoid having to look at the grown woman who was still pouting like a child. Suddenly he could not breathe. Oh, no. He was coming. Dropping to his knees, his fingers clutched at his chest. His heart refused to beat momentarily while his blood ran cold.
Mina stood awestruck and a little terrified as she watched the color drain from Ichigo's body, starting from the tips of his orange spikes and moving downward. It was as if something were washing away his color...no, washing away him, Ichigo, entirely as if erasing him from existence. She backed away with a growing sense of dread as she watched the bizarre transformation occur before her very eyes. The incredible change evoked both horror and enchantment, horrifying her and thrilling her at the same time. She gasped when her back made contact with the wooden stable door behind her. Without a single thought of splinters, her body slowly slid down the door until she plopped limply onto the ground. Since she was now eye level to the man on all fours, her eyes met the luminescent yellow irises of the enigma a few feet away from her.
"Hello, my love," he gurgled happily, one corner of his mouth lifting into a menacing smirk. "Were you going somewhere?"
Mina cried out when he was suddenly in front of her, so close his hot breath was fanning across her lips while making goose-flesh prickle her skin. She did not like the accusatory tone of his voice nor did she like the hatred in his eyes. "No. I wasn't. He was making me leave. I didn't want to. I didn't want to leave you."
"Tch," he clicked disapprovingly, the seething anger drifting from his body in palpable currents. "Bastard."
Mina shifted uncomfortably as the tangible rage seeped into her body. Her pulse raced and her head began to pound. She could feel the unmistakable contempt the pale skin, golden eyed man had for his counterpart and rival. Before her mind could fully comprehend her actions, she slapped Hichigo - hard. Her hand stung from the brutal blow she had given him. His unrelenting loathing for Ichigo made no sense to her. "You shouldn't hate him so intensely. He's part of you. Or rather you're part of him." She could feel the heat of the blast of anger that ignited his yellow irises in their inky black surroundings. "He's a kind and gentle soul. He created you to harbor his malice, his terrible feelings and desires...all of the bad things about himself to preserve the goodness. You're an unnecessary and detestable part of him. No matter how much you hate him, it won't change the fact that he's your master."
Hichigo raised his hand to strike her. When she raised her chin, closing her eyes as she turned her face to him to accept the slap, he discovered he could not move. He found it impossible to hit her when she was so willing to accept it. She had been fully prepared to withstand the punishment for defending Ichigo. Gradually lowering his hand as his ire subsided, he touched her cheek. His forefinger traced the round scar that disfigured her there. "Why? Why would you defend him?"
"You're the one I want. However, you cannot exist separate from him," she said, seeing stubborn consternation flit through his eyes. "It's time you stopped lying to yourself. You will never live apart from him. He made you."
"Stop it," he hissed through his teeth. He seized the lengthy lock of hair covering her face, using it as a handle to roughly pull her to her feet as he stood up. "I should just kill you now and be done with it."
"So kill me," she invited him, averting her eyes from his. "What will you do then? You will be alone again, left to hunt for something else, someone else, to fill that constantly growing void inside of you."
"Shut up," Hichigo mumbled, releasing her hair. This woman was making him experience emotions he had never felt before. They were emotions he did not like. Fear, sorrow, and disbelief shattered his confidence and shook him to his core. She had made him encounter despair for the first time in his life. Everything she had said was true. Without Ichigo, he could not exist. If he lost her, he would lose everything. Fueled by a swift, unexpected explosion of anger, he grabbed her by the neck to slam her head into the stout wooden door. "What are you doing to me? Stop it. Stop it!" he yelled, hearing the tremor of fear in his voice.
Mina closed her eyes to make the blinding bursts of light that had erupted in her vision disappear. Instead of going away, they increased in intensity and number, continuing to explode like fireworks on the black backdrop of her eyelids. A pain blazed through her skull that was so agonizing it made her queasy. Her knees weakened, and she slumped lifelessly against the door behind her. She found it increasingly difficult to breathe as Hichigo's slender fingers tightened around her neck. Her breath was coming in choked gasps that tapered off into pitiful wheezes. He was killing her. An image appeared in her mind of a large man with huge hands holding her up while her feet dangled uselessly in the void below her while his thick, strong fingers clenched her neck. She could not see a clear picture of his face but could see the prominent veins and twisted, ropy muscles of his forearms. Her fingernails were sinking into his wrists, drawing blood that trickled down her arms in small, crooked crimson rivers. The blood dripped off of her elbows to splatter on the ground beneath her dangling feet. But he would not release her. Another scene immediately followed. One of those familiar muscular arms enclosed her shoulders while those powerful, murderous fingers carefully brought a spoonful of soup to her bluish lips that were set in the lily whiteness of her gaunt face.
"Repeating past mistakes?" questioned a disembodied female voice with a high-pitched tone and impish quality. "Mina, Mina, you poor little fool," the voice chided her scornfully. "This is insanity. You do remember the definition for insanity, don't you? Why are you doing this to yourself all over again? Do you really think he's any different?"
'It's not like that. It's not like that at all!' she screamed in her head to defend herself. She could not be held responsible for repeating the past if she could not remember it. The inner dialogue had distracted her from her present predicament until the pressure of Hichigo's lips on hers brought her attention back to him with startling swiftness. Her lips tingled as if they were being poked with a thousand miniscule needles. His breath entered her body, filling her chest and causing her to inhale with a fervency that made her lungs burn. Apparently she had lost consciousness, and possibly her life, briefly. She tore her lips from his, crying out in anguish and fear. Had he tried to kill her and succeeded even for a brief moment?
"You're alive," Hichigo whispered in her ear, relief evident in his voice. His lips covered hers, hesitating to make sure it was okay to kiss her instead of breathing into her. Once he was sure that she had fully regained consciousness, he kissed her while his hand clutched her breast through the shirt.
For the first time, Mina noticed the cold wind. Ichigo had been in such a hurry to whisk her away from here, to safety, he had not even allowed her to put on proper clothing. Considering the shocking swiftness with which Hichigo appeared, she suddenly understood why Ichigo had been so recklessly hasty. Lifting the handle of the door behind her, she fell backwards to land with an excruciating thud on the dirty wooden floor strewn with hay. Hichigo's body crushed hers, his maleness poking her in the thigh as she lay compliantly under him while his tongue performed a thorough investigation of her mouth. At least it was warm in the barn. The not so pleasant smells mixed with the very pleasant heat made her feel light-headed and dizzy. She felt her body being lifted and it felt like she was floating. An empty stall and a clean bed of hay awaited them. The sweet-smelling, dried grass poked her butt and back. But it did not matter. Soon all she could feel was the man on top of her, slamming his manhood into her again and again. A numb sensation encased her body, presumably brought on by emotional paralysis, so the harder he thrust into her the better. She clung to him, screaming his name as tears streamed from her eyes and soaked into her hair. Before the event was over, she was writhing beneath him shedding grateful tears as she showered his chest with kisses of gratitude. When they were both spent, their limbs reduced to wobbly gelatinous goo and their bellies and butts cramping from fierce humping, they lay in the hay unashamed and completely naked with their arms and legs entwined.
"So tell me," Hichigo said, his gurgling voice sounding very pleased and cocky after his brilliant performance. "Who's your master?"
'No one, motherfucker!' she thought to herself, nuzzling his chest to hide the derisive grin on her face. With a soft voice and her best mock attitude of submissiveness, she said, "You are. You are my master."
I apologize for any errors that I did not correct. It becomes difficult to find them after a while. Thanks for reading. Hope you liked it.