Title: Bleeding Strawberry

By: BloodyTears87

Warning: Yaoi, Violence, Abuse, Language

Summery: After years of abuse from his father Ichigo finally breaks free, only to end up on the streets. Soon he is found and taken in by Byakuya Kuchiki who tried to help the timid teen through his emotional problems.

Note: This is a rewrite of Shiraihime Fuyuki's fanfic Bleeding Strawberry. Thanks for letting me write this!

Chapter 3: A strawberry and his past

Ichigo took a deep breath as he started to explain to Byakuya why he left home. He didn't want to give him all the details, just enough to justify his decision. Not that he cared what this man thought of him.

"It was either leave or continue being abused," Ichigo stated. Byakuya gave him a questioning look but the teen ignored it and continued on. "Don't think I'm crazy, but I can see ghosts. When I was younger my mother died… back then I didn't realize I could see spirits. My mom and me were on our way home from my karate class. I had just started and sucked at it so bad." Ichigo managed a small laugh at the memory of getting beaten by a girl, one of his friends, Tatsuki. Then his attitude turned serious again.

"I uh… saw a little girl getting ready to jump into the water. Up until that point I had only wanted to protect my mom and my sisters but when I saw that little girl I wanted to save her. So I ran from my mom down to the river bank."

FLASHBACK

"Hold on mom! I gotta stop her!" Ichigo yelled as he let go of his mother's hand and ran at the little girl who was about to jump into the river.

"Ichigo! Stop!" his mother Misaki cried out as she ran after her son.

Everything happened so fast, in an instant the little girl was gone and Ichigo and his mother were surrounded by a group of thugs that came out from under the bridge when they saw them.

"Give us all your money," one of them said as they pulled out a knife.

"I don't have anything on me," Misaki pleaded with them. The man sneered and before Ichigo knew it there was screaming then the world turned black.

End flashback

"I woke up with my mother laying over me covered in blood. She was stabbed eight times and it's all my fault," Ichigo explained.

"How could it be your fault? You were a child," Byakuya tried to reason.

"If I had known I could see ghosts back then I would have known the difference and I wouldn't have run down there so she wouldn't have followed me," Ichigo went on, "I blame myself and I know my father does too. He'd never say it out loud that it's my fault but I can tell when the fighting stopped being playful and the "training" he puts me through to make me stronger became more violent."

"He beats you?" the noble asked. Ichigo nodded.

"Sometimes it's just playing around and it's fine, like when my sisters are around but once they go to bed he gets violent and I can't stop him because deep down I feel like I deserve it. Three weeks ago though, he came home drunk and jumped on me… told me how much I look like my mother and tried… he tried to…" Ichigo couldn't get the words out.

"You don't have to say it, I think I understand," Byakuya said before sitting next to Ichigo and rubbing comforting circles into the boy's back. "Why haven't you gone to the police?"

"I can't tear apart what's left of my family," Ichigo stated brokenly. "My sisters need him. He's not a bad person… just when it comes to me."

Byakuya didn't say anything after that; he just stayed with Ichigo until the boy fell back asleep. He laid Ichigo down and covered him up with the comforter before leaving the room; he wasn't quite sure what to do about the boy. He did know that he wasn't going to make him go home like originally planned. Something was compelling him to help out this boy, Ichigo Kurosaki. He seemed interesting, he was a victim of abuse yet he wasn't timid or shy. His fiery attitude intrigued Byakuya very much.

"Nii-sama," came the small voice of his younger sister Rukia. He turned towards her.

"Yes, Rukia?" the Kuchiki heir asked.

"Who was that boy you brought home tonight?" she asked. "He looked a little familiar."

"His name is Ichigo Kurosaki," Byakuya told her. Rukia's eyes widened a little in recognition of the name.

"Ichigo… he goes to my school," she told her brother.

"Are you friends with that boy?"

"Not really, he's always got this aura around him that screams leave me alone," Rukia explained.

"I see," Byakuya said as he turned around. "Don't stay up too late, and do your homework."

"Of course Nii-sama!" Rukia said as she rushed off to her room for the night.

"Ichigo! My beautiful son!" Isshin called out drunkenly. "You look just like your mother you know." the old man went on. Ichigo rolled his eyes and tried to pull his father to his room but the old man was heavier than he looked.

"Come on dad put some effort in," Ichigo growled, but it died in his throat when his father grabbed his ass and gave it a hard squeeze. His face turned red and his eye started to twitch. "What do you think you're doing?," the teen ground out through his teeth.

Isshin said nothing as he threw his son to the ground and straddled his hips. Ichigo struggled and tried to throw the man off of him. In his struggles he could feel his pants and boxers being pulled down and began to panic.

"What the he-" he was cut off by his father's lips covering his own. He tried to get away but his father had an iron grip on him. Then he felt a finger trying to push into him.

At that Ichigo woke up panting for breath, covered in a cold sweat. That nightmare had been haunting him for a while now. No matter what he did he couldn't get the hellish dream out of his mind. Sometimes it wouldn't stop there, it would go as if Ichigo wasn't able to stop his father from doing what his drunken mind intended. Just then Ichigo's phone started blaring out a familiar tune. Reaching in his pocket the teen grabbed the phone before flipping it open assuming it was either Karin of Yuzu.

"Hello?" he said, his voice still thick with sleep.

"Ichigo! Where have you been?" Ichigo tensed as he heard his father's quiet yet angry voice come through the phone line. He was obviously trying not to wake the girls.

"What? You know where I've been!" Ichigo retorted.

"You know the police called here asking me if I knew where my good for nothing son was!" Isshin fumed. "You know how that makes me look?"

"What? I haven't done anything that would make the police call you," Ichigo defended.

"Apparently someone called and asked if there were any missing persons reports on you," Isshin informed. It was then that Ichigo remembered that man, Byakuya, say he called to see if he a was missing person.

"It was a misunderstanding," Ichigo tried.

"I'm sure!" Isshin all but roared into the phone. "I've had it! You need to suck it up and stop being a baby! It was an accident, I was drunk!"

"Yeah and how many more times are you gonna get drunk and accidentally try to rape me huh?" Ichigo growled at his father. "I've had enough, I can't take the abuse any more!"

"It's no more than you deserve!" Isshin shot back.

"I KNOW!" Ichigo yelled. "I know… you think I don't blame myself? You think I don't know it's my fault? Why else would I have put up with it all?"

"Ichigo where are you? I'm coming to get you and I'm not taking no for an answer!" Isshin said sternly.

"No! I'd rather die!" Ichigo said in a panic. He wouldn't go back, he couldn't.

"ICHIGO!" Isshin yelled into the phone. But the teen just ignored him.

"Never again…" he whispered before he hung up.

Even after hanging up Ichigo couldn't stop shaking in fear. He feared that his father would find him and take him back to his personal hell. Shaking his head in defiance Ichigo decided that there was no way he was going to let that happen. He really would rather die.

Ichigo got up and stumbled his way out of bed. He looked around the room he was in. There were two doors along the walls. The teen went to the door closest to him to find out it was a closet. Closing it he made his way to the second door. The second door led to a hallway that was lit but empty. Ichigo supposed that everyone would be in bed this late at night. He made his way through the hall until he came to an open door that proved to be a bathroom. Ichigo flipped on the light switch and went inside closing and locking the door behind him. Even as he looked through the medicine chest for something he could use, he was having second thoughts. He knew he was taking the cowards way out but the thought of going back there, where his father hurt and abused him, pushed him on.

After a few minutes of searching Ichigo was sitting on the closed toilet lid with a bottle of sleeping pills and a bottle of pain killers. He was hoping to find something to cut himself with but his search came up empty so he had to make due. The teen was still debating on ending his life when his cell phone went off once more. He looked at the caller ID to see it was his father calling back. Ichigo set the phone on the counter top by the sink. He didn't want to hear anymore. He knew all of it already: he was useless, good for nothing, a murderer. In his mind it was all true and he probably didn't deserve this easy out that he was about to take. He deserved to suffer, he didn't deserve death but he was damn well going to have it.

Ichigo filled up a small paper cup with water from the sink before uncapping the bottle of painkillers and sleeping pills. He didn't figure he needed to take them all so he poured half of each bottle into his hand. He took a deep breath as his phone went off again and swallowed his handful of pills before washing them down with the water. It didn't take long before Ichigo was convulsing and trying to hold onto the counter for support. He ended up knocking over everything that was on the counter before falling to the floor. His body was desperately trying to force the pills back up his throat.

"Ichigo?" came a voice from the other side of the door. Before he could say anything everything turned black.

Byakuya had been on his way to the bathroom when he heard banging around and a loud thud. He rushed to the bathroom door and knocked on it loudly.

"Ichigo?" he asked but received no answer. "ICHIGO?" he called again. When he wasn't answered again he tried turned the knob, only to find it locked. Sensing that something was wrong when he heard the phone go off a third time Byakuya backed up before forcefully kicking the door open.

The noble immediately spotted the orange haired teen on the floor convulsing with white foam coming from his mouth. Byakuya ran into the bathroom and hurried to turn Ichigo onto his side so he didn't suffocate. It didn't take him long to spot the pill bottles on the floor beside the teen. He grabbed Ichigo's phone and dialed 911.

"Hello? I have a teenage boy here who's overdosed on some pain killers and sleeping pills. I need an ambulance now!," Byakuya tried to speak calmly into the receiver but was failing.

What seemed like hours later, though it must have only been a few minutes, the ambulance was driving Ichigo to the hospital to have his stomach pumped. Byakuya followed behind in his own car.

Once they reached the hospital Byakuya followed behind the medics as they rushed Ichigo down a long hall towards the operating room.

"I'm sorry sir, but this is as far as you go," one of the nurses told him. The Kuchiki heir simply nodded, never taking his eyes of the orange-haired teen as the nurse disappeared inside the room. He silently hoped that Ichigo would pull through as the doors slammed shut and he could no longer see him.

AN: Sorry I took sooooo long! I've been working on other stuff and kinda forgot about updating sorry! But let me know what you think ne?