-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-
Jūshirō sat on the sofa and waited for Gin to arrive. He glanced at where Shunsui was sitting at the dining room table reading over his manuscripts. Shunsui was a writer, well, he was a writer in his free time. He taught English at Serietei University part time, night classes, and the rest of the time he wrote under a pen name. He wrote erotica focusing on alternative life styles, from fetish stories, to intense fiction about bondage and domination, up to just plain sex stories for all genders. Jūshirō couldn't make it through one of his stories without blushing profusely because he was very good at it. Of course, he was also very good and saying just the right things go get his much quieter husband in the mood. Jūshirō couldn't even begin to say the things that Shunsui would whisper in his ear.
Uryū had gone to sit on the beach and had yet to come back, and he thought perhaps that was best until he could speak to Gin first. The bell rang and he got up and answered it to look surprised because there were two men standing there and not just Gin.
"Jūshirō, I'm glad to see you look well," Gin said, smirking, looking almost exactly the same as he had when they had attended school together. "Ah, I'd like you to meet Isshin Kurosaki," he said gesturing to the dark-haired man standing beside him with hands shoved deep into his jean pockets.
Jūshirō frowned, nodding, "Ah, yes, come in, Uryū went down to the beach to get some air. He's having a very hard time with this whole situation."
Isshin stepped in following Gin and looked at the white-haired man. "He should be having a hard time with this. Why didn't he go to the police before now?" he said, his voice trembling as he spoke, just slightly.
The door opened then and they all turned to see Uryū come in with another, much taller, man. The taller man was holding him up, it seemed and steering him into the house. Uryū locked eyes on his uncle that he'd not seen in twelve years and broke down again. He let go of Chad and ran to him, hugging his arms around Isshin's chest and sobbing into him.
"Uncle…uncle…I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry…I…don't know what to say…you should be so mad…you should hate me…please…" he sobbed, and Isshin's eyes filled with tears before he even realized what was happening.
"Uryū, oh gods, Uryū," Isshin gasped, hugging the boy to him as tightly as he could, resting his chin on Uryū's head. "Don't, please, I don't hate you for anything," he said, clutching him harder as he felt him heave choking sobs into him.
"I tried, Uncle, I tried…I couldn't talk for so long, Uncle Isshin. It was four years before I spoke again…I didn't…I didn't know what to do…and Father said…he said he'd k-kill him if I told anyone, so…so I just pretended like it didn't happen, Uncle Isshin, I didn't know what else to do. I didn't want him to hurt Ichi, I didn't want him to hurt him, but he did, and again and again, and then, and then…" Uryū stopped and gasped, looking up into Isshin's face. "And, and, then…when he started to do…do that…I had to stop it, somehow…I couldn't…I couldn't watch him do that to him, I tried to get him out, but Father came after us and I don't know where he is or where Ichi ran to but he's gone!"
Isshin let his own tears fall on the boy's upturned face. How could he have for a second been angry? How could he have forgotten that Uryū would have suffered as well? He felt like a horrible person and he just held onto the boy as he looked at him with tear filled eyes. He just pulled him back into him and squeezed him in a way he was relatively sure his own father had never done. He ran his hands over his head and let him sob into him for a long time, it seemed. Jūshirō had gestured to Gin and Chad, taking them into the dining room so Isshin and Uryū could have privacy for a few moments. They sat around the dining table, and waited until Isshin and Uryū came into the room. Isshin held an arm around Uryū's thin shoulders and sat down in the chair next to him, holding onto his hand as he wiped his own tears away.
"Okay, um, so…Gin explained what's happened so far, and I think I have a decent understanding of what's happened. I just don't understand how this could have gone on for twelve years and no one has noticed…" Isshin said softly.
Gin nodded. "Now that I know where Ichigo has been, I've been able to investigate some things. Uryū, if you want to fill in anything, please, do, as there are some gaps in the knowledge I've acquired," Gin sighed, pulling opening his case and pulling out a small tablet.
"So, what I have goes back all twelve years. It seems that Ryūken and Uryū officially moved not long after the murders took place. They have moved at least once a year ever since then," he said, looking at Uryū. "How many schools were you in, Uryū?" he said.
Uryū shrugged. "Sometimes I'd stay for a few months, the longest was seven months, but then Father thought that someone knew about what was happening in the neighborhood, so we had to leave quickly…" He paused and looked thoughtful. "I…I've managed to stay in the same school since I started here at SU, but only because I can drive, we've moved…well they did, I spent almost all my times with people from the school, trying to avoid home as much as I could. If…if I wasn't there, I didn't have to think about it."
Gin nodded. "Yeah, looks like there were some gaps where you were homeschooled as well. Ryūken himself had several dozen jobs over that time. It looks like he was dismissed on several occasions, but the records as to why are sealed. There are records of a malpractice suite, but that's also been sealed. I sent my man, Kira, over the hospital, and someone came by there today looking for him, but he didn't overhear the name. Other than that, there are multiple noise ordinance violations, a few times where he seems to have paid off tickets. Seems like he left a couple jobs when there had been an incident on the job, and he refused to take the drug testing…" he muttered. "Uryū, did he take drugs?"
Uryū looked up and over to Isshin. "I…I don't know…I wasn't allowed in his bedroom. When I went in there Friday, when I heard Ichi cry out, I…I had to pick the lock…I mean it was a bedroom door, so it wasn't hard, they have those little pressure plates, but I'd never gone in there before. I…I waited for Father to leave, I acted like I was going to school a little earlier, but I waited outside. Then I went back in…" Uryū's eyes filled up with tears again. "He thought I was going to hit him…he thought I was going to be mad at him," he said, biting his lip again.
Isshin squeezed Uryū's hand again. "Uryū, please, you aren't at fault."
"I should have done something sooner!" Uryū said, reaching up and taking off his silver framed glasses and putting them on the table. "I…I could have done something…but I was scared, I'm twenty-one years old, why was I still scared of him?"
Jūshirō spoke up then. "Because he made you scared of him. He told you he was going to kill your cousin if you told anyone. And you knew he could do it easily. He abused you, too, Uryū."
"But not as bad!" Uryū said, rubbing his eyes again. "I mean…I…he would tell me things. Like…when I couldn't talk for so long, he told me I was…was a stupid…useless…thing. But I couldn't talk. I couldn't do it. No matter what the words wouldn't come out. And I tried, so hard…then he made me…made me…made me…" Uryū looked like he was about to panic, so Isshin moved his chair closer to him and put his arm around him. "He made me hit Ichi. He said…said if I didn't do it was going to beat me for being…so stupid…" Uryū stared at his hands for a long time. "I don't know why. My voice came back after that. I'm so horrible because I felt better after I hit him! Why would I feel better?" he said, nearly wailing and covering his face with both hands.
Jūshirō sighed, closing his eyes for a long time. "Uryū, you felt like you had some control again. Before that, everything was out of your control. And you were avoiding being hurt yourself. You were almost fourteen when you started speaking again, weren't you?"
Uryū nodded, putting his hands down. "He…Father…he told me that he guessed I wasn't stupid after all, that…that I was faking not being able to talk, and he…he beat me anyway," he said, rubbing his arm, looking away. That had been the first time he'd had his arm broken. At least he'd gotten a cast, unlike his cousin. "You…you could never tell what he was going to be like. One day he'd be nice to me, then the next he'd just be so very awful. He did it to Ichi too."
Jūshirō looked at Isshin and nodded. "Uryū, we need to know about what happened that made you finally break down and try to get you and Ichigo away."
Uryū's eyes went wide and he shook his head, his mouth slightly open and his tongue resting on the bottom of his top teeth. That same crawling sensation that threatened to clamp down on his tongue and make it stop again was there. He was trying to stop it. He was so scared and it was just trying to take his voice away again, and he wanted to make it stop. He gasped, feeling Isshin pull him into his chest.
"Uryū, son, whatever happened is not your fault. You spent twelve years being scared and alone, and trying not to fall apart. You have a family now, Uryū. If I'd known sooner… I should have tried to visit, then maybe I would have seen it, but Ryūken never let me. At first I'd call and he'd say, no, not a good time, and then I stopped calling. So please, don't blame yourself. You did what you had to do to survive," he said, squeezing him tightly. "Karin and Yuzu and me, we're all here, and we're your family, the ones that care about you, and we're going to help you and Ichigo through this, okay?" he said, rocking slightly. "We're going to love you, Uryū, your father obviously forgot how to when Kanae Katagiri died. I invested everything in my daughters to honor my sweet Masaki. He should have done the same to honor the wonderful woman that Kanae was."
Uryū looked at him and nodded. "You…you mean that? You want me to be…your family again?"
Isshin smiled, brushing black strands of hair out of Uryū's face. "Your mother was Masaki's sister, her beautiful little sister. You have her heart, I see. And you are all that is left of your mother in this world. I loved Kanae as a sister, as a friend, as beloved family…you are that family, too, Uryū."
Uryū took a deep shaky breath. "It…it started about six months ago. I don't know what happened, I just…I came home and Ichigo was sitting in the bathroom, at that house, that's where he slept. He looked…I don't know…different. I asked if something was wrong and he just shook his head and ended up climbing in the bathtub and closing the shower curtain. That was always his favorite place to hide. He seemed to still think he could hide in there. I always knew where he was. I don't know, something about the small enclosure, not being able to see who was outside, he liked it. But…what was the strangest part was that when Father came home, he'd stopped and gotten McDonalds. That alone was rare, we usually ordered Thai or Indian food for delivery. But…but he had gotten a meal for Ichigo. And that was really odd. He never let Ichigo…" He paused and took another steadying breath. "He never gave him food like that, usually, I'd take him something after we ate. When I got old enough to have my own money, I'd sneak things in for him, let him eat whatever it was, and take the wrappers with me so Father didn't know. It wasn't ever much because…because if he found out I had brought food into the house…"
"Why was that an issue?" Jūshirō asked, frowning slightly at the strange statement.
Uryū licked his lips and chewed on his bottom for a moment. "See, he…he…he said that he fed us enough. He said there was no reason to bring anything into the home that he hadn't bought. When…when I was in school, I was sixteen, I think, and I'd had a friend give me some candy. I forgot to take it out of my bag, so I threw the wrapper away…and he just…" Uryū winced. "It was probably the worst time for me. I had to call in sick to school for a week, he got a doctor he worked with to give him a note saying I had pneumonia but was because he'd blacked one of my eyes really bad. He locked me in my bedroom, telling me I couldn't leave. I…I had a bathroom, at least, in that house. And... I had water, but all he gave me to eat for the week was a bowl of ramen a day. I think I lost ten pounds by the time I got back to school, and no one doubted the story that I had pneumonia, because I looked like I had been really sick."
"Control of food, money, everything," Jūshirō said, nodding.
"Well, after that happened, I didn't notice anything for a while, until I was gone for a week, spent most of it at my buddy Renji's dorm room, and when I got back, Ichigo had these little toy figures. I asked him where they'd come from, and he said Father bought him some superheroes to play with while everyone was gone. I…I didn't know what to think. Then, there were a few other times, when Father did really out of character things, gave him special gifts, you know, or privileges that he never got. Then, I just…the thought occurred to me that he might be doing something really awful and these gifts…they were apologies for whatever it was."
Uryū stopped, twisting his fingers around each other for a few seconds. "See, when he had one of the bad times, when he blacked my eye and locked me up for a week, when he broke my arm once, when he did something really bad, he'd buy me something. Like, after the week-long thing, he'd gotten me a laptop. When he broke my arm, he'd gotten me a PlayStation. And there were other things, you know, books, games, a new phone, always after he'd done something, he told me he shouldn't have done. He'd apologize with these things, and…and I'd just go on, telling him I forgave him…" Uryū reached out and clutched Isshin's hand. Isshin clutched it in return and nodded to him.
"But I thought…what could be worse than hitting him? He was never sorry for that with Ichigo. He'd broken his arm once, and I wrapped it with a stick I found outside because he wouldn't take him to the doctor. He'd been black and blue more times than I could count. So…I knew it had to be bad, really bad. Then, Friday, he was just sitting there, in the bathtub sobbing under the shower. And he said he wasn't supposed to tell me about it. He said he couldn't tell me because Father said that I'd be jealous and mad at him," he said. "And I knew, I knew then exactly what he'd done. I knew that he'd finally taken the final step that I wouldn't, couldn't, stand. I just looked into Ichi's face and I saw it. He didn't even understand it, you know. He hasn't been to school, and he still reads at like a fourth-grade level because Ryūken wouldn't let me teach him. I tried, but I got hit for it, so I stopped. He…he hasn't seen anyone but us. He doesn't know about the rest of the world, not anymore. And I don't think he knew what had happened. But I knew, when I stood outside the bedroom door, after Ichigo yelled out, and I put my ear to it, then I heard Ryūken. I heard him say something…and I didn't want to believe it. He'd told Ichi…told him to go bathe…that…that he didn't…" Uryū's tongue paused again, pressing on the bottom of his front teeth, the crawling sensation reaching up his throat again. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook it away. "He said he didn't even make a decent fuck toy. I didn't want to think that he, this man that was supposed to be my father, could do that…but then, Ichi's eyes…I couldn't…I couldn't take it. I left and I called Dr. Ukitake and told him I was bringing Ichigo to him that night. That I had to."
Isshin hugged the boy into him and just held him for a very long time. Gin nodded. "Okay, Isshin, I'm going to go to the place on that video. Do you…do you want to go with me or stay here? He might be there."
Isshin swallowed and glanced at Uryū. "I'll stay with Uryū. Just…just find out what's happening and call me. The girls are the hotel, they'll be fine. I told them to keep their phones on them and text me if they went out."
Gin nodded. "If you're sure," he said, standing and heading for the door, nearly running into the silent and completely forgotten Chad. He had been standing just beside the doorway the entire time and everyone had just forgotten he was even there.
"Oh," he said, staring at the tall man. He looked back at Gin. "Are you friends with Uryū?"
Chad nodded and just stood there silently. Gin glanced at Jūshirō who nodded gently, apparently knowing who the tall boy was. He shook his head and headed out to this Gilga's mechanic place…"
-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-
Teresa was dozing on the couch after having a very nice and potent cannabis cookie. She had some that she saved for the days when she was suffering the most emotionally and physically. Today qualified under both accounts.
After Dr. Urahara had left, Szayel had taken off as well. Nnoitra had come out a little while later and gone to the garage to work for a while on one of his cars. She'd been surprised when she looked up to see a puff of orange dash past to the doorway out to the garage again. He apparently was wearing one of Nnoi's shirts, as he looked like he was wearing a tunic dress. Santos had gone out to work on a muffler for one of the local kids who had a rundown ford escort. Tesra was sitting on the TV playing a video game with headphones on so she could sleep.
She came out of the doze when the doorbell rang again. She frowned, standing slowly, seeing that the other boy and Nnoi hadn't returned yet, and headed to the door to see who in the world was coming around this late in the afternoon. It was almost evening, she thought as she opened it to see someone she didn't know at all.
"Can I help you?" she asked, frowning deeply at a man with white hair and a suit on.
Gin looked at the very tall, very unique looking woman and thought she might be one of the tallest women he'd come across.
"Ah, yes, um, just I need to see if you have seen this person?" he said, pulling out the missing person's paper with Ichigo on it.
Teresa recognized the boy that Nnoi had brought in easily enough, so her eyes narrowed. "And who are you to be asking around?"
Gin swallowed, seeing that if Ichigo was here, he was going to have to prove that he wasn't who he was scared of. "Um, Gin Ichimaru, ma'am. I'm a private investigator from San Diego and the surrounding area. I've been in the employ of this boy's father, Isshin Kurosaki, for the last six years to try and find his son. I came across a young lady who had a video of your son, a Nnoitra, I believe is the name, and this was in the background," he said, shuffling the still from the video out and showing her.
"The boy's cousin, Uryū Ishida, is with Isshin now, and we know that he tried to get his cousin Ichigo away, but he lost both of them when his father, Ryūken, caught them trying to escape. I…I didn't come here right away, in case there was no relation to the case, but I heard about the incident at your place on Friday night from a young lady who nearly ran into Ryūken Ishida on the road near your house. So I am here to see if Ichigo is here, and to hopefully reunite him with his father and sisters," Gin finished, nodding at her before handing her the files to look at.
Teresa looked over everything, which to her surprise included this Gin's license and copies of other records to show that he was a legitimist private investigator. Other than that, the publicly available files were in the folder. She looked at him for a moment. "Come in, have a seat, and I'll have Nnoitra come talk to you."
Gin nodded, bowing slightly as he entered their home. It was a nicely kept home, he noticed. He saw that a young man with blond hair was sitting cross legged in front of a TV and playing a video game. He sat down on the sofa as the tall woman went out of his view.
Teresa came to the door and saw that the boy was clutching to the doorframe that led out into the garage and watching Nnoitra intently. She cleared her throat behind him and he nearly jumped out of his skin, screaming and zipping out the door and dropping to the floor behind Nnoitra's legs, surprising him into slamming his head on the underside of the hood of the neon he was working on.
"Fuck!" Nnoitra gasped, putting a hand on his head and looking down, surprised both by the noise and being suddenly grabbed by Ichigo.
Teresa heard Gin come quickly down to where they were. She didn't fault him, she supposed hearing someone scream like that would incite anyone to check it out. She looked at him as he came up, a concerned look on his face. She put her fingers to her lips and nodded out into the garage. Gin moved up and looked out, frowning because that was definitely Isshin's son.
Nnoitra knelt down slowly rubbing his head.
"Ichi-baby, what the hell? Why are you in bed asleep?" he asked, frowning.
Ichigo clutched at his leg and looked up with him, his brown eyes wide. "I woke up and you were gone," he said quietly, peeking around Nnoitra where he could still see Teresa standing in the doorway. "Sh-she surp-prised me," he whispered.
Nnoitra turned his head back and saw his mother standing in the doorway, arms crossed, but there was someone else there he didn't know. He didn't like that, knowing that this man was probably looking for Ichigo.
"Mamá, who is this puta?" he muttered, glaring at Gin.
"Nnoi," his mom said, eyes narrowing. "Watch your language, mijo. He is here to see about reuniting this one with his padre, not the man who hurt him, the one who has been looking for him for twelve years," she said, giving Nnoi the look that said that she believed him.
For some reason, Nnoitra felt a pang go through his chest at the thought of letting Ichigo go anywhere else. He sighed and looked at him.
"Okay, Ichi-baby, come on, back in the house with you," he said, standing up.
Ichigo didn't move, he just kept staring in the doorway and clutching Nnoitra's leg. Nnoitra let out a long slow breath, then just leaned over and lifted him up into his arms easily. Ichigo gasped a little but otherwise, just held onto Nnoitra's neck, hiding his face in his chest. He nodded at his mother and walked past her and the white-haired man and went into the living room. He felt Ichigo tense, because he hadn't brought him out into the living room before. He sat down and tried to dislodge Ichigo from his arms, but found it was useless, so he sighed and rolled his eyes at his mom as she sat down on the recliner. The new arrival sat down on the loveseat and looked at Nnoitra and Ichigo.
"Um, as I told your mother, Nnoitra, I'm a private investigator. I've been on the Kurosaki case for the last six years or so. His father employed me to try and find out who had kidnapped him. In that time, I've gone into some very dark and horrible places looking for him. I came across the YouTube video that Miss Lilynette Gingerbuck posted. I saw Ichigo in the background, or at least, we hoped it was him. His cousin Uryū is with his father now, with a Dr. Jūshirō Ukitake that works at the university." Gin kept looking at the person he was finally seeing in real life. He was wearing a way too big t-shirt, one of the tall Nnoitra's no doubt, and that was all. He could see a lot of bruises on his legs and arms.
Nnoitra stared at him for a time, feeling Ichigo tighten his grip while he was talking. "What is it that you intend to do?" he asked.
"I wish to reunite Ichigo with his father and his sisters," Gin said, nodding.
Ichigo turned, fixing his gaze on Gin for the first time and Gin winced. His eye was badly bruised, and he had bruising around his mouth as well. "I can't go to him!" he said, his voice nearly cracking. "He'll send me to jail, he'll put me in jail, he didn't want me! Uncle rescued me because pop was going to get rid of me, he did it to save me, he took me away and hid me from the police, so I didn't go to jail with the bad people!" he said in a rush.
Gin frowned. "What? Ichigo, your father would never do such a thing."
"But…but he told me…he told me that if…if I left that I'd go to jail for murder! I murdered them! I caused them to die, Uncle said so. He said pop was going to send me off because he was so mad!" Ichigo said, staring at him.
Gin was suddenly even more horrified than he already was. "Ichigo…your uncle told you that you caused your mother's death and your aunt?"
Ichigo nodded furiously. "I did it, he didn't know how, but he said that pop knew it and he was going to send me away with the bad people and they would beat me and do bad things to me, but uncle would keep them away…"
Gin looked at Nnoitra and saw that the other man wasn't surprised. Nnoitra nodded to him. "He's been saying that ever since I found him outside, passed out. I tried to tell him it was impossible, I found the reports…but he won't believe me."
Gin looked at him and nodded. "If…if Ryūken has been telling him the same thing for twelve years…no wonder he believes it."
Nnoitra adjusted the smaller body again, reaching down to pull the t-shirt down where it was trying to ride up on his legs. "I called a friend of mine, he had a doctor come look at him. He said he had a bruised liver and kidneys, bruising to his ribs, and he's been sexually assaulted violently recently, and he had scarring from previous attacks. He took a blood sample, and told us he'd call if there was anything that meant we should take him to the hospital."
Ichigo turned and shook his head at Nnoitra. "I can't go to the hospital! Uncle will find out! The doctors will call the police and they'll come get me!"
Gin groaned and rubbed his forehead. The fiction was very real to Ichigo, and trying to break through this was going to take a lot of time. He saw the way that the boy clung to the freakishly tall man, as though he were some sort of lifeline. They couldn't separate them, not right now, the boy's mental condition was delicate at best. Considering that Uryū's condition was not that much better, he was unsure exactly how to handle this. He sighed, looking up at him.
"Nnoitra, this is a lot for me to ask of you," Gin said, sighing. "But he's in danger as long as we can't locate his uncle. He's unpredictable, and we believe he's very unstable mentally, and possibly using drugs, which means he may have connections to people that could help him find Ichigo and Uryū as well. It is quite obvious he's attached safety to you. I understand this well, while looking for Ichigo I went undercover in some sex trafficking rings, and the young man I employ as my assistant was one of those I ended up getting out. For a long time, he had to stay with us, until he was comfortable enough to have his own house. So I understand this. So, I'm going to ask if you would be willing to help us with Ichigo until he recovers enough to regain some normal level of function again. His cousin says that he hasn't been exposed to anyone in twelve years, that he's been closed off in closets and bathrooms, and fed barely enough to keep him alive. He needs constant medical supervision, which his father can provide sufficiently, and he needs help to break this illusion that his uncle has built into his mind." Gin stopped, taking a breath. "So, what I am asking you is if you'll come with us. I want to find a safe place, somewhere that's not associated with Uryū or you because if his uncle can use that information to get to him, he will."
Nnoitra nodded slowly. "He'll go with him, if he comes here," he said, glancing down at Ichigo who stared at his own knees and refused to look at anyone else. "I know that. It's too ingrained in his head. That's why I haven't left here with him. I thought if he saw this uncle, he'd think he had no choice but to go to him."
Gin nodded. "That's very smart thinking," he said smiling at the tall young man.
"You said Uryū is with Dr. Ukitake?" he said thoughtfully.
Gin nodded. "Apparently, Jūshirō Ukitake had approached Uryū last week about his dropping grades and apparently depressed mood. He was trying to take Ichigo to him when his father caught them trying to leave. Ichigo panicked and ran, and Uryū's father followed after him. Uryū went back to Dr. Ukitake's, scared for himself as well."
Nnoitra nodded. "That's fine. Dr. Ukitake is a good guy, I took my basic psychology class from him last year," he said, standing up.
"No, we can't leave!" Ichigo said, looking up at Nnoitra and wriggling in his grip.
Nnoitra narrowed his eye at him. "You settle yourself down, right now," he said in a firm voice that left no room for argument. Ichigo stopped, eyes locked on Nnoitra's face. "You listen here, we are going to do what we have to do to make sure you are safe and well. I want no more argument over it. We are going to meet with Uryū and your father. No one is taking you to jail. And if they tried to take you away from me, I wouldn't let them. Understand?"
Ichigo swallowed, nodding twice and nuzzling his face into Nnoitra's neck again. Nnoitra frowned because he could feel the heat in his face against his shoulder. He shook the thought away and looked over to Gin. "Alright, let's go before anything else happens."
Gin stood slowly, looking over at Teresa who was reading a magazine. She looked up. "Mijo, make sure you make arrangements with your teachers if you miss classes, don't get lazy and behind on your work. Call me if you need anything," she said, smiling at him.
Nnoitra nodded. "Bien, Mamá, I'll call tonight, tell Papá I'll be back when things are settled. Tell him the car I was working on isn't done, he'll have to finish it."
"Sí, besos!" she said, looking up at him and tilting her head to the side.
"Ah, Mamá," Nnoi said, stepping easily over the coffee table and kissing her on the cheek. "Adios," he said standing and turning back to Gin and nodding.
Gin led them out to his SUV, letting them climb into the back, noticing that Ichigo tried to argue about sitting in the seat and being belted in, but Nnoitra took that tone with him, that sound almost like a parent instructing a child, and Ichigo immediately followed what he said and Gin saw the slight blush that went up his face when he did it. Interesting, he thought, getting in and taking off to the Ukitake house.
Gin didn't notice the man who was standing outside when they came out. Kūgo Ginjō stood on the closest corner to the Gilga's shop. After he'd got done doling out the meds, he'd come here to see if the alien child was here. And he was! But that damn tall freak took him off with someone else now! How was he ever going to get his hands on him and get back to the aliens? He frowned, pacing back and forth and running his hands through his long dark hair, grumbling under his breath.
Kūgo had started believing in aliens at a very young age. He'd had a tonsillectomy as a child and had the misfortune of waking up in the middle of the surgery. He'd been put back out quickly, but the doctors had been wearing bright orange, red, or yellow surgery caps, and had white facemasks on. When he woke up, he became convinced that the aliens were white skinned creatures, with bright colored hair. By the age of sixteen, he'd begun showing worrying symptoms and his parents had treated him for schizophrenia with success until he turned eighteen and left their home. He found that he felt "dull" when he was on his medications, and he didn't hear the aliens any longer. These aliens were all he could have hope for, because they would take him away from everything here.
He had to get his hands on that half alien child. He had to. Otherwise, how would they know he was ready? He had to show them he knew the signs of their coming. If they came for the star child and Kūgo didn't have him, he'd be stuck here forever! He couldn't have that…