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Nnoitra wasn't sure what he was getting into, not at all, as he watched the world pass outside the car. He glanced over into the front seat at this Gin fellow. He was trusting him, and he was desperately hoping that his trust was not unfounded or misplaced with this man. He looked up as they pulled into a parking area near a large beach house. He'd never seen Dr. Ukitake's home, of course, there would be little reason for him to have visited it. Now, though, he'd find out what was happening with Ichigo and his father. Beside him, Ichigo was clutching him, hands spasmodically squeezing his arm as they parked. Gin turned off the car and got out. Nnoitra did the same, then going around to unbuckle his scared seatmate.
Nnoitra realized that Ichigo was still wearing his t-shirt and nothing else. He should have remembered to get some shorts from Tesra. He smiled, though, looking at Ichigo as he looked up at him. He was completely terrified about what was going to happen in a few moments.
"Come on, you are going in," Nnoitra said, holding out a hand for him to take.
Ichigo bit his lip and nodded at him, slowly sliding out of the seat to the ground and gripping Nnoitra's hand tightly. He looked up at him with the most wide-eyed look Nnoitra had ever seen on someone that wasn't six years old.
"But…but…you…you won't let them take me away, r-right?" he asked, and Nnoitra thought his lip was actually quivering at the mere thought.
"I won't, I promise," Nnoitra said, squeezing his hand in his. "Long as you want me here, I'll stay. You get to choose that, though, you know," he said, smiling at him.
"G-good. Y-you stay for-forever, then," he said, looking away from Nnoitra toward the ocean.
Nnoitra blinked, feeling like that was a weird thing to say, but glanced up to see Gin watching them intently. Gin nodded, leading them up the sidewalk into a side yard. The house itself set overlooking a small stretch of private beach that was next to a semi-private beach that required permits to get into. The house was two stories and further down from it, Nnoitra knew, there was a Marine facility and the nice beachside hotel.
Gin knocked on the door, and Nnoitra recognized Dr. Ukitake when he opened it. He smiled at Gin and nodding toward the two of them. Nnoitra had to urge Ichigo to move forward, still clinging to his arm, now with both of his hands. They came into the house and Nnoitra saw it was nice, not over the top, but still tasteful. It opened into a large foyer that looked into an open floor plan, with large windows in the living room looking on the ocean. The living room opened into the dining room behind it, separated by a half wall. Nnoitra could see several people sitting at the table. One stood up slowly and started coming toward them.
Ichigo had buried his head in Nnoitra's armpit, it seemed. Nnoitra tried to get him to budge but he was not having it. Nnoitra looked to see that the man who had come over was wide eyed, and he guessed this had to be Ichigo's father. Gin stepped around and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him away and having a whispered conversation just out of earshot. Nnoitra just held Ichigo against him, looking up to lock eyes on another boy that looked Ichigo's age. That had to be his cousin. He was just staring at them and another man he recognized from church and school. Chad, he recalled. His grandfather was the pastor at the church that his mother had solace at a long time ago, and the church they still attended.
Gin pulled Isshin to the side, breaking his stare at the son he thought dead. "Isshin, before you do anything, you need to know he believes completely you didn't want him," he whispered quickly.
Isshin shook his head. "What?"
"Ryūken convinced him that you were going to send him to jail. He still believes it completely, even now. Think about it, Ryūken took a nine-year-old boy and beat it into him that he was rescuing him, and that's why he couldn't go to school or ever leave their home. There is no doubt in my mind he believes that you will send him to jail to be with the murderers as he says," Gin said slowly, seeing that Ichigo had tried to make himself invisible against the taller man he was with.
"What…what about this guy?" Isshin said, glancing behind them.
"His name's Nnoitra, and he found him in his yard, he's been taking care of him, and Ichigo's attached himself to him as a safe person. So, I don't recommend trying to separate them yet. Nnoitra has agreed to help us. But…there might be more to it than that, just as a warning," Gin said, sighing.
"What's that mean?" Isshin said, frowning.
Gin shrugged. "Just, keep in mind, Ichigo may be more childlike than he should be, but he's not a child, he's an adult, and with that comes…um…adult things…"
Isshin blinked, eyes widening a bit. "Oh…oh…I see…but after what Ryūken did…" he said, frowning, and feeling a burning rage spring to life in his stomach.
"It doesn't matter, Ichigo is still an adult, and he may be…attracted to this guy. Maybe it's just hero worship because he saved him in his eyes. Maybe not. Just…don't be surprised if it develops into something else. He seems to be the only one that can calm Ichigo down and get him to do something he needs to do," Gin said, turning back where Nnoitra stood patiently waiting.
Isshin nodded, turning back around. "Uh…hem. Nnoitra is your name?" he said, looking up at him.
Nnoitra nodded, trying to extract his right hand from Ichigo but found it impossible. He sighed and reached out his left. "Sorry, man, but yeah, Nnoitra Gilga. My parents own the mechanic shop where this brat showed up last week. If you want to check with Dr. Kisuke Urahara, he came out and had a look at him, and took some blood for testing. He said he was okay for the most part. Just…expected problems from what happened," he said, feeling Ichigo's hands tighten on him.
Isshin glanced over where Ukitake was and he nodded, going to grab his phone to call the other professor. "I…thank you," Isshin said with a slight bow at the tall man. "I thought I would never see my son again."
Ichigo peeked his face out barely and stared at Isshin. He remembered him. He saw his face vividly in his dreams, but it was always associated with pain and loss. He didn't look like he was going to be angry at him. He didn't look like he was going to want to send him to a bad place. He looked…like he had before. He blinked and spoke up.
"He…he said…you h-hated me," he said quietly. "He…told me…you'd send m-m-me away…"
Isshin could stop the tears at that point. "Ichigo, never, never, I never would have sent you away. I…I've looked for you for all the time you've been gone…we thought…we thought you were gone forever, son. I…love you so much. I can't tell you how much I have missed you," he said quietly, not moving to touch him, because something said he wasn't ready.
Ichigo blinked at him, brows knitting together. "Y-you won't make me leave?"
Isshin shook his head. "Never, I want you to come be with me again, and your sisters, Karin and Yuzu," he said smiling at him.
Ichigo's eyes widened in something between shock and fear. "I don't want to go with you!" He turned and buried his face in Nnoitra's shoulder again.
Isshin frowned, not understanding what just happened. Isshin felt someone's hand on his shoulder and looked up to see the white haired Ukitake.
"Ichigo, I'm Jūshirō, I'm a friend of your cousin Uryū's. He's here, with me, safe, and no one is going to take you anywhere you don't want to be. Are you afraid that Nnoitra is going to be taken from you?" he said as he knelt in front of Ichigo and stared up at him. He knew that putting Ichigo in the upper position would give him a sense of being in control more than looking up from where he was standing. It was a simple trick he used with children when he worked with them.
Ichigo looked down and him slowly, nodding to him. Jūshirō nodded. "Ichigo, he can stay with you, okay? Do you remember the doctor that came to see you?"
Ichigo nodded quickly. "He doesn't have…have…to d-do that again does he?" he whispered, eyes still wide and staring at him.
"Do what?" Jūshirō asked, looking up from Ichigo to Nnoitra.
Nnoitra shifted. "Dr. Urahara did an exam…to check for any internal issues," he said quietly.
Jūshirō nodded. "Ah, I see. Well, Ichigo, you know that he had to do that to make sure you weren't hurt, right?"
Ichigo swallowed, nodding slightly. "Nnoi said he had to do it. I didn't like it."
Jūshirō smiled. "No, I don't expect so, it isn't very fun. But we want to make sure you don't get sick. He said that he was worried about the bruising around your kidneys and liver, too, and wanted you to have a special test at the hospital."
"No!" Ichigo said, eyes going wide, shaking his head furiously and squeezing his eyes shut. "The doctors are bad there! They'll tell Uncle and he'll come get me and I don't wanna leave!"
Jūshirō frowned. "Why do you think the doctors are bad there?"
Ichigo just shook his head and turned back into Nnoitra again, hiding his face and Jūshirō could see the rapid way he was breathing. "Okay, okay, no hospital, alright?" Jūshirō said softly, seeing him start to turn back. He nodded at him.
"Do you understand that he lied to you?" Jūshirō asked, crossing his hands over his knees.
"He-he-he…but…he took care of me. And then…then…he…he…I don't know!" Ichigo said, his face twisting into something like anger and confusion together.
Jūshirō sighed, standing up. He glanced at Isshin. "This is going to take some time," he said quietly. "I…" Jūshirō paused as he descended into a massive coughing fit.
"Oh, my," came Shunsui's voice, as he scrambled out of the kitchen with an inhaler. "Easy, easy," he said, handing it to Jūshirō and putting an arm around his back patting him as he sucked in the inhaler twice, pausing to cough between inhaling. He tapered off finally, Shunsui holding him up as he leaned on him. "That was a bad one," Shunsui said, smiling and kissing him on the forehead.
Jūshirō heaved a couple deep breaths. "Oh, stress, you know it makes it worse," he said, swallowing. "I…I'm going to the bedroom, Shunsui…will you…"
"Go on," Shunsui said, smiling as he led him to the room, then returned.
"Is he okay?" Isshin asked, frowning.
"Well, as okay as he ever is," Shunsui said, smiling sadly. "He had lung cancer when he was in college, and afterward, his lungs have never recovered. He has what amounts to emphysema and reduced lung capacity. So, it is a day to day battle."
Shunsui looked up as the bell rang again. "That should be Kisuke," he said, going to the door.
Kisuke came in, looking around and recognized Isshin immediately. "Isshin," he said, smiling a bit.
Isshin looked at him. "I should have recognized the name, Kisuke Urahara," he said, smiling in return. "It has been a long time."
Kisuke bowed slightly. "I'm sorry it is under these circumstances," he said, sighing. "I cannot imagine what this is like. I…I never would have imagined that Ishida would do anything like this."
Isshin sighed. "Well, neither did I," he said, glancing at his son.
Gin spoke up next. "Well, we have a major problem," Gin said from where he was leaning against the doorway to the hall. "Ryūken Ishida is still on the loose. And we have no idea where he would have gone to. We can't have these two out in the open. He may retaliate on either or both of them. It just isn't safe. He knows where Ichigo went, so the Gilgas' is definitely not safe. The hospital isn't safe, for obvious reason, because reason would dictate that he has people who might call him. I would like to bring the police in…"
Ichigo tried to pull away from Nnoitra then, but Nnoitra was quicker than he expected, catching him as he tried to dart away from him. He snagged him easily around the waist and pulled him back, lifting him up off the floor easily, using his knee to brace him under his butt. "No…they'll take me away…I don't want to…stop…let…me go…" he said, struggling against Nnoitra's hands.
"You stop this right now," Nnoitra said sternly. "You are going to hurt yourself, so stop."
Ichigo immediately stopped fighting him. He stilled and held onto Nnoitra's hands as he put him back on his feet in front of him. Ichigo grabbed Nnoitra around the waist tried to find his way back into his position under his right arm. "M'sorry," he muttered almost unintelligibly.
Nnoitra sighed, running his hand over his head. "I told you that no one is going to take you away, remember, brat?" he said, grumbling slightly. "Jeeze, you have got to stop that. You're going to injure your ribs or do something worse, okay Chiquito?"
Isshin tilted his head to the side, watching the exchange curiously. Well, that was interesting, he thought to himself. Ichigo responded to him. He had this feeling in his gut that things were going to be difficult and interesting over the next few months. More than that, Isshin saw the look on Nnoitra's face, it wasn't really annoyance, or even irritation, it was…genuine. He cared that Ichigo might hurt himself. He didn't want him to take any chances of hurting himself, and even by holding him, he'd held him in a way that kept him from being in danger of injuring him further.
He felt Kisuke put his hand on his shoulder. He turned and looked at him. "Isshin, I have an idea, if you think it might work. That place down the beach, Tiburon Azul, I know the owner, she's a good-hearted person named Tier Harribel, but more than that, she has these separate large suites that she rents out on weekly basis to out of towners. There's a couple that are four bedrooms. What if we see if she'd be willing to let us use one of those until we can figure out what to do?"
Isshin nodded. "We're staying there already, me and the girls. How do we make sure that he can't find the boys?"
Gin looked between them. "Well, we're going to have to have people keep watches and guard the door, that's the only solution. Inside, of course. We can't let on that there's anything abnormal going on, or it might tip him off to where these two have gone. We can't stay here, I surely don't want to inconvenience Dr. Ukitake and his husband more than we have to," he said, sighing.
"We?" Isshin asked, looking at Gin.
"We, as in you, your girls, Ichigo, Uryū, Nnoitra, Kisuke, and me," Gin said. "Probably my assistant Kira, as well. We'll need to keep a close on Ichigo for medical reasons, and I'd rather there be a couple people to do watches and keep an eye on things. We also need to make sure that food runs are made and any other necessities."
"I can help," Chad said from where he sat beside Uryū. Uryū looked at him. "My grandfather told me to help when help is needed."
Nnoitra nodded. "Thanks, Chad," he said, smirking at him. "I'd be most grateful if you did. There's a couple of my friends that I know would be able to help that are trustworthy, Szayel, who got Dr. Urahara to come over, and his friend Luppi, and another friend of mine, Shūhei. I'd put my life on any of those guys."
"First," Shunsui said with a smile. "Let me contact Harribel. I am certain that she will agree to our plan, but it would be best to confirm. Excuse me, I'll call from the bedroom, as I also wish to check on Jūshirō."
Ichigo looked out and saw Uryū again. Uryū finally got up, going over to him slowly. He got there and smiled.
"I thought…I thought I'd lost you," he said, eyes tearing up.
"I wanted to get away, Uryū, you said he was wrong, but he said he was wrong too, and then he did it again…" he whispered hoarsely. "But…then he said…"
Uryū dropped to his knees then, looking up at him. "Ichigo, it was all lies. Everything he ever said to you, please, you have to realize that. He never told you the truth, and I wanted to tell you, I really did, but he was so cruel when I messed up, and I just…I didn't know what to do, and now look at what's happened and it's all my fault because I couldn't be strong…"
Nnoitra felt Ichigo moving, but this time he let him go as he dropped in front of his cousin. He leaned over and grabbed him around the neck and Uryū embraced him in return, starting to sob again, his body shaking. Ichigo didn't cry, though, he just held Uryū.
"You are strong, Uryū," he said quietly.
Uryū leaned back on his knees, the two of them sitting knee to knee now. "Ichigo you should hate me, everyone should hate me," he said, tears still falling.
"But…I love you, I don't hate you," Ichigo said, tilting his head to the side.
Uryū's face fell, and he completely fell apart, scrambling to his feet away from Ichigo. He finally managed to stumble toward the bathroom, where they heard him becoming violently ill. Chad stood up and went after him.
Ichigo turned and looked at Nnoitra. "What's wrong with Uryū?" he asked, looking toward the bathroom. "I don't know why he's sad."
Isshin felt his gut clench and he resisted the urge to break down himself. He pulled his hand over his face and swallowed. "He's sad because you were hurt, Ichigo," he said finally.
"Oh," Ichigo said, moving to sit back on his rump and leaning against Nnoitra's leg. He wrapped one of his arms loosely around his calf and put the other on his lap.
Nnoitra looked down, finding this a weird position. He swallowed and glanced toward Ichigo's father, wondering what the man thought of this odd behavior… He found Isshin watching him sadly.
"Chiquito, stand up," Nnoitra said gently, kneeling slightly to reach him. Ichigo reached up, taking his hands and standing up, looking up at Nnoitra with wide eyes. Nnoitra was struck by the complete trust he was putting in him for no reason. "Come on, your father is a good man, I can tell, so we're going to go with them. I'll stay with you, bien?" he said, smiling at him gently.
Ichigo nodded slowly. "Okay," he said, looking up as Uryū came back out with Chad leading him. He looked rather pale as he sat down at the table and put his head down. Chad sat down beside him, glancing back at Nnoitra.
Nnoitra was glad that Chad had run into this mess. Chad was a good man, he knew. Chad's grandfather had been the pastor that had helped his mother when she had left the fundamentalist cult she had been raised in. It has been with him, that she managed to get her condition under control and find a way to peace again. Chad was a big-hearted guy, and always had been. He didn't know a time that Chad hadn't stepped in to help another person who was suffering in some way. He was a literal shield when necessary, standing between someone and whatever storms they needed to weather.
Shunsui came back out and nodded to them. "Harribel will meet you at the building numbered 2B. It is next to the main building, but it is detached. She will set you up, and we'll go from there. I have a couple contacts that might make this easier for everyone."
With a little effort, they had all managed to migrate to the beachside hotel. Nnoitra knew that Ichigo was scared to death still. He couldn't imagine what was going through his head. He just hoped that this would work. They found themselves in a nice, almost house sized, apartment style suite. It was furnished, and there was a small living room in the middle with a combination kitchenette dining area on the other side. It was set up where there were two bedrooms with a bathroom between them on one end of the building, the living room and kitchen/dining in the middle, and another set of two bedrooms with a second bathroom between them, making the building longer than it was wide, but not by a lot. The bedrooms each had a full-sized bed in them. There was also a pull-out sofa. Harribel, a tall woman with tanned skin and blond hair, let them in. She didn't say much, but Nnoitra guessed Shunsui had told her about the situation. She left quickly to allow them to settle in.
Isshin thought he'd let everyone get settled before he got the girls. He figured he might let them stay in the room they'd rented for the week, though. He didn't want to overwhelm Ichigo too much at once. He put his bag down in one of the rooms and saw that Nnoitra nodded to him, going into the one next to the one he chose. Nnoitra sighed. He'd have his mother bring up his equipment. Luckily, the bedrooms were big enough to set up his CPAP. He smiled at Ichigo.
"Do you want to stay in here with me?" he asked. "Or you can have your own…"
Ichigo grabbed his arm again. "I don't want you to leave."
"Aw, Chiquito, don't worry, I promised you I wouldn't leave," he said smiling at him.
He went back out, finding Ichigo followed him, grabbing his hand as soon as he could reach it. He saw Gin had set his bag in the living room, and Nnoitra figured he was going to take the sofa bed. He saw that Uryū had taken to one of the other rooms, and Chad was standing to the side looking lost. Nnoitra moved over where he was. "What's up?" he asked.
"I am unsure where to go. The last room should be for Ichigo's sisters," he said, glancing over at it.
"Stay with Uryū," Ichigo said from behind Nnoitra. "He's sad. He needs someone to make him happy," he said, almost thoughtlessly, glancing around the room with eyes that Nnoitra easily saw carried interest.
"Well, there you go," Nnoitra said, smiling at him.
"I do not think that would be appropriate…" Chad began, but Nnoitra was already off and heading toward Uryū's chosen room. Uryū had sat down on the bed and looked up at Nnoitra came up.
"Hey, you think Chad could room with you? We're tight on space, and I don't think he wants to bunk with Ichigo's dad or Gin," he said, looking quite serious.
Uryū nodded. "I…I guess. I mean, I'm used to sharing beds with people, I stay at other people's places all the time," he said, nodding.
"Good," Nnoitra said coming back and smirking at Chad. "There. All done."
Chad narrowed his eyes at Nnoitra. "Nnoi. What are you doing?"
Nnoitra arched his visible eyebrow. "Nothing. You're good for him, he needs support right now. And if it turns into something else…well…you never know, huh?" he said, smirking at him.
Kisuke also stood to the side, wondering what he was going to do. "Isshin, will you bring the girls in tonight?" he asked, looking at him as he came back out.
"No, why don't you take the other room for now? I don't want to overwhelm Ichigo," he said, smiling at him.
Kisuke nodded. "Alright, we can rearrange if necessary, but this is a lot of people, but a larger space is more dangerous," he said, glancing around.
Nnoitra went over to where Gin was. "I'd like to have my parents bring me my things, and have a talk with them, if you think that's okay?" he asked, still trailing Ichigo behind him by the hand.
"I think so; I doubt that at this point Ryūken is trying to do anything yet. But tell them to be careful," he said nodding to him.
Nnoitra nodded, sighing and seeing the lovely sight of the large recliner. He wandered over toward it, dropping into it with a deep sigh. Ichigo stood for a moment still holding his hand as Nnoitra reclined the chair with a sigh. Ichigo tilted his head to the side then climbed up on top of him, sliding down in the side of the chair and putting his head on Nnoitra's chest. Nnoitra was somewhat surprised, but he was getting used to it. He put one hand on Ichigo's head and ran his hands over his hair. "Ah, Chiquito, you're not going to let me go anywhere anytime soon, eh?" he said.
Ichigo looked up at him. He shook his head. "You might leave."
Nnoitra sighed deeply. "No, brat. I'm not leaving. Me haces feliz, Chiquito, y quiero un tiempo contigo…" he said, pulling his arm around Ichigo and squeezing him.
Chad, overhearing him, glanced over. He smiled to himself. Nnoitra had a good heart, he thought to himself.