Trapped but with you
There was no question at all that this trapped being was more than a potential hand full. His was the strength of perhaps ten of the strongest humans on earth, he posed a clear threat to the doctor standing in the darkness with him. The raw power and speed of this boy was incredible and even the leader of the Saint Rose knew to be careful of it. That same power even the cat girl feared was enclosed in here. No matter how he baited the alien with weakness insinuations, standing here with him fully awake gave Duke a rush of adrenaline. It excited him to know the power he had penned in this room. Such a toy was a trophy of unmatched status and it thrilled him.
It was exactly because of that power he had set this trap, a trap that would bind the alien before he could act against him. No matter how Duke saw himself, and indeed he saw himself in the best of light, he still knew he would be unable to match this creature in a normal fight. Tricks and planning were the only way to gain the upper hand, but that was why he had always been a step ahead.
"You lost every shred of your sanity the moment I took that girl. Pitiful how you can forget yourself that way. I would expect better from one that brought Tokyo to its knees."
Wordlessly, the alien's eyes searched the darkness of the room, predatory rage sharp in his eyes, not moving until he could get an idea of the man's location.
"You would be glad to know that your cat girl is alive, for now." Duke continued, soundlessly shifting a bit to move deeper into the corner.
"If you hurt one hair on her head, I will never let you live." Kisshu's throat rumbled with the growl, "I will hunt you until you drop, chase you to the ends of the earth, and shred you like paper."
Duke could not help a laugh, highly amused by the words of the enraged alien. "You would try, but by that time, it would be too late for your dearest love." His lips curved into a cruel smile even if the other could not see it. "What good would it do you if I have already taken her from you?"
"I will never let you. You will beg for mercy before me as I shred you and you will return her to me if you value your life." His voice held all the cold chill of a hardened killer, rage turning to an odd calm that only warriors possess within them. "You already know that nothing matters to me besides her so I will stop at nothing to take her back." Slowly, the alien opened a void to draw out his twin blades, though only able to catch hold of one.
"I had a feeling you might say that, knowing your obsession." His fingers found the switch along the wall, knowing full well the alien had pinpointed his location.
A large and bright spotlight rared to life, blinding those that had been in the pure darkness. The alien could not help taking a few steps back, raising his one free hand to shield his eyes. The light glinted off his dragon blade, the only one he could find. The catlike pupils in his pure gold orbs shrank to tiny slits in an attempt to filter out some of the light. It hurt to look at after being so used to the darkness but he knew he had to adjust fast, sure there would be something coming at him any second.
His heart jolted painfully in his chest when he finally saw the picture before him. An attack he expected, but this had not entered his mind in all this time. The stains of red and purple bruises distorting all else. Her beautiful face was twisted into an expression of fear and pain as Royal Highness and Happy Child hovered beside the tortured beauties posed body. The chains holding her arms prone over her head made her seem so helpless, even more than being surrounded by her captors. Her chest rose and fell with her shallow but desperate breaths. Even at this distance he could see the trembles run through her small and now frail frame. The second of his own blades was in Royal Highness' hand, sharp of the blade held to her throat. The tip had already pricked into her tender neck, a trickle of blood running down to the hilt. The sight of her beautiful chocolate eyes looking into his with such defeat as blood stained her body made his head spin.
Kisshu's voice cracked as he uttered her name, "Ichigo..."
"I anticipated you might show up like this so I prepared a welcome for you." Duke chuckled as he tilted his head to look at both Ichigo and Kisshu.
"What have you done to her?" The alien's voice had turned husky with emotion, "Let her go right now!" His lips curled back to reveal his pearly fangs, knees pulling up in ready to spring on the leader.
Duke stared at him with unwavering confidence as Ichigo was brought to a sudden shriek, Royal Highness driving the blade deeper into her soft and tender skin, as ordered, blood spilling a stark contrast against her skin. If the alien made a move for the leader, Yuzen had already been told to threaten the girl. The girl was their ace up the sleeve, the trump card. If she was threatened, her lover would do anything he was told to. With her, all his strength was rendered useless. The cold blue eyes momentarily wandered to the great door where he knew Yura and Takenori would be holding the others hostage about now. Those puppets should be on strings any moment now.
No matter how fast or how strong these futuristic creatures were, they were powerless when their weaknesses were squeezed. They could not make a move and risk the lives of their most precious human lovers. They knew how easy it was to steal the lives of their human girls. Even if they were Mews, their lives were easily taken. The aliens time fighting them had shown them that if nothing else. The delicacy of life was not something that escaped their minds. To these aliens, it was their greatest fear and easy to exploit.
His golden cat eyes shot to the girl, both predatory and fearful, "Stop it!" He hissed, "Get away from her before I come for you first!"
"Wrong, Kisshu, if you make a move, she is the one that pays." Duke crooned calmly, as cold as any block of ice.
"None of you will be alive long enough to harm her again! Take out the alpha and the others scatter!" Kisshu's eyes blazed as he flew forward, blade and claws aimed at Duke.
They did not wait, they simply acted in the plan, the exploitation of Kisshu's weakness. Happy Child took the blade from Royal Highness, moving it to trace a new deep line of red down her shoulder as the older boy leaned in, fangs sinking deep into her neck just beside her main artery, excess blood spurted to dot Akizuki's face. Utamaro grinned wide as he watched with his usual twisted glee at what he deemed fun. Ichigo whimpered, knees curling up with the pain of the rough bite. She struggled against the chains but could not move to free herself.
The message hit home instantly, the boy stopping just short of the killing strike. It all happened in seconds but he could hear her, could smell the spilling blood, and hear the sound of those fangs sinking into her - It made him sickly dizzy. His hand was around Duke's throat, blade poised to sink into his neck. The Saint Rose leader stared back at him, unmoving, a wicked smirk not hidden by the mask he was wearing. The blade in Kisshu's hand trembled as his eyes were held like a butterfly on a pin to Ichigo. No matter how great his desire to strike out was, his terror for Ichigo was greater by far.
"Please, don't let us stop you. Be my guest and see what they do to her in the time it takes for you to pull that blade back out of my neck." Duke chuckled, madness in his voice showing a bit as he watched the twisted defeat enter his preys face, "But if you don't want to see that, I suggest you stand down... kneeling before me would be good, actually."
"Understood." The spark left the boys eyes as he opened a port and returned the lone blade back to its hiding place and then sank slowly to his knees. His head lowered as he bowed as he so often had to Deep Blue. It added insult to injury that they used his own blade to cut her, like they were making this partly his fault. So close, yet not close enough to win, too far to take the chance. One strike would allow him the kill, but she would die in turn. Winning the battle while having lost the war was not anything he wanted. He lost, once again. It was a bit hard to realize the similarity between the past and present. His own words; 'I lost' being as true now as they had been when he faced Deep Blue. He hated that she had to watch it all over again. Perhaps this was going to end similarly as well.
Duke let out a maniacal laugh as he stared down at the suddenly submissive alien. The contrast between Kisshu's gentle and attentive behavior with Ichigo and his wild, aggressive, and insane behavior in other regards was more than a little striking. It was enjoyable to watch him switch between what was nearly a full personality change. Ichigo was his heart and held all his gentleness in her hands. The boy that could never truly bring himself to harm her and even risked his life to save her whenever she was in danger, yet the same boy was ready to throw away all life on earth. Quite the fun toy.
"Now that we understand each other it is time for a talk." Duke took a few steps in one direction and then the next, "Ichigo will continue to live as long as you follow my rules. If you promise to obey my orders I will allow her to live." He hummed a bit as he spoke the next words, "If you do not obey, and make me your master, she will die."
"Don't listen to him!" Ichigo only managed a whisper of words but received a sharp jab for it.
Kisshu said nothing, staring at the ground motionless.
"Promise to forget all your old loyalties for her sake, obeying only my orders. Promise to kill or destroy anything I tell you to, and never lift you hand against the Saint Rose. Can you promise to join our side, Kisshu?" He crossed his arms behind his back as he waited for an answer.
After a moment of silence, Kisshu spoke with an even tone that surprise Ichigo, "I will promise to make you my master. I have no hesitation in pledging to you as long as you don't hurt Ichigo."
"Good! I knew you would understand." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a collar, tossing it to the floor in front of Kisshu, "Put that on. It will prevent you from using any more of your powers while you are here. I can't have you doing anything crazy."
"No!" Her voice was hoarse and strained from the increased pressure of the fangs on her neck but she continued anyway, "Don't do it, just run! Please!"
Like a mindless puppet, he reached down for the collar, fingers slowly curling around it to pick it up, and fastened it without pause around his own neck. He had ignored her pleading almost as if he never heard it at all - Her heart screamed and she longed to look away but could draw her eyes back. There was no expression visible with his carefulness to keep his head down but Ichigo was sure he must have felt nearly the same way about it as she had when Duke put a collar on her. It was demeaning and humiliating. It objectified you and made you feel less of a person. Tears stung her eyes as she watched him fasten the strap and heard the mechanical lock click, a light green glow coloring the skin under his chin where the receiver hung.
"Kisshu!" Her voice was desperate but hardly had the power to carry across the room it was so quiet.
His eyes finally lifted to meet with hers, his expression stoic, "Don't worry, Koneko-chan."
The little group, or what was left of them, stayed still as statues, knees and palm pressed against the cold floor. No one spoke, only Zaukro kept her head up, daring to star back at the two captors before them. Her dark eyes betrayed her intense desire to shred both Sweet Juliet and Blue Bayou to pieces, but she made no move at all to act on it. Taruto kept his head down, fingers curled into fists as he stayed on the floor. He could not bear to see the blonde monkey that way, dangled between death and life. It killed him inside to know he could only save her as long as he did nothing, obeying orders like a dog. But what could he really do? He could never risk getting her killed, not for any reason, he just could not take the chance. It was true, he might be fast enough to get to her, but how could he be sure he would succeed? If he failed... he just could not do it, not with the price of failure so high.
Yura slowly walked toward the young alien, stopping just short of being in reach, "Put this on." Her fingers let a tan collar with a computer chip like box at its front fall to the floor in front of him. "Slowly, if you please?"
His burnt yellow eyes lifted to look up from his subservient position into her cold orbs and slight smile, the face of a heartless she-devil if he ever saw one, "What is it?" Though he posed the question his hand still slowly slid over the cold surface toward it, fingers closing around it to draw it back.
"It's something to keep you from using your inhuman aspects. All that power you aliens have is problematic, you know?"
It did make sense that they would try to hinder or subdue him. His speed was likely the first thing they were worried about on top of his ability to port. Prisoners that could vanish at will were a problem. How could they know how to stop his powers though? They could hardly know their weaknesses, could they? No alien would ever give up such secrets, he could not see that. They could never know how to stop their powers so this had to be nothing better than a guess. He would wager the collar did not even work. He would go along with this, of course, so they would let their guard down.
Slowly, as instructed, he lifted the collar up around his neck, taking in a bit of its construction as he did. The inside was computerized as well, he could see chips and wires all along the layers. Whatever it was, it was well made. Carefully, being sure not to move fast and spook the girl, his lithe fingers slipped the strap through the slot and tightened it. The sound of a click was instantly followed by a sharp electric shock that ran through his whole body. Without intending to, he let out a short pained gasp, not having expected the numbing jolt. He had not anticipated it hurting at all, and definitely not that much. It very nearly made him dizzy as little shocks continued to run up and down his spine. His fingers moved reflexively to rub his neck under the collar in an attempt to ease it.
"Hurts, does it? He thought it might." She stepped past him, clearly not viewing him as a threat any longer, "The rest of you have some bracelets to put on. What girl doesn't need jewelry?"
Once they were all secured with shackles, Blue Bayou finally drifted out of the floor and walked to Sweet Juliet's side. Neither of his hostages had begun to stir but they were swiftly chained as well. It seemed a bit more insulting to have been forced to put on their own chains but after the brute of a Crusader had let go of the hostages he soon hung more on them, chains hanging from their necks, wrists, and ankles made this seem a bit more real to the lingering desires left in them that they could still get away. It was a bit harder to hope for the best when moving had become its own challenge.
Clamping a leash onto Taruto's collar the girl gave his neck a jerk in an indication to come with her. He felt a bit like a dog suddenly and not caring at all for the idea. His cat like eyes moved to the still sleeping Mew on the floor. She was so near, but he was being lead away from her. Now might be his best chance, with them seeming to feel so safe. He would make his move to put the girl down first, then grab Pudding before the big guy could get to her. He just needed his weapon, which would be easy enough, all he had to do was summon it from the voids. They would never see it coming.
Swiftly, he moved to open a port to take out his- A surprised shriek left his lips as an intense, mind numbing, lightning like pain shot through his whole body. The second he tried to use his ability, the pain had come, but how? His hands went to cradle his head as the pain settled there with a vengeance. He sank to his knees without even realizing it, but he would not have cared even if he realized his weakness was showing. It hurt too much for him to care just now.
"Maybe I better take him." Blue Bayou glanced at him with a glare.
Sweet Juliet waved her hand dismissively at him, "No, I get the easier job. He'll be a kitten now." She jerked the leash again, nearly dragging him on his knees, drawing a whine from him.
He did not want to move right now, bile was rising in his throat just from being moved. If she was not careful he would get sick all over her. He gripped the leash with one hand, leaning heavily on it. She would pull it again, he knew, and he hoped to control how hard. A bit more gently, she tugged on him to get him on his feet. His eyes were only open slightly as she lead him away to some unknown location. Ever so slowly the pain was ebbing away but he was none too eager to find it again, already pacified from this moment in time. This pain was worse than any beating he had taken, on a much deeper level. It attacked every nerve in his body, setting each and ever one on fire, settling in his head from the massive overload of pain signals. He wanted to fight but he did not have the strength left to do anything but blindly follow her, feet stumbling over themselves as he did. His eyes were even a bit glazed, he could tell by the blur in his vision. Even the day fighting against Pai and Deep Blue had not hurt this way. It felt a little like poison.
The young alien let her tug him into a room as she slid the door open. She nudged him into a chair, swiftly fastening his chains to the floor. The clearer his mind grew, the more he realized things were taking a swift turn for the worse. He had a bad feeling about this room and he sincerely hoped to be proven wrong. His mind was already moving back to the fallen Ryuu he had seen a bit earlier and he had a hunch this was the room they beat him in. Even in a daze he could smell the blood. The sent snapped him back to reality a bit and he struggled against the bindings, snarling at her through clenched teeth.
"Relax while you still can, Duke will be here soon." She said the words so coldly it chilled him, the clear threat so obvious.
A scowled met her as he tried to think over his situation, already wondering over Pudding's condition. He was not the type to sit here and wait for some unknown psycho to come for him. He was a warrior, young or not. He could take the pain now that he was expecting it. Perhaps it had only picked up on the fact that he was reaching for a weapon. Maybe his emotion in that moment gave him away. If he stayed perfectly calm, he might be able to pull it off this time. Maybe it was her that triggered the collar the way she threatened to send the blonde to the sharks. If she did not see it coming this time, it might work. He had to give it a try, at least. He evened out his breathing as he stared at her, purposefully relaxing his body as he carefully moved to open a port.
His head jolted back, neck and back arched as a strained scream was forced from him. The pain was more intense, he was sure of it. The pulses of pain ripping at his every nerve lasted longer this time. Even the chains around his wrists and ankles felt like they intensified the burning, like conductors for lightning. He whimpered as the last of the pulses finally stopped to again settle in his head like an explosion. Slight trembles shook his body and a lone tear slid from the corner of his eye as the horrible pain in his head throbbed. It really did feel like poison. With this new round of pain, he had a good idea what the collar used but how could they have gotten information like this? It was not possible for them to know about things like this!
She took a few steps closer, leaning down to look him in the face, "You are as bad as Ichigo, always fighting even though you don't have a chance. You should just give up and be obedient."
They had taken her back to a different room than she had been to before. It was brighter, white walls rather than stone, perhaps a new addition or something in the center of the house. She had not been chained down this time, maybe because they knew she did not have it in her to run away. The spirit was willing to run and fight but the body was oh so weak. Had she not felt so miserable she might have noticed the bed in this room was softer and more comfortable than the one she had been chained to before - It was larger too, with what she guessed to be several closets along the walls. She could not remember when they last gave her water or food. The best she had was whatever Duke pumped into her with those tubes. She still felt like a walking pincushion from all the punctures a bite marks. None of that matter to her now though, she just wanted to know what they were doing to Kisshu and the others.
Her head rolled over the white pillow as she took in a shaky breath, mind conjuring any number of horrors that could be happening to them. They took her away but kept Kisshu in that room with Duke. That was more than enough to driver her wild with worry. Being alone with Duke was the last thing she would wish on anyone, most of all him. She wanted to be there, to keep fighting. She wanted to shred that collar he had been forced to wear. Guilt rolled over her in waves as she pondered all the terrible possibilities that could be happening while she stayed here safely on the plush bed. What was happening outside this room? She simply had to know.
When the two shut the door she had been sure they did not lock it, she had not heard a bolt slide home. There was a chance they did not expect her to be able to do anything, but surely she could make it. This could be her only chance to find the others. No matter what, she had to try! She shifted into her Mew form in hopes that it might help her get moving better.
Gingerly, she pushed herself into a sitting position, every muscle in her body screamed with the act. Her head began to swim wildly but she swung her legs off the side of the bed anyway, pushing past it to the best of her ability. Her arms were already shaking and her legs felt like jello as she forced them to support her in a standing position. The blood drained from her face, leaving it feeling cold and tingly. She had never felt like this before, not even after all the fighting with enemies in the past, she had never felt this drained. Her foot slid carefully over the floor as she took one step, and then another, staggering toward the door. Her body pitched forward as a wave of nausea hit her, nearly driving her to the floor. It was only her stubbornness that made her reach out to catch the dresser, leaning over the top of it in order to stay upright.
She went stiff and straight, adrenaline hitting her as she heard the doorknob twist in someone's hand. Her eyes widened as she desperately wished she had gotten to her feet earlier. Maybe she could have made it if she had pulled herself together sooner. The masked face of Duke was the first thing she saw as the door swung open. Her pink eyes stared wide at him, dreading what he had come to do to her this time. Surprisingly, he did not move to enter, rather stepping to the side as a different person entered.
Her heart began to beat again as she saw that familiar silky hair and golden eyes staring back at her. He said nothing as he came in, hands at his side meekly. Neither made a move as Duke reached for the door again and slid it closed wordlessly, this time sliding the deadbolt home from his side of the door.
"Kisshu!" Her legs took a few shaky steps toward him, sight instantly blurring as tears welled up in her eyes, heart aching at the sight of him. "I'm sorry!" She could not even see him more than a blurred mess through the unshed tears in her pink eyes.
He moved forward, arms moving around her swiftly, pulling her tight against him, "It's alright, I'm here now, Ichigo. Don't cry, alright?" His fingers found her hair and cupped the back of her head before brushing her cat ear with one finger.
Her weak frame collapsed against him, unable to hold herself up any longer no matter how she wanted to pretend she could. Perhaps he would not notice, putting it to her tears and gratefulness to see him. She locked her knees so at least she could partly keep them from collapsing. As long as he was standing here to hold her, she could stay up. Her shoulders shook with a restrained cry, trying so hard not to fall totally apart in the arms of the person she had been longing to see but wishing she would not. Her head dropped against him, not even able to stay up if not for his hand there. Desperately, she did not want him to see how hard it was not to crumple at his feet even with his arms there to support her. She could feel her muscles trembling and fervently hoped he could not feel it too.
"I'm sorry!" The tears broke free and began to stream down her face, "It's all my fault! I'm sorry I brought you into this! I did not want to have you involved. I- I..." Her voice cracked and wavered as she spoke, all the emotions for the past few days spilling out in shuddering sobs.
"Hush, I came here by my own choice. Did you think anything could keep me away?" Tilting his upper body to slip a hand gently under her knees, he scooped up the nearly limp girl and carried her to the bed. "I'm the one that is sorry for not getting to you sooner than I did."
Ichigo shook her head weakly, face rubbing against his chest, "No, no, you should never have come here at all. If I had sent you away the first day Royal Highness came, you would not be involved. I knew something bad would happen if you stayed but I kept you here anyway." Her fingers wound desperately into his shirt, comforted by his arms but crushed by the guilt from their presence. "If I was only stronger I could have avoided all this. Now he's going to hurt you too and make you do things." Her words faded into unintelligible mutterings.
He slowly sat on the edge of the bed, eased her backside off his lap and eased her head back onto the pillow. The alien slid in at her side, head resting at her shoulder, her legs still tangled over the top of his but he did not move them off. The white hospital like covers of the bed were dotted with her blood. She was so weak, he could see that plainly enough. He could feel it, how close she was to death. Her skin was cool and her eyes, even though they were hidden by the tears, were cloudy and dull. Even her tail that normally had a slight absent minded twitch at the tip was still. He would have been in a rage if not for terror at this sight overwhelming all his other senses. He would have stormed the doors to strangle the life out of anyone he found if not for the fact that being beside her was more important.
"Everything is my fault." Fresh tears fell from the corners of her eyes, "If he didn't have me you would never have had to say those things, those promises." Her eyes widened and her chilled finger found his face. "But, Kisshu, I'm begging you to go! The minute they let you out of here, you need to run. Don't stay here for me, don't obey him to save me! I want you to forget about me and run!"
Using his elbow, he edged himself farther up until he was hovering over her. "Like I would ever think that, Konecko-chan! I don't want to hear any more of that talk." His head dropped down, lips slipping over hers to ensure her silence.
She whined into his mouth, tears still flowing past her closed lids.
After a minute he finally pulled back, lips making a slight smack as they left hers. He inhaled slowly, tongue sliding over his lower lip. Even her lips were cold. The weakness, the far too light breathing, hearing it made his chest ache. He did not want to let himself truly dwell on how bad she really was. There was nothing he knew to do to fix her. Maybe if he could relax her, get her warm, and make her feel safe, she would improve. He just did not know what to do and it terrified him that he could think of nothing. He only knew to make her smile and try to make her feel safe.
"Don't you remember, Koneko-chan?" He closed his eyes, pressing his face into her soft pink hair and neck. "I was ready to give up my world and the mew aqua just to be with you. I have always been willing to do anything for you. Even when I wanted to I could never manage to leave you. What makes you think I will change now?" He pressed in close to her to warm her with his body. "Nothing will ever make me leave you. Wherever you are is my home. I waited all this time to be with you and I won't give you up now. None of this is your fault, it never was."
"Yes, it is my fault." Her breath came out in a shudder, "I could not stop him. I just let it all happen."
"I know that is not true. You fought him every way you could, I already know, you're too stubborn to obey anyone." He lifted his head to look her in the eye, "We will get through this together, you and I."
He slid his arm around her waist, positioning his upper body partly over hers. He let his warm breath whisper over her face before he pressed his lips to hers supple ones again. They were trembling but opened to return his kiss. Despite his worry over her, being here with her at last stirred his usual longing for her. He knew he should never entertain such a thought, and he would do nothing to act on it, but it was there all the same. His little goddess would never understand what she did to him. Thinking these thoughts were easier than thinking about her condition or about how she might be slipping away through his fingers. He did not want to think of that now that he was finally with her again after what had seemed like years.
Ichigo's cold fingers slid up his front, bunching his shirt as they went. As her fingers ran over him, he realized how tense he still was from all the built up stress. Her tiny fingers touching him drew his mind to how stiffly he held her and he made an effort to relax his body for her. Her finger tips traveled over the offending collar and came to rest on his face like a cool breezes brushing his face in winter. Her weak, exhausted eyes stared up into his golden ones. Her other hand came to rest and lightly caress his side - The coldness of her hand on his exposed skin very nearly made him shiver. Had his worry not been foremost in his thoughts, he would have enjoyed this more. There was love in her eyes, adoration, and even relief, but there was something else there that frightened him - Surrender and lack of hope. It was all he could do to keep from shivering as the realization washed over him. She had given up, he could tell. Well, he would not let her! He finally found her and he was not going to let her slip away from him.
"I love you, Ichigo! More than anything else in the world, either world." He leaned in with those words, planting gentle kisses along her jawline and working his way to her lips. He kissed her carefully and gently again and again. Her eyes finally drifted closed, one hand slipping to cup the back of his neck to pull him closer. In the glory of her kiss he could nearly forget what he did not want to think of, her lips finally warming from the attention of his. He slowly caressed her cheek, rubbing the backs of his fingers over her smooth skin in affection. He would make her want to stay. Gently, he slipped his warm tongue past her lips, sliding it over her tongue. She was slow to respond at first but she greeted his gesture with tender stroking of her own, slipping hers slightly into his mouth as well. After a long moment, he pulled out of the kiss to trace her jaw and neck with his lips, reveling in her touch as her hands slid over his back. In this moment, he could almost believe they were back in her room.
The distinctive sound of the door swishing open sounded behind him and he instantly jolted into the air readying to bring out his blade instinctively. His narrowed eyes widened as he stopped himself, remembering how that had gone after Ichigo had been removed from the room. The vivid memory was close enough in the past that it was still more than fresh, even still holding over a remaining ache he had ignored once he saw her. With her safely out of the vial man's sight he had tried to fight him. . . but this collar. The thought of it was enough to stir a bit of his previous rage, making his claws itch to shred the first bit of flesh that came in the door, but he knew he dared not risk it with her so close. Hovering was about all he could do anymore without the inhibitor kicking in. With her here, he could not make a move because he could not be sure he could protect her.
Ichigo's eyes drifted to the opening door, but she gave little else as a reaction, not even responding as Duke entered carrying several folded blankets and towels and setting them unceremoniously on a table, his eyes no longer hidden behind the mask he had kept on a while before. This might have been the first time Kisshu had seen the man's face, but he knew instantly who he was, even without it. The older man cracked a smile at the two, slipping a bottle out of his pocket and tossing it at Kisshu. His reflexes were still good no matter what the collar did, so it slapped easily into his hands - His golden eyes grazed over it but he did not understand a word on it, which did not comfort him.
"Give that to her." Duke simpered, seeming as if the events of the day had boosted his ego to the point of placating him. "It will help her a good deal"
"Why should I believe you? You could have put anything in this!" Kisshu snarled, but cast a glance back at the girl on the bed.
Duke voiced what Kisshu was already thinking, almost as if he read his mind, "Do you have a choice?" They both knew the answer to that so he simply continued, "I brought you some blankets and even some towels since you will be staying here for a while, our agreed time, that is." His blue eyes traveled between the two youths, "I'm being generous, so do not forget my terms."
"I won't." Kisshu replied, face drawn but relatively emotionless as was his voice. "Just do not forget your side either!"
Duke chuckled dryly, "Of course! I always keep my promises, as long as my rules are followed." He turned to exit the room, his dark hair swaying down his back, "I brought the towels since you'll want to wash that blood off her. The door to the right is the bathroom."
Nothing more was said between the two, there was no need. There had been more than enough talk before he had been allowed to come to Ichigo. He had been forced to promise the moon to the tyrant before he was allowed to come to her. Grudgingly, he knew well enough that he would have no choice but to obey as long as his lover was a captive. The fact was, it did not matter what he had to do - As long as it was for Ichigo, he just could not bring himself to care. He needed her, needed her safe, and could never live himself without her. He would have agreed to even more than what he had if it meant he could be with her. As long as she was safe, he would kill every human on this planet, he had almost done that once before, so why would it matter now? His hate for that man was not enough to even touch his love for her.
Slowly, he turned back to face her and look into her tired but confused eyes. He could not tell her about the promises he had made, not yet. She would hardly approve of them but he just did not care. Besides, he had a limited time he could be with her here so he did not wish to waist it arguing. They were both finished unless he did as he was told, and now that he had her back, he would never let her go, not for anything. He had no choice but to be their slave, at least for now. Duke was right though, he did need to get Ichigo cleaned up. He might have a better idea about her injuries if he cleaned away some of that blood. His feet hit the floor and he slowly moved to hover over her, a forced smile plastered over his face before he leaned in to kiss her softly. He could see the second he pulled away that she was going to spring questions on him so he swallowed her in his kisses until he felt sure he had won.
Scooping her up into his arms, he shifted her to let her cuddle close against his chest. He could never deny that it felt so very good to hold her against him no matter what else might be going on in the world. Anything was worth this closeness, the only thing that made his world feel right. His obsession with her had never faded, that was one thing Duke had gotten right about him. The way her head fit snugly under his chin, the way her bodies curves fit his, she was made for him. He loved her a bit too much and he knew that, but he did not care. He would destroy everything on this earth for her if ordered to. Duke explained a lot to him, and he was inclined to listen. What were a few weak humans compared to Ichigo's life anyway? If Duke wanted to rule the world, and wanted him to help him, why should he fight it? He had already served one master set on the same thing, and this time he had a real reason to follow a new one - Ichigo, always Ichigo.
AN: I know, I have not been updating like I should. It's no excuse but my life has been very meh lately and it just has been killing off my drive and inspiration. If this chapter is horrible, that's why. Very sorry! I hope it doesn't suck too badly!
I'll be perfectly honest, the only reason you all got this update was because of those sweet notes. You guys encourage me and gave me enough pokes to keep moving with this. I have not been answering them lately, but I have read them, I really have! The update is fully owed to those! Thank you for the kind word everyone that reads this!