Chapter 15: One against an army

Uryu was sitting hunched over at his desk in class, finishing up his assignment in silence, under the watchful gaze of his homeroom teacher, Ochi-sensei, who patrolled through the rows of students. Sometimes, a snicker disrupted the silence, but even though it certainly got the teacher's attention, Uryu paid it no heed. He was trying to keep his mind on the task at hand, even if his mind was weighed down by so many things.

November was almost through. A little over a week had passed since Uryu had unwillingly listened in on that conversation between Ichigo and Orihime in his hideout, and it had been tormenting him ever since. He just went to school on automatic pilot, feeling like a zombie. Feeling like the world had turned against him, as he was utterly alone. He just tried to uphold his ice-cold demeanor to keep everyone at a distance, while inside, he was falling apart a little more each passing day.

Another giggle pierced the heavy hush in the room, and the sound of Ochi-sensei's ruler slapping onto a desk quickly followed with a warning.

Uryu sighed. He wasn't feeling so good, the hunger that ravaged his body was really getting to him. With the little cash he'd been offered for his sewing machine, he was forced to eat close to nothing, and that was really playing parts on him. His chestnuts had all been consumed, and he knew he would soon have to resort to shifting through garbage bins just to survive. That mere thought tormented him so much, as he feared it would destroy what was left of his self-esteem, so he kept praying for a way out of all of this.

Uryu had been losing weight for a while now, having lived for 3 months on the streets. His body had started to cannibalize itself. His lean muscles were withering away to sustain himself, and with it came a physical weakness that he had never experienced nor imagined in his life. There was nothing he could do but try to survive… The lack of sustenance brought other ailments in its wake, like being cold and sleepy all the time. He was so exhausted he sometimes didn't get how he managed to stay upright.

"Time's up, everyone," the teacher announced. "Hand in your papers."

Uryu sighed again. He hadn't been able to complete the assignment, nor work as neatly as he used to, but it was difficult with his ruined glasses. Add the mind fog caused by his starving body and you got a winning combo.

When Ochi-sensei took his papers out of his hands and gave them a quick scan, she gave him a stern look that made Uryu swallow at the unspoken tension that suddenly filled the air.

"Ishida, I'm not used to you not being able to finish tasks in class. I guess the advice I gave you the other day didn't sink in."

'There we go again.' It was time for yet another couldn't do anything right anymore, could he?

"But, Ochi-sensei, I-"

"No buts, Ishida. I've already told you last time there are no excuses for this. I've tried to look away, but it's gotten past a point where it is simply impossible to ignore the way you act and look."

The Quincy swallowed again, feeling the eyes of the entire class on him in the heavy silence. "Sensei, could we please discuss this in private?" he tried to ask without hesitation, but wasn't certain he had pulled it off.

"I don't see a reason why. You're my student and I'm simply giving you some highly needed advise. And this time, I want you to listen carefully."

Uryu sighed and tried to brace himself for being publicly ridiculed by his homeroom teacher. Again. "Yes, Ochi-sensei."

"For starters, I absolutely need you to have your glasses fixed. It's just shameful of someone who aims to become the student council president to walk around like this. As if the state of your uniform isn't bad enough on its own."

Snickers echoed from all around him, and Uryu felt his confidence crack a little more. At the sound of someone whispering 'hillbilly', he lowered his gaze in defeat. It didn't matter anyway. He was trying so hard, but nobody noticed and nobody cared. Nor did he aspire to become the student council president any longer. His only concern right now was to survive, and find a job, he didn't have time for extracurricular activities. And certainly not the energy.

"I-I'm sorry, but I don't have the finances to-"

She scoffed, a hint of superiority in her tone. "Are you saying the head surgeon of Karakura hospital isn't earning enough to have your glasses fixed?"

"N-no, but-"

"So your father isn't wealthy enough? Such a blatant lie. As if we don't know- "

Uryu felt a pang of anger shoot through him at the mere mention of Ryuuken and cut her off without thinking. "No, sensei," he snapped, "but that doesn't mean he'll pay for my glasses and I am not wealthy."

"Ishida!" She roared, instantly silencing every student in the room. "I warn you to not talk back to me like that!"

Their angry eyes met, and although Uryu knew he shouldn't talk back to a teacher, he was so very frustrated with his homeroom teacher's behavior and felt he needed to stand up for himself. "With all due respect, Ochi-sensei, but I won't stand for you making a fool of me in front of the entire class again. I have asked you politely if we could discuss this elsewhere, but-"

She cut him off again. "Be Quiet! You'll listen to me now, boy!" The timbre of her voice gave away how furious she was. "What has gotten into you? You look like a tramp, you get into fights in this very class, you are telling lies and are unable to complete your assignments. The reason I want everybody to hear this is that maybe it'll have more impact on you that way."

Uryu clenched his hands. The everlasting chastising from everybody was eating at him and it crushed the little motivation he had left. Breathing through his nose to release some steam, he tried to appeal to his homeroom teacher's empathy one last time: "I'm doing my very best in an impossible situation. The least you could do is-"

Ochi-sensei didn't even let him finish and just cut him off again: "No excuses, I told you! I can already tell your grades will go down. If I wouldn't know any better I'd say you're on drugs."

Uryu couldn't take it anymore, his anger overriding everything. Furious, he jolted upright so they were now face to face. "I AM NOT DOING DRUGS!"

Whispers, astonished sounds and snickers echoed around him. Uryu had never shouted to a teacher before and was certain the gossip mill would turn overtime from now on.

"That's it! How dare you, Ishida!" Ochi-sensei yelled and dumped the stack of papers on his desk so she could make fists. Her face turning red from fury. "You have detention every day for the rest of the week!"

The Quincy had already predicted that was going to happen and just flatly stated, "Fine!" while pushing his glasses up. He stayed after school anyway, having no table to finish his homework under the bridge.

"Report back to me at the teachers' lounge after your final class. In the meantime, I'll try to come up with an interesting assignment to calm you down. And if that doesn't work, I'll phone your father myself to sort all of this out. Maybe a firm hand is what you need to get you back on track."

Uryu clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, hard. He was but a hair's breadth away from howling at her, and it took every shred of his willpower not to respond. With a disapproving look, Ochi-sensei gestured for him to sit back down and he did. While she announced it was time for lunch, Uryu's eyes darted around the room, ready to shoot everyone and everything in sight.

His gaze found Ichigo and Sado and the baffled look they gave him, topped with a dash of disapproval, was enough to almost make him stomp over there and bawl them out. Last of all he needed their judgment on top of everything else. Of course, that behavior would only get him into even more trouble right now. So as he tried to focus on his breathing to calm down his pounding heart, he poured all of his venom into an ice-cold glare instead. Oh, if looks could kill… Sado and Ichigo just took his pseudo blow, then looked at each other in bewilderment, before Ichigo shrugged and took out his bento, turning his back towards him. Sado followed his example.

Surrounded by the amused gazes of onlookers, he locked eyes with Orihime. The girl looked concerned, but he knew she couldn't help him. Feeling sadness gain over his anger as he watched her, he just averted his eyes. Tatsuki and her friends invited Orihime to join them at their table anyway.

And that left Uryu sitting alone at his desk, sighing heavily. Of course, nobody noticed that he didn't even bring a lunch, and hadn't done so for months. Ignoring him or ridiculing him were his peers only available strategies at the moment.

The Quincy was so tired, and hungry. He reached for a bottle of water to help with his dropping blood pressure. As he was eagerly downing the liquid, someone whispered 'gay freak' and he almost chocked. Looking around, he noticed various groups of boys looking at him, disdain clearly shining in their eyes.

Uryu growled. The atmosphere in the classroom was too much for him right now and he couldn't deal with it anymore. He needed to calm down, before his blood pressure dropped even more and decided to go splash some cold water into his face in the restroom.

Hopefully that would do the trick…

Uryu tapped his pencil onto his papers, absentmindedly. School was over for that Friday afternoon, and he'd been sitting in an empty classroom for a while now, following up on his final day of detention. Ochi-sensei had him write an essay on the values of respect and discipline which was of course due today. He was almost done, but had difficulties concentrating. Ochi-sensei would come in any minute now to gather his paper, and although he'd done the best he could, he doubted it would be good enough for her liking.

Suddenly, his stomach roiled heavily, cutting through his thoughts, and he grunted as he clenched his arms around his agonized belly, doubling over for a second. He was so hungry, but there wasn't anything he could do about that.

Skipping lunch every day had been really hard on him lately, but he didn't have any choice. He'd been surviving hand-to-mouth for a while now and knew he couldn't go on like this. Something had to change or he was going to starve, and that only left him with heart wrenching options like stealing, begging, or going through garbage bins. He'd tried to postpone any of those options for as long as he could, dreading he would lose the last of his Quincy pride over them.

It wasn't exactly helpful that as the days had grown colder, his peers mostly stayed inside the classroom during lunch, making his head spin with the mere smell of their food. Every day, he tried to calm down his demanding stomach that let itself known in the hope to get some nutrition, but… He didn't dare to ask anybody for a scrap of food, knowing fully well what kind of reactions that would provoke among his peers. He couldn't approach Orihime and it was clear everybody else hated him.

Even Ichigo.

Especially Ichigo…

Every time their eyes met, Ichigo promptly sniped him down, and Uryu gave him an equally devastating look in return.

He tried to get over that stupid Substitute, really he tried. Ichigo had hurt him so deeply already, he had to let him go to protect himself, but… if he did, that felt like giving up on his last sparkle of hope to reclaim his former life. That would mean he'd give up on everything he once held dear. Protecting Karakura town, his Quincy powers and… the one he loved. And how hard he tried to do just that, it was just too much for him.

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted when his homeroom teacher stepped into the classroom.

"Time's up, Ishida. Are you finished?"

"Yes, Ochi-sensei." Well, he supposed he was, quickly ending the sentence he'd been pondering on. He handed her the papers and felt her upraising him.

"I hope you've learned your lesson this time, Ishida. And I hope you'll do something about the way you look.

"A-about that, Ochi-sensei," Uryu answered hesitantly, finding that kind of criticism hard to take. "My father and I aren't on speaking terms right now and-"

The teacher didn't even let him finish and flatly cut him off. "Look, Ishida. Everybody has things on their mind, but we cannot make an exception solely for you."

"But, Ochi-sensei, if you would just listen to me-"

She sighed in exasperation and gave him a cold look. "Don't make me repeat myself, Ishida. If I'm not getting through to you, I'll have to contact your father myself, and for a person with such a busy schedule, I'll take it he won't be happy to come down here because his son can't behave himself at school."

Uryu clenched his fists so hard his nails cut into his skin as he tried to keep his frustration at bay. This was hopeless. Utterly hopeless. Nobody wanted to listen to him. Nobody let him explain anything. He was so through with all of this. What was the point in even coming to school, if not for filling his water bottles? He wouldn't be able to pay the tuition fees for his senior year either way. If he didn't find a job soon, he was doomed anyway.

"That's all, Ishida. You can go home now."

"Yes, Ochi-sensei."

He just wanted to get away. It didn't matter anymore. He wasn't going to be able to do anything to change the wrinkles in his uniform, or the state of his glasses. And if it really got down to her calling Ryuuken, he doubted his ex-father would bother to come to his school. And in the slight chance that he was susceptible to hear his teacher out, Uryu would just quit school for a while. Anything was better than having to face his father's mind-blowing incomprehensible judgement another time. Even being dispelled.

The clicking of heels gave away the fact that his homeroom teacher hurried out of the room herself. It was Friday after all, and she had probably other things to do than boss him around.

Uryu sighed as his eyes glided over the windows next to him. The sun was already going down and it was a long way back to the bridge, and he didn't like to wander the streets after dark. Still haunted by nightmares every night, recently he frequently had dreams involving Kazuma, and he was still afraid to run into him again. Especially when feeling physically weak like this…

Uryu was busy gathering his belongings when he suddenly heard a muffled snicker. He looked up, but saw no one.

"Hello?" he asked, uncertain, but was met with only silence.

He shrugged it off, thinking his mind played tricks on him and went to fill his water bottles at the nearest sink before making his way to the shoe lockers on the ground floor. He sighed again before opening the small door and braced himself for yet another homophobic or threatening message, as had become a daily routine ever since his last fight with Keigo and Shingo. Surprise and a tad of relief flooded though him when there was no note to be found for once.

A small smile curved his lips. Maybe the bullies had finally resigned from tormenting him this way. With a satisfied sigh, he removed his uwabaki school shoes and put his normal footwear on the ground. But, when he squeezed one foot into its designated shoe, a sharp pain shot upwards from his sole. Uryu cried out, and fell back on his ass from the sheer agony. Quickly, he tore the shoe back off, groaning at the sharp pain that ignited. Red drops of blood were seeping through his sock, and his eyes were immediately drawn to the pieces of glass sticking out of his flesh.

Glass… in his shoes...

The little happiness he'd felt for not finding a degrading note for once was crushed by what those damn bullies had come up with this time. Their sly maneuvers were getting worse, it wasn't just shoving him around and name-calling anymore. Uryu couldn't comprehend what he had done to deserve such hatred. All because he had fallen for that cold-hearted jerk of a Shinigami Substitute. It stung. And it made him feel completely alone again.

Uryu braced himself before he managed to pry one of the larger parts out of his bleeding flesh with trembling hands and clenched teeth. His breathing picked up and he whimpered at the pain it caused. After a few seconds of reprieve, he pulled out another piece, gasping as more blood gushed out of the cut. The sight and smell of his own blood made him feel lightheaded and stirred up all the wrong memories again, but he bravely swallowed them down.

Suddenly, he heard snickers coming from behind him and looked up in bewilderment, but before he could grasp what was going on, he was roughly grabbed by his limbs and hauled from the floor by 4 figures dressed in school uniforms. Their faces were covered with nylon stockings and masks.

Uryu was completely taken aback and let out a startled shout. "Let me go!" He kept yelling at them in protest and trashed about to try and get free, but it proved completely futile. The boys laughed at him and mocked him and he was dragged into the nearest boy's restroom where he was harshly dumped onto the floor.

Groaning from the impact, Uryu's eyes darted around the room and -judging from their school uniforms- he found himself encircled by at least 10 boys. They were all hiding their faces in the same manner, adding to the intimidation. One of them locked the door after which laughter erupted from all around him. The Quincy tried to calm down to keep the anxiety and panic, that had started to spread when they had restrained him by his limbs, at bay. He was highly on guard, for he didn't know what they were up to. He was locked inside a restroom, injured and on his socks, with a pack of bullies, which didn't forebode anything good.

"W-what's the meaning of this?" Uryu asked, his voice wavering from bewilderment. On a groan, he managed to get back onto his feet, but a few smaller pieces of glass still embedded in his flesh prevented him from putting much weight on his right leg, forcing him to dance around on his toes.

More laughter erupted, before one figure came to stand right in front of him and declared: "We told you you had it coming, gay twinkle toe."

"Asano?" Uryu asked, trying not to sway on his trembling legs, still feeling the effects of the panic that had started to spread. This was trouble, that much was clear. His wounded foot hurt a lot, and blood was leaking out of the injuries, saturating his sock.

"See, I told you he'd be stupid enough to walk right into our trap," one of the others said, moving up next to Keigo, and Uryu had recognized Ikusabe Shingo's voice. "Yeah, that detention you got yourself into was the ideal set-up for this."

Of course it was Shingo and Keigo again! They just loved to get him into all kinds of shit. Anger flared up in his eyes and he gritted his teeth as he tried to block the pain coming from his foot. He needed to get his anxiety under control, and so far, anger had always been helpful to counter just that.

Surrounded, he might be, but the Quincy wasn't afraid of those two, and wasn't going to give up that easily!

"I see you found yourselves a pack of cronies, Asano and Ikusabe. Can't handle me on your own?"

"Shut up, you filthy homo!" Keigo barked. "This is payback for what you did to us last time."

Uryu snorted, unyielding. He could ridicule them too. "Oh, you mean when I whacked your sorry asses? You seemed to rather enjoy that too. Want to go at it again?"

That snark suddenly brought an uncomfortable silence over the room, and all faces were now pointed towards the pack's two leaders.

"H-how dare you?" Shingo retorted, undignified. "B-besides, you didn't whack our asses-"

"Yeah, you only grazed our butts with your umbrella!" Keigo interjected.

"That's right!" one of the other boys added, making Uryu raise an eyebrow in sarcasm. "That gay loser really did graze your asses with his umbrella. That was before we tackled him from behind, and way before Ichigo stepped in to save you guys."

"See?" Keigo smugly backed his point, sounding sure of himself.

The Quincy would have laughed at that, were he not locked into a restroom with these goons. But his ploy was working, and he felt the panic subside. Just a little longer…

"Oh, my apologies, gentlemen. I must have missed my target. I was aiming for your inflated egos, not your sorry behinds."

"Speak Japanese, you loser!" Asano was still buying it, and Uryu couldn't help but keep at it to try and assess the situation, mindful of his injured foot.

"Keigo…" Shingo croaked. Uryu was certain Ikusabe's cheeks were crimson, but his mask kept his features hidden from the other cronies.

"What?" answered Keigo. "That gay pervert keeps on yapping about my ass!"

Uryu couldn't help but smirk. "Bright as ever, I see, Asano."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Keigo retorted.

Shingo elbowed him, hard. "He means you're stupid, stupid!"

"I'm not stupid, you gay freak! Besides-"

"He has a point, though, Keigo," one of the other boys intervened again. "If not for Ichigo, then he would've won that fight."

"Yeah, and Ichigo isn't here this time," another had the courtesy of adding.

"Shut up, you morons! We don't need Ichigo!" Asano roared at his followers. "That freak's messing with us again! Just stick to the plan!"

"Finally!" Shingo exclaimed. "You know what to do boys. Let's get him!"

Some of the boys snickered, others affirmed Shingo's call. At their leaders commands, the masked boys took their places and started circling Uryu, jeering and taunting him to try and intimidate him.

"Stupid gay scum!"

"There's no place for freaks like you in our school!"

"Dirty fag!"

"What'cha gonna do now, huh?"

Uryu had tried to buy some time to come up with a strategy against at least 10 opponents, still jumping around on his injured foot. He had managed to successfully overrule his spreading panic with anger, as to not ruin his chances from the start. But none of that changed the fact that he was still locked inside a room with a pack of idiots that obviously wanted a piece of him.

Uryu took on a defensive stance, trying to stay calm and focused, but knew things would get messy…

"It's payback time, Ishida! " Keigo yelled, but with the stockings they all wore, the Quincy really couldn't tell which of them he was, encircling him like predators like that.

"It's your own stupidity that has gotten you fired, Asano!" Uryu retorted "I haven't done anything-" He managed to block a nasty kick to his belly as Keigo must've started what he came for.

"Shut up, you filthy homo! This is what you deserve!"

At that shout, Keigo threw himself at Uryu, initiating the fight. The Quincy managed to block him again, but was hit in the side by a nasty punch as all of the other boys started attacking him all at once.

"My parents were furious because of what you did, gay loser!" shouted Shingo.

"You two have gotten me fired, you assholes!" Uryu tried to interject between blocking and taking punches from the horde around him. "It's your own stupid plan that backfired! I didn't do anything!" The Quincy did his very best to defend himself, blocking punches and kicks wherever he could, while jumping around on one leg and the toes of his injured foot.

"Fuck you! It's all your fault!" Shingo sneered and managed to land a kick against Uryu's wounded leg. Uryu couldn't put his foot down and almost lost his balance, grunting.

The pack of cronies attacked him from every side, mocking him, while Uryu tried to hold his ground as blows and kicks rained down on him.

He couldn't help but wonder where all this aggression came from. How had Keigo and Shingo found so many followers for their hypocrite cause? He didn't even know who the other boys were, much less could he have offended them somehow. But bullies didn't need logic. They only needed a victim…

Whenever Uryu managed to land a direct hit to one of his attackers, he got pummeled by the others. He was bombarded with blows from all around, trying to gain some impact in the brawl, when a hard punch to his face filled his mouth with blood again. Uryu couldn't tell if it was from his nose or lips, but it only added to the anxiety that slowly started spreading again.

Panting and standing on trembling legs, he felt helpless, but didn't give up. Even though they outnumbered him by far. Even though his exhausted and malnourished body was no match for them. He couldn't just surrender to their whims. He may not have his powers anymore, but he still had a shred of Quincy pride left that obliged him to stand up to them.

"I don't even know all of you," Uryu tried to reason with the group, blocking another round of punches, and landing a few blows himself. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"We just fucking hate you!"

"Faggot!"

"Nobody wants to be around a loser like you!"

"Yeah, not even Ichigo anymore!"

"Everybody hates you! It's fucking obvious!"

"Hillbilly!"

"You're a disgrace to our class!"

"To our school!"

"No one wants to be even near a sick pervert like you!"

"Gay freak!"

Uryu groaned, as he accidentally put his wounded foot down to prevent from tumbling over, only to be met with a sharp sting when the shards of glass cut deeper into his flesh. A hard kick in the stomach made him cry out, but that didn't sting as badly as the hurt that rose in his heart. He hadn't realized it had been so painfully clear to everybody how things were between Ichigo and him. How all of his peers seemed to have noticed that he was, indeed, completely alone. Unwanted by all…

The fact that everybody was aware that he had no friends hurt him more than he could have imagined and he felt the weight of isolation press upon him with even greater force, emotionally draining his spirit.

"C-cowards…" he tried, trying not to sound as desperate as he felt, but only got honing laughter in return. He took those few seconds the bullies didn't hit him to try and catch his breath.

This was bad… His body couldn't take much more, he was already at his limit and his vision started spinning. With his broken glasses, everything got blurry really fast. He wiped the blood from his mouth, heart racing and panting hard, knowing that he couldn't appeal to them. When he took a defensive stance again, Keigo mocked him.

"Still trying to fight back? How cute!"

"Yeah, you're not all that big anymore all of a sudden, huh, Ishida?" Shingo added.

Uryu's anger flared again, and he breathed: "You two must feel so proud, charging me with your minions."

Keigo made fists and hollered: "Shut up, pervert! You're just a weak, pathetic loser!"

Groaning, Uryu wiped his mouth again, and tried to hold his balance. He knew he shouldn't provoke them, but they were not susceptible to reason anyway. He couldn't let this one slide.

"A-and yet, you need an army to take this pathetic loser down."

"Fuck you!" one of the boys screamed and attacked him again.

The pack followed suit and intensified their blows, kicking and punching him everywhere they could. Another short round of rapid fire, had Uryu staggering, but the bullies were relentless and kept beating him, even when he was so exhausted and dizzy he couldn't defend himself anymore.

Suddenly, Uryu felt himself slipping and realized that the blood leaking from his injured foot had made a small puddle beneath him. He moaned when he hit the dirty restroom floor face down, vision blurry and breathing hard.

The bullies mocked him. "Wow, you're so stupid you just slid on your own blood!" More laughter followed, but Uryu was too preoccupied with trying to calm his racing heart. He'd known he wouldn't be a match against that many enemies, not in his deplorable state, and he could only hope they'd had their fill and would leave him alone.

"Phase two, boys!" one of them yelled.

When the Quincy suddenly found both his arms and legs forcefully restrained by some of the boys, panic started spreading from his chest again. "N-no! P-please d-don't…" He stammered, but the fearful timbre of his voice only made his aggressors hone even more.

"Begging for mercy already, Ishida? You're such a pathetic loser." Keigo mocked, making more laughter echo around him, while Uryu tried to get free. It was useless and a feeble attempt, and his aggressors only tightened their grip around his limbs to hammer it down that he was completely powerless right now.

"Are you getting all of this?" one of them asked.

"Sure, man!"

"W-what are you… g-going to do to me?" Uryu asked, probably sounding pitiful and weak, but he couldn't help it. The voices of Kazuma and the Vasto Lorde were already threatening him in his mind, and his panic started to gain control.

"Oh, we're just having fun. You'll see," one of them joked.

When Uryu felt one of the boys sit down on his upper-body to further immobilize him, an unfortunate familiar and overwhelming feeling of dread started swirling around inside his body, dulling everything but the need to escape, overriding his pride and coherent thoughts and left him trembling in terror. He was reliving that moment where the Vasto Lorde was slamming inside of him, while he was choking on his own blood, and could hardly breathe.

"P-please… r-release me…" he tried. He could hear them laughing and mocking him from somewhere, as all the sounds started to get drawn out while the voices in his mind went full throttle.

"Fuck hard! Whore!"

"You should be grateful to me for fucking trash like you!"

"What a whimp," Shingo laughed. "You're not so tough anymore now, huh, gay freak."

Panic had now completely taken over and Uryu whimpered as he found himself paralyzed. "P-please…" he begged. "I-I can't…"

"Oh, but you're gonna love this part, Ishida!" Keigo taunted, eliciting snickers from his followers.

Then, Uryu felt his hips being hoisted into the air and let out a startled cry. The bullies were laughing, ridiculing him from somewhere, but he couldn't do anything anymore. Straddled and restrained, the Quincy's heart was pounding so hard he could only manage shallow breaths. Fearing the worst, his eyes lost their focus and he could only lay there at their mercy.

"You mate! Fuck hard!

"An ordinary whore can't even compare to you."

"He's not even fighting us," a voice from somewhere around him jeered. "He likes us touching him, the filthy perv."

What were they doing to him? He needed to stand up for himself, but was rendered helpless. Just like those other times. He felt his mind eclipsing under the heavy stress, reliving the worst of his nightmares inside his mind.

No. No. Please, god, they're not going to…

All of a sudden, Uryu felt hands fumbling with his buckle and then the unimaginable happened. They yanked his pants and underwear down, leaving his naked backside unprotected and hoisted into the air.

Uryu lost his last shred of control and let out a mortified scream. He involuntarily arched up, but was held down by the boy that was sitting on top of him. He screamed again.

No, no, no! Please, no. Please, no. No more. Please, god, no. Make them stop! Don't let them do this. Kurosaki! Please, help me. Kurosaki! Somebody! Please!

"Kurosaki?" One of them repeated, and the whole pack burst into honing laughter again. "He really wants Ichigo to fuck him! That sick freak!"

"You're my boyfriend now."

"You like this, don'tcha. You want to get fucked by me, I've heard you say it before. Want to feel me inside of you, you gay freak!"

"Fuck hard! Whore!"

Uryu couldn't grasp what was real or not anymore. He could only see flashes of colors and hear fragments of the bullies ridiculing him, while at the same time, Kazuma, Ichigo and the Vasto Lorde were hollering inside his mind. Gulping for air, he felt cold hands touching him, but he didn't understand what the they were doing, as he was reliving how the Hollow impaled him in this exact position, heard the bullies mock him, sensed Kazuma grinding against him. All at once.

Uryu couldn't take it anymore! His mind was on the verge of snapping. When he let out another terrified scream, the Quincy heard mocking laughter echo from all around him.

"Man! What a wuss!"

"The hell is his problem?"

"Faggot!"

"What a fucking loser!"

Fearing the worst, as the hands kept touching his rear, Uryu's mind blanked. He could no longer produce coherent speech and was left with small, feral sounds, as he took erratic breaths. Trapped both by the bullies and the battle in his mind, he surrendered.

"Take a close-up from his face!"

"Hilarious!"

It was too much. Scared out of his mind that Keigo and his minions were going to rape him, Uryu went completely still. With glazed eyes that could barely see anything, a heart that was going to explode, and a frame trembling from sheer terror, he was left at their mercy.

"Wow, he's not even resisting. He really wants us to fuck him!" Shingo's voice echoed from somewhere.

"Fuck hard! Whore!"

"Fuck this! Prove that you love me or we're through! Spread your thighs!"

"I told you he was a sick freak." Keigo's voice pierced the laughter that filled the room.

"You're a disturbed whack job, Ishida!"

"Alright! Phase 2 is done!" one of them exclaimed. It was probably Keigo again, but the Quincy couldn't really tell, as he was roughly kicked in his butt, and made a terrified whimper. "Time for phase 3!"

"You got it!"

Suddenly, the bullies released Uryu's arms and legs, and another hard kick against his backside made his hips crash back onto the tiled floor. The one on top of him stood back up, and then a round of rough kicks was initiated. Keigo and his gang must have wanted to ensure that he wasn't going to escape, but little did they know that Uryu was completely paralyzed by panic, and he wasn't going anywhere soon. He couldn't do anything to protect himself, his body unwilling to move, and had to take their beating without any means of retaliation.

"Don't you dare tell anybody about this, stupid gay freak!" That sounded like Shingo, but the Quincy wasn't sure of anything anymore.

One of them kicked him in the face, causing his broken glasses to slide off. Moaning, Uryu vaguely sensed blood in his mouth again, but he was having too hard a time getting enough air into his lungs to be alarmed by it.

Suddenly, the Quincy was roughly grabbed by his hair and his face was pulled back, making him sputter and choke on his own blood. Just like that time with the Vasto Lorde…

They were killing him… Ichigo's monstrous Hollow would come and finish the job after sexually abusing him again. He was going to die here…

"Yeah, you better hold your trap about this, faggot, or we'll make your life a living hell." That sounded like Keigo, alright. "Understood?" As Uryu wasn't able to form any words yet, the other shook him before repeating, "understood, gay freak?" Uryu could only produce a scared sound, upon which Keigo crashed his face back onto the tiles.

"Now, le moment suprême, Ishida. Let's give it to him boys."

Uryu didn't comprehend what they were doing, he just lay there, completely helpless, not sure where he was or with whom. Although his mind started to uncloud little by little because they were no longer detaining him.

All of a sudden he felt wetness rain down on him.

"This is what you deserve, filthy fag!"

Laughter erupted from around him and the smell of urine filled the restroom. And Uryu had gotten enough to his senses to realize the circle of bullies, Keigo and Shingo and their homophobic followers, were all urinating on him. Soaking his clothes, his naked rear, his bloody feet. They aimed everywhere, but his face most of all.

"Drink this, homo!"

"Taste my tinkle juice, Ishida!"

"You like my liquid gold, don'tcha, hillbilly!"

"Here's my essence, dirty faggot!"

Shocked to his core, Uryu's heart stopped when the Hollow screamed inside his head: "Mark! Whore!"

His face burned with humiliation and misery and his eyes filled with tears he couldn't possibly hold back. And as broken sobs rolled from the mouth they were still aiming for, making him taste their filthy liquid, the pack surrounding him broke into a disheartening fit of bouldering laughter.

"Whore marked! Mine!"

"Yeah, you cry like a baby, fruitcake."

"A well-deserved payback for trash like you!"

Uryu didn't even hear them anymore, everything was drowned by the pain coming from his broken heart and the desperate sobs that escaped his lips. He was exhausted and his body hurt all over. His blood pressure had plummeted, and he knew he had no choice but to lay here in their piss until he was capable to get back onto his feet.

If they didn't decide to kill him, that was…

Suddenly, the lights went out and Uryu made a broken whimper, fearing what would come next.

"And remember, Ishida, if you dare tell anybody what happened here, we'll make your life a living hell!" Keigo sneered.

"Yeah, you're our toy now, Ishida," laughed Shingo.

Some of the other boys yelled something threatening in response to their leaders, and after some more laughter, the Quincy heard their sounds growing fainter and understood they were walking away. He was left there, battered and bruised, covered in urine, on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Uryu wanted to sigh in relief, for they had not actually raped him after all, but he felt like a miserable wreck all the same. His body was still saturated by panic, and it would take a while before he could move again.

Tears were still spilling from his weary eyes and he felt so dazed. The brutality of what had just happened had not yet completely sunk in, but he'd never thought his bullies would come up with something like this…

We'll make your life a living hell, Keigo had snarled at him, but that moron had no idea that his life already was. It was a fucking nightmare every single day. And Uryu honestly couldn't tell how long he could still keep going on like this. He so desperately needed a friend, a person that gave a damn about him, but… that was too much to hope for, that much he understood.

But right now, he was too shocked and too tired to think about what he would do. His only concern right now was to get away. Live today, fight tomorrow…

After he'd lain there for who knew how long, Uryu somehow managed to trudge back towards his shoe locker to collect his belongings. He put on his shoes, as he couldn't walk around town barefooted, but his injured foot hurt like hell. His legs swayed heavily, limping on his wounded foot, completely exhausted, and he tried to keep upright by placing his hands against the walls he passed for support, panting from the strain on his broken body.

The world spun around him, but Uryu was too afraid to stay outside at this hour, so he pushed himself as hard as he could to find his way back to his hideout.

It started pouring and the sky was pitch-black, but the Quincy kept going, hoping the rain would at least wash away some of the awful stench that clang to his battered body. He needed to rest so very badly.

Suddenly, a figure approached him, but Uryu was completely on edge and didn't trust anybody right now. Fear was already creeping up to him. He needed to get out of there. He needed to make it to his shelter and sleep the weekend away.

"Ishida?" a vaguely familiar voice asked, but Uryu honestly couldn't tell who it was. His nerves saturated with dread and anxiety. Suddenly, when a hand touched him, he screamed, before heaving hard from the effort that had taken him. That obviously startled the figure. "Wow! Calm down, Ishida! Don't you recognize me?"

But the hands reached for him again, and Uryu felt him losing it then and there and tried to push the annoying figure away, crying out in bewilderment and fear.

"Wow…" the voice said, startled. "I want to help you, Ishida. You're hurt and-"

When the hands reached for him a third time, Uryu's dazed mind blanked again, completely freaked out and his body utterly spent. With a loud thud, he crashed down onto the pavement, moaning. Hoping this gruesome day would finally end and he'd wake up in his warm bed in his apartment to find it had all been a nightmare all along.

"It's gonna be alright, Ishida. I'll take care of you…"

The vaguely familiar figure hovered over him and was talking to him, but his words fell on deaf ears as the Quincy felt himself slipping into unconsciousness. Uryu's heart clenched at the realization that he found himself at someone's mercy yet again and that made tears spill from his eyes once more. This was what was left of him now; a pathetic, unwanted and helpless loser… And his eyes closed with the thought:

Please, don't let it be Kazuma again…