Chapter 2: The Price of Defiance
(Thanks so much to everyone reading and enjoying the story! :) My gratitude to the guest who asked for more of this. Happy to oblige! Thanks to CUBONE262005 (Sure thing! Here you go!), Emmagem803 (Ooh, be careful what you wish for, because I have every intention of having that very scene you painted!), Parnita (I think you'll be able to figure out who the white-haired man is. I know it can be hard to keep track with the lack of names, but names are important in the story and will emerge as a really big issue soon. Glad you are enjoying the story!), PJ (Glad it got your attention!), Winterheart2000 (You bet. This story is really grabbing me. Have to keep it going.), Picklez80 (So glad you're reading along!), Kenni-bun bun (I've been getting hit with the feels just thinking about the plot in this one!), PrivateCaller (Yeah, that's a tossup. Both Bya and Ichi are suffering, but Byakuya will have some better luck...after a few hard turns...), and BlackShadow1 (Yes, tears will abound, but soon there will be some comfort for our lost heroes. Just some nasty angst to get our appetites ready for that!) Take care all! Spunky loves you!)
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(Warning...suggestion of non-con and violence. While not graphic, it could be stressful for some readers.)
Renji led the two ronin into a small, hidden glen on the edge of Inuzuri, where an old, but well kept house stood, nearly invisible in a cluster of trees, alongside a small, gurgling brook. Well aware of the security measures that the home owner employed to keep unwanted folk out, the three stuck closely to the trail and Renji walked with a hand close to his sword. The three reached the front door without incident and Renji knocked several times. There was a pause and some shuffling inside, then the door opened to reveal a tall man with a thick black mustache. He recognized the three and smiled in greeting.
"Renji," he greeted the red-haired guard, "One, Twenty-one. Come in. Come in. The boss was hoping you would come today."
He led them first into the kitchen, where he set out heaping plates of chicken teriyaki, rice and fresh vegetables, along with hot green tea. The ronin thanked him politely, but couldn't help their enthusiasm in devouring the fine morsels. Renji ate more slowly, his red-brown eyes sad as he watched them eat as though they had nearly forgotten the taste of food. When they were sated, their host led them down the hallway, to a bedroom where he uncovered a false floor. A trap door opened to a long ladder that the three descended into a hidden underground laboratory and what looked to be a training area.
"Ah, Tessai," said a friendly voice, from the laboratory, "We have guests? I hope you gave our ronin friends something to eat."
"Yes, Boss," Tessai answered, "They have been fed."
"Thanks, Tessai. Come on in, boys."
"Hey, Kisuke," Renji greeted the blonde man, "We came to see your ronin. How is he today?"
"Restless," Kisuke answered, guiding them to a bed in the laboratory, where a beautiful man with long, white hair laid unconscious.
A man with longer brown hair pulled back into a ponytail sat at the white haired ronin's bedside, holding his hand and looking up at the ones entering the lab.
"Renji, One, Twenty-one," he greeted them.
"Ronin Lord Zero," One greeted his elder, inclining his head, "I hope you are well."
"I'm doing all right," the brown haired man sighed, "much better than the ronin who are out there being abused. I'm lucky that Kisuke rescued Two and me. Come here, you two."
One and Twenty-one moved closer, standing quietly as the elder ronin examined each carefully and gently healed their wounds.
"You needn't do that," One chided him, "You could be sensed using your powers."
"Well," Zero replied, smirking, I've been lucky enough to have my healing ability restored, so it's only right I should use it for something good, ne?"
"Some would say you shouldn't waste it on us," One said solemnly, "We are meant to suffer."
"And do you believe that?" Zero asked, looking into his eyes, "One, you wouldn't be here right now if you truly believed we all deserve to be their slaves and whores."
"I don't," the grey-eyed ronin agreed, "I was only stating the way things are, not what I wish they were."
"That's just like you," Zero said affectionately, "Now, have a seat. My beauty's been moving around and talking in his sleep a little."
"Have you figured out anything about the name he mentioned?" the blue-eyed ronin asked Kisuke.
"Kurosaki Ichigo," One whispered, feeling his heart flicker in his chest at saying it aloud.
"I wasn't able to find anything," Kisuke admitted, "but we all felt something when he said that name. I'm combing the black market. Rarely, an old book or item will have a clue about before. I found one book that had a piece of paper stuck in it with a picture of a family crest and a set of coordinates in the deadlands. I was thinking of going there with our feline fatale.
One's lips twitched slightly in reaction and his frown deepened. Twenty-one's eyes widened with concern.
"But Kisuke, what about the death squads?" he asked worriedly, "You are the only one really trying to help us ronin figure out why things became the way they are. Everyone else seems content to just accept that none of us remember more than a year back."
"Yeah," Renji remembered, "We just woke up scattered all over the place, some of us with names and some of us ronin."
"And," Twenty-one added softly, "some made prisoners in that dark place."
"Be quiet!" One snapped, "Don't speak of that! Not even here. Not anywhere. We are not, any of us supposed to know that place exists!"
"He's right," Kisuke agreed, "even speaking about that place is dangerous. The guards in town, not just this one, but all of them have orders to kill anyone who is heard mentioning that place. Be really careful. I want to know if it exists too, but we have to use extreme caution if we want to stay alive."
Zero sighed unhappily.
"It would be different if the rumors were true and us ronin had greater powers that could be somehow restored if we rediscovered our names."
"I'm still working on that too," Kisuke assured the brown-haired man, "I promise you, if it can be done, we'll learn what happened to us all."
"Some think that if the gods chose this way for our society, for the civilians and the ronin alike, that we shouldn't ask what happened before," Zero posited, "They don't want the past brought back. If you make one mistake, they will kill you, Kisuke."
"Yeah, I know," the blonde man sighed, "That's why I'm taking more time and being careful."
"But I wonder if being careful will be enough," One said softly, "After all, what power could just erase everything like that? Even if we have powers that can be recovered, how can we stop the will of a god?"
"One thing at a time," Kisuke chuckled, "Now, let's try again to wake Two."
He bent over the white-haired man and touched his face gently, light glowing around his fingertips.
"Come on, friend," he urged his patient, "you've got a lot of people waiting for you here. Let's see those pretty eyes, okay?"
The man on the bed shifted uncomfortably, then moaned and coughed several times before quivering and lapsing back into a deeper sleep. One's face fell as Kisuke shook his head and tucked the unconscious man in more comfortably.
"Sorry, I can only push him a little each day. If I push him too hard, he might not wake at all."
"We have to wake him," Twenty-one said urgently, "He's the only one we know of who has said anything about the past like they know of it."
"I don't know why he would remember when everyone else's minds were erased," Zero mused, "but I agree, we have to know if this is just him dreaming or if it is real."
"If it's real, then that could be a reason that we're having such trouble waking him. After all, whatever got all of us was powerful enough to change everything around us and to shatter our memories. All we know was that there was a war of some kind and because of that, the gods have punished the ronin."
"Pardon me, Boss," Tessai interjected suddenly, "but it's time for One and Twenty-one to start back. One asked me earlier to let them know when time was getting close."
Kisuke smiled sadly.
"You two'd better get back then. I'll get word to you if there's a change in things."
The two younger ronin nodded and fell in with Renji, who led them back to the house entrance, then out to the trail that led into Inuzuri. The mood between the three was subdued and they said little as they made their way into the maze of streets and alleys. Renji brought them to a stop in an alley just around the corner from the brothel and smiled at One.
"You mind if I say a proper goodbye to him?" he asked, slipping an arm around the blue-eyed ronin.
It's fine," one said quietly, "I will see him inside."
One rounded the corner and started down the final length of the alley, his mind deep in thought.
I was so hoping that there would be something today...something to keep us all buoyed. But Two is so deeply in sleep we just cannot bring him out, and each day, we fall farther and farther into ruin. I wish things could be different.
He passed two rough looking men without noticing, and was still focused on his thoughts as they began to follow him.
I have to convince Twenty-one to let Renji buy him. Anyone who has a way out of this horrid existence should escape it. But he is strangely devoted to me. It has almost the feel of being brothers. I wonder if, in that other life, he was a brother. He looks a lot like me. Maybe we are related. I...
His thoughts disappeared into an explosion of white spots as something struck the back of his head and sent his mind spinning so that his vision dimmed and flickered ominously. His knees went weak and he dropped into someone's arms, unable to make a sound or to resist as his head swam dangerously. He didn't have to wonder what the two wanted. All of the Ronin wore poor, plain clothing that was easily torn away. One relaxed his body forcibly to reduce the damage the two were about to cause, then sought to disappear into his mind. He barely felt the rending of his clothes, the tearing of his flesh or the vicious treatment that followed. One man held him tightly from behind, clapping a hand over his mouth to muffle any cries of pain he emitted, while the other forced his thighs apart and began his assault.
"You're not fighting it. That's good," the man holding him panted in his ear, "Give us what we want and we'll let you live."
One managed a short nod and closed his eyes as the man between his thighs took his pleasure. His attacker was still groaning in pleasure, when his friend hissed a sharp warning and released the ronin suddenly. One's head fell back and struck the ground, mercifully sparing him further pain as he dropped away into blackness.
"Get away from him, you fucking creeps!" Renji howled, drawing his sword and racing after the two.
Twenty-one dropped onto his knees at One's side, tears filling his eyes. He would have screamed out the other man's number, but bit his lips to hold it back as the brothel owner and several of his security staff ran into the alley. He spotted Twenty-one on his knees, holding One's almost naked and badly beaten form against him and hissed a furious command for his men to follow the path Renji had taken. He watched as the others left, then stood behind Twenty-one as the blue-eyed ronin tried to stir his friend.
"Is he alive?" Ozuru asked shortly, "You'd better tell me he is. And then, you will tell me how it is that he is like this and you are not injured at all!"
"I...I don't know!" the frantic ronin sobbed, holding One tightly against him, "I-it happened so fast..."
"Bring him inside," Ozuru directed him.
He followed as Twenty-one lifted the injured man and carried him inside, then followed Ozuru to a private room, where he laid One down on the bed. Ozuru sat down at his side.
"Get the healer!" Ozuru snapped.
He muttered a string of foul words as his eyes took in the damage.
"Damn you for marking his face, you bastards!" he seethed, "It will be weeks until it's gone..."
He scowled at the telltale splash of blood on the ronin's pale thigh.
"Animals..."
He looked up as the healer ran into the room with Twenty-one on his heels. The healer bent over the injured ronin and swiftly began to address his wounds.
"Is he going to live?" Ozuru demanded, "I need him to live."
"He will live," the healer affirmed, "but he is going to have to be used lightly while he recovers. I would suggest several days of bed rest and no sexual use for at least a week."
"This is going to cost me a fortune," Ozuru huffed angrily.
He stood and moved to face the blue-eyed ronin who stood watching from near the doorway.
"I don't suppose there's any way you could help. I don't know why I even keep you, you useless, worthless piece of trash! What the hell were you doing while he was getting beaten to death?"
He closed in on the ronin and struck him hard across the face.
"Tell me, you filth! Where were you?"
"I...I..."
The blue-eyed ronin gasped as Ozuru drove a fist into his midsection, dropping him to his knees.
"I'll lock you in the cellar for a month this time and whip you until you can't stand! You are going to pay for leaving him alone in that alley!"
"Ozuru-san, what's going on?" Renji asked as he stepped into the room.
"No clients in this area. You know that, Renji. Get out of here!" Ozuru shouted.
"Hey, take it easy," Renji said, putting up his hands defensively, "I just wondered what all of the yelling was and came to keep the peace. You know, that's my job. Keeping the peace around here."
"Well, do it somewhere else!" Ozuru snapped, "I have to deal with this irresponsible little tramp!"
"I'm sorry!" Twenty-one pleaded, "I was wrong to...!"
He was stopped as Renji grabbed him roughly by the front of his yukata and glared into his eyes meaningfully.
"You shouldn't talk back to your master like that," he warned the ronin, "I think he's mad enough to sell you, to get you off his hands."
"N-no, please!" the ronin pleaded, "I want to stay."
Ozuru scowled.
"I've had enough of you. You're too much trouble. I'll take you to the next sale."
"You know," Renji said calmly, "I could take him off your hands if you want. I just got a promotion, so I have some money. What do you think? Is this enough?"
He extended his hand, offering a thick stack of bills to the brothel owner.
"Are you sure you want him?" Ozuru sneered, accepting the money, "He's nothing but trouble. But have him if you want him. I have to try to repair this one, and you can bet I'll use half of this doing that."
"Thanks, Ozuru-san," Renji chuckled, dragging his newly purchased ronin towards the door, "I'll make sure this one doesn't bother you again."
"Please, no!" Twenty-one pleaded, his blue eyes reflecting devastation as he was forced out the door.
"Be quiet, all right?" Renji hissed in his ear, "You know I had to do it. He would have killed you for leaving One alone."
"It was all my fault," the ronin whimpered, deflating and leaning heavily against Renji's strong shoulder, "I shouldn't have left him!"
"It was my fault too," Renji said in a gentler voice as the two escaped into the street, "But there's nothing we can do now. Look, I promise you we'll go to Kisuke right now and get some help. We'll get One out of there somehow. I swear."
"Please Renji," the ronin pleaded, "he's protected me so many times. We have to protect him!"
"We will," Renji assured him, "Now, come on, before Ozuru sends someone to beat the hell out of you."
Back in the brothel, the healer exited the room, leaving Ozuru sitting at One's side, glaring down at his badly bruised face.
"I'm going to be out a fortune because of you," he complained, "Doctor bills, days with you just lying about and not bringing in a penny. You will have to take in twenty or thirty clients a day when you are well again to make up for it."
He left the room for a moment, returning a short time later with sturdy bindings that he used to fasten the ronin's wrists to the headboard.
"Until you catch up, you can be sure you won't get to leave the house at all. That will prevent anything like this from happening again. Sleep now, you are going to need it."
Letting out a disgusted breath, he set a guard on the door and stalked away.
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Ichigo reeled with the ringing silence all around him. He made his breathing louder to break the stillness and he shivered in the icy blackness.
"Can anyone hear me?" he cried repeatedly, "Somebody? Anybody? Can you hear me?"
But even his loudest cries seemed damped by the strange, thick darkness all around him.
What am I gonna do?
How do I get out of here?
There's no way out!
"HELP ME!" he screamed louder, "Somebody let me out of here!"
He felt a strange flicker in the air around him.
What is that?
He felt a sensation like the air was being squeezed from his lungs and cried out again in agony. A hateful, contorted face appeared in his mind and flaming breath expelled a warning he comprehended immediately without understanding the foreign sounding words.
If I continue, they'll hurt me more...
He had begun to understand that these unseen terrors were his tormentors, who tortured his mind with nightmares, whether he was awake or asleep, and who caused pain without ever touching his tightly bound body.
The jailor said they were demons...
Ichigo stiffened as his inner hollow's mocking voice rose up in his mind. He howled in dismay as he tumbled down into his inner world and found himself on his knees in front of his inner hollow.
"Shirosaki," he breathed, looking up at his hollow reflection.
"Oh, they're not so bad, are they?" the hollow teased, "Surely, you're stronger than that. Aren't you?"
"Shut up!" Ichigo hissed, "You know what they're doing to me. You know..."
"Yeah, I know," the hollow said, frowning, "and I already told you I can't do anything. I can't break those bonds."
He crossed his arms and shook his head.
"Maybe I can help you a little," he offered, "Give you something pleasant to counter some of the nightmares?"
"What are you talking about? What're you gonna do?" Ichigo demanded.
"Just relax. I'm helping this time."
"S-stop!" Ichigo objected.
"Shh," the hollow chided him, "Be quiet now."
Ichigo felt a soft buzzing rise up in his mind that seemed to settle between him and the beginnings of the incoming nightmares, creating a soothing buffer.
"And what would you like to see instead of monsters?" Shirosaki asked, "Maybe...a friend?"
Ichigo gasped as he found himself spun unexpectedly into a memory.
He paused outside of the guest room Tenjirou had given to Byakuya, his heart pounding as he contemplated what had happened before. He saw again, Byakuya's lovely, almost naked body, suspended in the hot water of the guardsman's healing pool, the long strands of his dark hair dancing prettily around his handsome face. Holding that image in his mind to force away the less pleasant one that tried to invade, he tapped lightly on the door, then opened it. Byakuya looked up at him, from where he laid in the bed, dressed in a white yukata and looking as though the horrific injuries from before had never been there.
"Hi Byakuya," he greeted the recovering noble, earning a curious look in return, "I heard you were awake. I wanted to see you."
"Ichigo," the noble greeted him, "I would have thought you would be training."
"I am...I mean, I was," he said, blushing, "I'll be going back, but I wanted to see you first. I'm uh, really glad you're all right. I was worried about you."
"Well, thankfully, the king offered us healing, or the worst of your fears for us would have come true."
Ichigo blinked and squinted as the image in front of him flickered and sparked strangely.
"B-byakuya?" he whispered, his reiatsu forced voice hissing as it sounded in the frigid blackness.
A cry of mingled pain and fear invaded as he felt the presence again of the demon guards, and the image of Byakuya began to change.
"No! No, stop it!" he howled, unable to avoid seeing as Byakuya was surrounded in spinning, pink blades and forced back into the wall, shattering it and driving his injured body into the white column, "STOP!"
The image flickered again and showed Byakuya, dressed in poor clothes and being led onto a raised platform his hands tied behind him and his eyes lowered in shame as men gathered in front of him, calling out bids, until one triumphed over the others and led him away. The image darkened and changed again, showing the once proud noble, naked and bowed on his hands and knees on a bed, a rough looking man atop his back and taking him forcefully.
"BYAKUYA!" he screamed, "Stop it, you bastards! Stop!"
But the awful display continued until the prisoners screams became hoarse and he sagged in his bonds, unable to fight anymore. They retreated again, leaving Ichigo suspended in darkness, panting harshly and loosing broken, tortured sobs.
It can't be real, can it?
What happened at the end? They say I killed 'both of them,' so I must have killed Ywach. But if I did, then why am I here? Why are they doing this to me?
What's happening?
What's happening...
Wh...