A/N: I haven't worked on this story (or really any of my stories) in a while so I really wanted to get this chapter going. Lately, I have discovered the amazing-ness that is the show Criminal Minds (seriously its fucking awesome and thoroughly addicting so if you haven't seen it you should totally check it out). It's pretty much been taking up about 90% of my mindset the past few weeks and unfortunately doesn't leave much room for writing... but I was determined to get something up so here you readers go! ^^ Thanks as always for all the reviews as they are really appreciated.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

Ichigo Kurosaki was currently sitting frozen on the couch in the living room just staring blankly down the hallway that led from the room he was in to the front door of the house. It happened again… it was like a bad case of déjà vu… and honestly, the strawberry was having quite a time attempting to process what had just happened mere moments before. Everything had been going so well... what could have possibly happened in the thirty seconds that Toshiro had disappeared to cause such a change his composure and mood the way it did? He just couldn't believe it… it had finally started feeling like old times again… then all of a sudden it decided to blow up his face.

Despite the cut that he had managed to give himself, Toshiro seemed perfectly comfortable in the strawberry's presence for just about the entirety of the night. He left the room for the shortest amount of time to answer some random call, then all of a sudden he came back and everything was different.

"I have to go."

"Wait… Toshiro, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have just blurted that out. I…I just… I don't know…" Ichigo murmured as he tried to gather his thoughts and make a cohesive sentence, but failing miserably as all the sentences fell apart somewhere along the way from his brain to his mouth.

Toshiro stood frozen in the doorway, no doubt gathering his words quite a bit more carefully than the strawberry that seemed to be falling apart before him and he knew that what he was about to say would only serve to quicken the process.

"Yea, you shouldn't have, Ichigo. I don't even know why you bothered trying to get me over here anyway. It's not going to change anything and you might as well realize that now before you get you get your hopes up."

"Yea…" Ichigo replied, forcing what had to be the most pathetic attempt to fake a smile. "You're a few years too late for that…"

Toshiro realized that because of what he was doing right now Ichigo would probably never want to talk to him again, but then again... it was for the best.

"Goodbye, Ichigo." The young genius muttered under his breath before taking one last look at the absolutely destroyed look in the other teenager's face before focusing his gaze once more on the carpet beneath his toes. He knew if he stayed he any longer he would probably crack, and that was not an outcome that could come to pass as much as there was a tiny part of him that wished it would. Knowing that a certain someone was probably counting the minutes, Toshiro decided that he would not be able to postpone his departure any longer… the faster he got out of here, the faster the strawberry would forget about him.

Ichigo barely had time to look up and try to think of something, anything… that keep the object of his affections from leaving, before he saw a blur of white and gazed dumbstruck as said boy walked out of his life for the second time in two years.

Toshiro…

Ichigo hadn't moved from his position in the living room since Toshiro's departure and he would have probably stood there all night if Yuzu hadn't finally wandered in to the room to see how Toshiro was doing.

"Hitsugaya-kun…! How is your-?" Yuzu started to say before she realized that there was a distinct absence of white-haired boys in the room and the fact that something was seriously off about her older brother. She had entered the room from behind Ichigo, so her attention wasn't initially drawn to the shocked and hurt expression that decorated his face, yet she knew that something was wrong… her brother was so stiff; it was very unlike him. "Oh, is Hitsugaya-kun in the bathroom or…?" Yuzu asked, still oblivious to the events that had taken place between the two boys. Her brother still refused to move or speak and it was really starting to concern the young girl. "Ichi-nii, what's wrong? You're acting very unlike yourself…" Yuzu had just been about to call for Karin to knock some sense into her brother when he finally seemed to snap out of his daze.

"Toshiro… he's gone…" Ichigo muttered quietly as he very slowly lowered himself so that he was sitting down on the couch and facing his younger sister. He wasn't so sure he wanted his sister to see him like this and had debated just sprinting off towards his bedroom, but that would only serve to worry Yuzu even more and he'd be back to square one.

"Oh." Yuzu frowned as she finally realized exactly how much pain her big brother was in. She knew all about her brother's history with Toshiro. Even though she had been pretty young, (it had only been a little over two years ago) she still remembered about how the two boys had been nearly inseparable since they were young. She had even been there when Ichigo had admitted that he thought he might like Toshiro as more than just a best friend. She had never judged her brother while he had been trying explore and discover his sexuality; he was still Ichigo Kurosaki, her big brother she had always looked up to and had always protected her, and the fact that he might be gay would do nothing to change that. She even remembered when Ichigo had finally come to terms with the fact that he liked guys and that when he had at last gotten up the nerve to ask Toshiro if he felt the same way he did, said boy had just started dating the new guy in town, Gin Ichimaru. After that, Yuzu noticed seeing Toshiro less and less through the weeks and Ichigo, though he would deny it, he became visibly depressed. He didn't glow with happiness like he had before… he started getting into a lot more fights at not just school, but at home as well. Then, not even a month after his best friend had started dating the new guy, everything fell apart completely and her brother was never the same again. "He seemed like he was enjoying himself…" she said quietly, more to herself than her brother, but he still heard her.

"Yea, I thought so too." The strawberry murmured.

"Maybe it had something to do with the person he was talking to on the phone earlier…" Yuzu mused to herself causally.

"Why would you say that?" Ichigo asked as he finally looked up from the spot he had been staring at ever since his sister had come in.

"Well, I was outside throwing out the plates that broke earlier, but when I came back inside I saw that Toshiro was on his cell-phone at the other end of the hallway and I didn't want to be rude and interrupt him so I stayed where I was. He didn't say much, but when he spoke he sounded really worried and almost… I don't know… scared, I guess?" Yuzu snapped out of the daze she had been in and a thought occurred to her. "Do you think that might have been why he left?"

Ichigo couldn't believe it. Now that he thought about it, the reason Toshiro had walked off in the first place was because his cell phone had started going off and he had excused himself. That's probably why he was acting so different after he came back! The strawberry mentally scolded himself for not having realized this sooner. All of a sudden, Ichigo could feel the darkness that had been crushing him from the inside lift, feeling completely rejuvenated as though he had just woken up from a long slumber. It wasn't what I said then… it had to be whoever was on the other end of the phones fault!

"Yuzu, did you remember anything that Toshiro said?" the strawberry asked hopefully, her brothers sudden determination catching her slightly off guard.

"Oh, um… let me see…" She murmured to herself as she brought one of her small hands up to her face, tapping the side of her head with her pointer finger as she tried to remember. "I think he may have said something along the lines of 'I don't know' or something like that… but there was something weird about the way he said it… I'm not sure."

Hmm…. Not much to go on… Ichigo thought to himself as he started to mirror his sister's movements, trying to think of what if anything he should do now. Then something that he had thought about earlier struck him… all this has happened before… last time I couldn't go after him and that's something that I've always regretted… I'm not going to make that mistake this time. I'll do whatever it takes no matter what or who stands in my way and if things are indeed playing as they did two years ago then I'm pretty I know who's to blame. Ichigo quickly stood up, the determined gleam in his eye back where it belonged.

"Well, what are you waiting for, idiot?"

Ichigo turned around knowing the new voice didn't belong to Yuzu and found that as he had suspected, Karin was leaning against one of the walls near the entrance towards the dining room. He wasn't sure exactly how long Karin had been there, but it didn't really matter, he knew she would show up at some point and kick him out of his stupor if he hadn't already done it himself and thanks to Yuzu things didn't have to come to that.

"This is the moment that you've been waiting two years for, isn't it?" Karin prompted again. "So what are you still doing here?" She smiled. "Go out there, get Toshiro and bring him back."

Ichigo smirked, "Thanks." At that point, the strawberry realized exactly how lucky he was that he had the amazing sisters that he did. He always had Yuzu to comfort and calm him, and then Karin to get him going whenever something got him down. Of course he had his idiot of a dad too and even Isshin had times when he could be serious… when he wasn't crying on the poster of this deceased mother that was; which he had to admit was a lot of the time.

"You girls behave while I'm gone." Ichigo joked as he walked towards the small closet in the hallway holding all the family's coats and after rummaging in it for a few seconds pulled out a light jacket before sliding it on.

"We will if you will." Karin added, finally moving more into the room to put an arm around Yuzu as Ichigo started walking away from them towards the door, and more importantly, Toshiro.

"No promises there." Ichigo laughed, waving as he finally reached the door, opening it with ease and venturing out into the cool autumn night hoping he would be able to do what he never could those two long years ago.

"Toshi-kun… where are ya…?" Gin sang as he was prowling through the rooms in his house. "Ya can't hide from me forever."

I won't have to hide forever… just until you have to leave or its time for school or something else that pulls your attention elsewhere… Toshiro thought silently as he refused to move a muscle from where he was currently crouched. It was small and uncomfortable, but he knew that this was a million times better than anything Gin had planned for him… he just hoped that he would be able to stay out of sight for long enough to distract the older male's attention. He felt his arms going numb from the way he had them wrapped tightly around his legs; his legs had fallen asleep long ago, but he had been too nervous that even if he managed to stretch out his tingling limbs there was always the chance he could knock into something and if that happened… it would game over. It wasn't hard to see the similarities between Gin and a certain ginger-haired creature. Foxes were famous for their cunning and slyness and one who knew Gin knew why a lot of people would compare or even refer to him as a fox; but Gin was also notoriously known for his exceptional hearing and that simple trait right there was the primary cause of why Toshiro was curled up into a ball refusing to move even an inch.

Toshiro had come home just as Gin has said and had stupidly thought that he would be able to explain the situation to his boyfriend about how he and Ichigo hadn't done anything and weren't going to do anything. He had hoped that if he had been able to assure the fox of this then maybe… just maybe they could forget about it and move on.

Not even close.

Gin had practically jumped Toshiro the moment he had walked in the door and there was just something about him that seemed unhinged… beyond anything Toshiro had seen before. He knew Gin was possessive… extremely possessive, but the young genius had never seen him quite this mad. It had to have something to do with the fact that not only was it another guy this time, but it was the one and only Ichigo Kurosaki. Gin knew that if anyone was capable of stealing his Toshiro, it was that damned strawberry. That was why he had been so quick to cut him out of Toshiro's life the second he had had a chance… and it had been working.

Toshiro could hear the floorboards creak as Gin swept through the house in search of his hiding dragon; after all, Toshiro still hadn't been punished for what he had done.

He knew it was only a matter of time before he was found. Gin knew every little crack and cranny of the small house and that was precisely why he hadn't been found yet. Gin was just running through everywhere he knew that would be large enough to disclose his small boyfriend, being sure that nothing was overlooked. Toshiro couldn't seem to figure out whether the time was a blessing or not… sure the extra time allowed him time to potentially think up plan to get him out of this mess, but then again… the longer Gin looked, the less mad he got and the more fun the search became. It became a game and least to say Gin's 'games' were never fun for anyone except the fox-face himself.

"Shirouuuu…" Gin's singsong voice permeated through the thin floor. "Come out, come out whereva ya are…"

The longer he thought about it, the longer Toshiro realized that there was no escaping this situation. Even if for some miracle, Gin didn't find him; what would he do? Just hide in this dank and dark space for the rest of his life? He might as well just go out there and get whatever Gin wanted to do over with. At least then it would be done and they could finally just forget about everything that had happened in the past few days and move on like nothing had happened.

When he was sure that Gin wasn't right outside, the young genius while especially careful not to disturb anything around him, rose unsteadily to his feet attempting to arouse the various parts of his body that had fallen asleep whilst he had been hiding. He had forgotten his cell-phone in the living room when he was initially trying to get away from Gin, so he had no idea what time it was. Though, if he had to guess he was pretty sure it had to be late considering how long he had been avoiding Gin. As he pushed the door open slowly, Toshiro could hear his stomach rumble uneasily. He had missed dinner at Ichigo's because of Gin's call, but regardless the boy wasn't so sure it was the absence of food that made his stomach clench in painful knots.

Toshiro tried to walk towards the living room as casually as he could hoping that he would be able to retrieve his cell phone before coming face to face with his so-called lover, just in case… things happened.

The snow-haired male couldn't say that he was all that surprised when he entered the living room to see Gin perched on the couch twirling a small device between his long fingers.

"Seems ya weren't as convincin' as I was hopin ya'd be." He said simply as he quickly stopped his previous actions with what Toshiro recognized as his phone, Shit, and proceeded to flip open the small device.

"What are you talking about?"

"Yer new boy toy has been callin' ya all night. It's gotten rather annoyin hearin yer phone go off every two seconds."

"He's not my-"

"Ah jus' shut it. I know what ya've been up ta." Gin grinned. "Why though Shirou…? Why do ya all of a sudden want ta leave me?"

"I'm n-not." Toshiro cursed himself silently when he couldn't repress the slight stutter.

"Sure as hell yer not. Yer mine an' don't you forget it." Gin stated matter a factly and without wasting another second he walked over towards where his petite dragon was standing rigid and swiftly captured the boy's lips into a passionate kiss. The fox held nothing back as his tongue quickly started to explore every possible part of the other boy's mouth. Toshiro didn't resist nor did he return the relentless act of affection and in an attempt to get something out of the boy before him, Gin wrapped and locked his arms under Toshiro's ass so he could lift the boy up to his level and push his tongue even farther into the warm and wet cavern. He did manage to achieve a small gasp as he lifted to boy and then a low groan as he refused to let up with his tongue as it easily dominated the younger's.

Finally, Gin withdrew his tongue leaving Toshiro gasping to take in the air that his lungs had been deprived of and placed a much gentler kiss on the boy's forehead only to receive a small and substantially less frigid glare than he had been receiving as of late. Gin simply grinned as he quickly repositioned Toshiro so that he was now carrying the smaller male bridal style despite a slight struggle on Toshiro's part. It was only when Gin started walking away from the living room that Toshiro seemed to snap out of the daze he had been in ever since Gin had swept him up in the kiss moments ago. The small prodigy knew by the lustful gaze in the fox's eye exactly where Gin was rushing off to and honestly, it terrified him. He had learned to deal with many things during his relationship with Gin over the past few years, but there was one thing that had had always refused to give and now it seemed that Gin was tired of waiting for his permission.

"No! Wait… Gin…!" Toshiro yelled as he tried to squirm as best he could out of the fox's grasp.

"Nah, my dear little Shirou. I'm tired of waitin… I been waitin fer this fer two years an' besides what better way ta teach ya who you belong ta…?"

"NO!" The white haired boy screamed as he desperately tried to get away from the fox in any way that he could possibly think of.

"Get… off… of… me…!"

Somehow… by some sort of miracle Toshiro was able to wriggle out of Gin's grip, but as he roughly hit the floor he questioned how he had managed this feat in the first place. Gin had to have at least a good two feet on him not to mention almost one-hundred pounds on him as well… if the fox had been seriously about wanting to restrain him than realistically he shouldn't have had any problem… so then why…? Why did he relinquish his grasp so easily? As soon as the thought passed through his brain he realized he didn't want to know the answer.

"Ah, I jus' love it when yer feisty." The taller, pale man hummed. "Why don't we see how long ya can keep it up?"

There was a part of Toshiro that knew he should run. He knew that things had escalated beyond a simple game of cat and mouse… and yet, he couldn't seem to find the energy to move his arms, legs, head or any other part of his body. It felt like a bad romance movie… right as the abused lover is able to make a break for it, they freeze… frozen by fear of what their lover is going to do next. How cliché… the young genius thought as he continued to mentally yell at his body to do something… anything to get away…

Gin continued to stalk his prey until he had backed Toshiro up into a corner of the room and wasted no time in using his advantage in height and weight to pin the smaller male to the wall as he started to caress the boy's pale features.

Toshiro attempted to turn away from the fox's featherlight touches, but being held against the wall, he didn't have much choice and the best he could do was to keep moving his head as far away from the touches as he could. After just a few sparse moments, Toshiro could see the irritation grow on Gin's face and the touches stopped for a moment before the genius felt a sharp stinging on his face.

"Yer not bein a very good boy, Shirou and I'm gonna have ta punish ya fer real if ya keep this up." Gin hummed as he lightly kissed the exact spot on his lover's face that he had just slapped

Toshiro could feel his shirt pulled off rather hastily, and only thought of one thing as he gazed up into the crazed eyes of his so-called lover.

Ichigo…

Ichigo couldn't have felt more like an idiot than he did right now. He had run out of his house convinced that he would be able to get Toshiro back,but something that he hadn't quite thought through was the fact that it had been two whole years since he had been with Toshiro for more than a few minutes except for in school the past week or so and earlier that night. The strawberry had raced as fast as he could to where Toshiro lived, or at least where he had lived two years ago which was the last time Ichigo had been to Toshiro's place.

It had only taken Ichigo about ten minutes to run to Toshiro's small townhome and he could feel his heart race as he saw a bright, glowing light shining from the large living room window. He is home after all… but it still remained to be seen if he was alone or not and it was more than likely not. Adrenaline pumped through the strawberry's body as he approached the dark-blue oak door knocking as calmly as he possibly could.

"Hello?" A young lady asked as she slowly opened the door.

Ichigo couldn't help but stare at the strange person before him… what was this woman doing in Toshiro's place? Where was Toshiro?

"Can I help you with something?" The lady asked again as she also stared at a complete stranger, wondering what this boy was doing at her house in the middle of the night.

A male voice was heard from farther inside the home. "Trisha? Who's at the door?"

"I'm not sure…" She called back.

Not a moment after, a large man appeared in the hallway and walked towards the door to stand behind the woman whose name was apparently Trisha. "You are…?" The man asked as he raised his eyebrows.

Ichigo swallowed hard and then finally managed to force something out of his mouth. "Sorry to disturb you, my name's Ichigo Kurosaki… i-isn't this the residence of Toshiro Hitsugaya?"

The man rubbed his head for a moment. "Sorry, kid. I'm not sure who this Hitsugaya person is, but my wife and I have been living in this house for just about two years now."

"Wait…" The wife muttered as she froze for a moment as though she was trying to recall a certain something from her mind. "This Toshiro…" she hummed, "He didn't happen to be short, slender and have white hair by chance?"

"Yea!" Ichigo exclaimed so suddenly that the woman jumped back ever so slightly into her husband's chest."Do you know him?"

"Yes." Trisha replied. "I think he actually lived here before us. I remember coming to see the house one day and he was here packing up boxes. I thought that maybe he just worked for the packing company because he looked so young… much too young to be living by himself. But it actually makes sense if you thought that was still living here."

"Do you know where he went?"

"I didn't exchange more than pleasantries with the young man... sorry."

Ichigo mentally cursed himself. He had gotten so close to figuring out where Toshiro was… he couldn't stop now and he would never be able to forgive himself if he did.

"Are you sure you don't remember anything he might have said? Or really anything he might have mentioned that might help?" Ichigo pleaded as he could feel the young genius getting further and further from him every passing second, which only served to make the strawberry that much more desperate.

The woman paused again. "There was… another man I think… He was helping the young boy you're talking about pack up things."

Ichigo's head shot up instantly and the words seemed to leave his lips even before they left his brain. "Was he really tall, always grinning and never seemed to open his eyes?"

"Yes, I believe so… Do you know that man as well?"

"I do." The strawberry nodded solemnly. "I'm sorry, but there's just one more thing I'd like to ask you if that's okay."

"Sure." The woman smiled warmly. She didn't know this boy in front of her, what he was doing, or even why he was looking for a boy whom had lived here more than two years ago, but she could tell that he meant no harm to either her or her husband and there was just something about him that told her to try and help this boy as much as she could. Trisha wasn't devoutly religious in any aspect of the word, but she did believe that this Ichigo was in need of any help he could get. "I'm sure you want to know where that man lives..?" Ichigo nodded and before he could say anything the woman disappeared from the doorframe leaving just her husband and Ichigo to stand awkwardly in front of each other wondering why the woman had rushed off so suddenly.

"Trisha…?" The man asked questioningly, unknowing if he should try and help his wife find whatever it was she was looking for, but soon had the decision made for him and the petite woman returned to face the strawberry.

"I remember finding this after cleaning the house after we first moved in." She said softly as she held out the object in question so that Ichigo could grasp it lightly as though it were as fragile as holding a snowflake. "I'm sure it will do you much more good than it ever did me." Trisha smiled, and once again held out her hand to the strawberry; but this time to shake his hand and wish him goodnight and good luck in finding his young friend.

In hindsight, Ichigo should have seen it coming, but that was the thing about hindsight… it doesn't hit you until it actually hits you, and then that's when you finally figure out what you should have been doing all along. He had been delayed, there was no doubt about that, but he was still clinging to the hope that it wasn't too late to get Toshiro back. He attempted in vain to dial Toshiro's number but every single time it went straight to voicemail and after what seemed to be the tenth time came to the conclusion that he would not be able to reach the genius this way and gave up as he reluctantly put his phone away in his pants pocket.

The orange-haired teenager slightly chuckled to himself at how ridiculous he probably looked right about now… a random teenager sprinting around town in the dead of night looking like he was trying to get away from something or possibly something that he might have done; when in fact it was the complete opposite… he was trying to get back to that thing because of something that he didn't do, but who would believe that? Could Gin possibly live any farther away? Ichigo couldn't even begin to fathom how Toshiro walked back and forth from school everyday being as far away as he was… he really hoped that he was going to the right place. That woman, Trisha, seemed sure though that it would help him, but Ichigo was starting to lose faith in the small piece of valuable information that he had managed to get his hands on.

Ichigo could feel his muscles start to burn, his heart rate skyrocket and even felt the adrenaline continue to pump through his body and even though he was breathing heavily and felt the sweat tickle the back of his neck, he continued to run and he would continue to run until his legs gave out on him. The strawberry felt a renewed surge of energy as he finally reached the top of a hill he had been running up and then as he reached the peak he could saw a row of houses not terribly unlike the ones that already surrounded him. Despite never being in this part of town before, Ichigo knew exactly where he was going as his chocolate brown eyes rested at last on the house he had been searching for and part of him breathing a sigh of relief after starting to think that he might never actually reach his destination.

The strawberry, who by now was breathing rather unsteadily, attempted to fill his oxygen deprived lungs after his most recent spontaneous burst of sprinting throughout what seemed like the entirety of Karakura. Quickly checking the number on the mailbox to see that he really was at the right place, it would be beyond awkward to walk into yet another random person's house looking for a boy which was clearly not there. As Ichigo approached the house, he realized that it probably wouldn't be the best idea to charge into the house, guns blazing all around and having no idea what may or may not meet him inside once he did. So slowly taking in his surroundings, Ichigo snuck silently over to a small window just a few feet from the door he had been previously standing in front of and crouched down so that he would not be seen and yet still be able to poke his head out just enough to see what was happening inside.

The glass seemed slightly odd to Ichigo as he tried to gaze into the house they concealed. He could see into the house, but what he saw seemed slightly warped and because of this, it wasn't as clear to the strawberry what exactly he was seeing. Maybe just a defunked window pane…? The strawberry silently moved from his position and attempted to locate another window, but when he did he found yet another pane of almost twisted glass… this can't be a coincidence… warped glass means distorted vision, which must mean that something happens in the house that the owner doesn't want to broadcast to the public…

If Ichigo truly tried to focus, he could see two distinct figures towards the back of the room. The smaller of the two figures was lying still on the ground, his back against the wall while the other much larger figure stood over him, seemingly relishing in the pain and fear exuding from the other. The strawberry remained frozen to the spot regardless of the screaming of his brain telling him to get the fuck in there. It was obvious who the smaller figure was, and it was obvious who the larger figure was…. it was even more obvious what the larger figure wanted to do to the smaller, but it wasn't until said larger figure finally decided to descend on his prey that Ichigo reacted. He bolted to the door and pulled at it with all his might, but it remained solid and stoic refusing to yield to the strawberry. Idiot! Of course he wouldn't leave the door wide open for someone to just waltz in! Ichigo thought to himself as he could see the figure of Gin lifting his 'lover' from his previous position on the floor so that he could just shove the boy roughly into the adjacent wall and watch in triumph as the boy slumped back down to the floor. Said boy looked up with half lidded eyes, his mouth opened to say something, but it was so soft that Ichigo couldn't even hope to hear and Gin simply laughed.

Ichigo had to get in the house, but as to how was currently the pressing issue at moment, which just seemed to egg on the strawberry. If he didn't get in there right now, well then, Toshiro was going to be in serious trouble and that was something that Ichigo knew for sure. Ichigo looked around to a see the bare lawn that he was currently on, but right across the street the people had a few pretty big potted plants and well, Ichigo reasoned, this was an emergency and unconventional methods seemed like the only way he was going to get anything accomplished. The orange haired teenager raced as fast as he could across the street, grabbing one of the plants before silently apologizing to whomever he was currently lifting it from and half ran, half waddled back towards the fox's house. Without a second to waste, he ran as fast as he could towards the window in front of him and with a loud crash strawberry, plant, and window collided as Ichigo found himself sprawled out on some sort of couch covered in potting soil, numerous small cuts from both the broken window glass and pot, while all the while staring into the stunned face of Gin Ichimaru.

Instantly jumping up to his feet, Ichigo shook his hair in an attempt to get out most of the dirt currently decorating his bright, orange mane. Gin quickly recovered his composition despite the fact that Ichigo Kurosaki had just come barreling through his living room window with potted plant in hand.

"My, My, what brings tha strawberry ova here ta mah neck of tha woods?" The fox grinned as he causally turned to face the person that had just come flying through the window, while stepping to the side ever so slightly so that Toshiro was no longer in Ichigo's field of vision.

Ichigo let out a low guttural growl out as he stared down the man in front of him. "Fuck off." He scowled as he stepped to the side deliberately to combat the fox's previous adjustment. Ichigo felt his blood boil when he was finally able to get a good look at Toshiro, who was still as of yet, frozen and crouched in the corner in the room. It also didn't help things that Toshiro's chest was completely exposed, so the bruises that covered his torso and arms were that much more noticeable against his pale skin… but the worst thing about the scene? The fact that most of the bruises weren't even fresh, they were obvious that they were days, weeks and even possibly months old.

"Tha's not a very nice thing ta say ta the host, now is it?" Gin sang playfully, enjoying the strawberry's pain. "An' if that's all you came here ta say than I'm gunna have ta ask ya ta leave; me an' Shiro still have some business tha' we need ta attend to."

"Don't." Ichigo practically yelled, "You. Dare."

"An' wha makes ya think ya can tell me what ta do in mah own home?"

"Cause I'm not going to let you lay another finger on Toshiro." Ichigo stated as he took another step closer towards Gin.

Toshiro could do nothing but stare blankly as he watched Ichigo face off against Gin. His whole body felt numb and he wasn't sure if it was due to Gin's 'games' or if it was due to the sudden and unexpected arrival of the strawberry. He had to admit to himself that there was a part of him that was hoping that Ichigo would come, but now that he was actually here… Toshiro realized that he didn't want to be responsible for putting Ichigo in that kind of danger and yet, he knew Ichigo would have undoubtedly come regardless.

Despite Gin's usual calm and easy going appearance, when he lost it, he lost it… and if anyone in the world was capable of doing that at the moment, it was Ichigo Kurosaki. Toshiro snapped out of his daze when he saw Ichigo calmly walking towards him and before he had the chance to warn him, Ichigo suddenly dropped to the ground rather unceremoniously.

"Ichigo…" The young prodigy breathed as he tried to gather the strength to crawl over to where the strawberry was currently sprawled out on the floor. "What are you doing?"

"Getting you out of here of course…" Ichigo muttered as he gathered himself and started rubbing his head while absentmindedly hoping that he wouldn't get a migraine later because Gin all of a sudden decided to whack him on the head while his back was turned. "But I guess I'm going to convince Gin here how much he doesn't deserve you first…"

"Wait, Ichig-" Toshiro started to say, but before he could finish, Ichigo waved him off as he pulled himself off the ground and once again faced Gin, yet this time with their positions switched.

"I believe yer mistaken Ichigo… Shiro isn't goin' anywhere."

"Is that so…?" Ichigo snorted. "Why don't we ask him what he wants? Or wait… does his opinion even matter to you?"

"Shiro's mine an' he knows it. There's no need ta ask him."

"Let's do it just for kicks…? If he's as dedicated to you as you believe then you have nothing to lose." Ichigo added, smiling with a grin to rival even that of one of Gin's.

"My, aren't ya a persistent one…" Ichigo continued to grin, which only seemed to unsettle the fox more and it didn't go unnoticed by Toshiro. He had been noticing changes in Gin's behavior in the past few weeks, the fox was even more protective, if that was even possible, not to mention more aggressive in his advances on the boy if he felt that Toshiro wasn't 100% committed to him. The fox was slowly unraveling and it seemed that the reemergence of the strawberry in their lives would only serve to put more pressure on Gin. Toshiro could sense that Gin was very close to losing it all in one large explosion and considering the current circumstances that night might very well be tonight if things kept going the way they were headed…

"Gin…" Toshiro took a deep breath before using the wall behind him to help himself get unsteadily to his feet.

"Yes, mah love…?" Gin drew out, making sure to keep strict eye contact with Ichigo as he strode over to where Toshiro was standing and wasted no time in capturing the boy's lips in a kiss if only for the sole purpose to reinforce the fact that the boy in his arms was his and his alone.

"I…I…" Toshiro stuttered, trying to force out those three wretched words that would surely remedy the situation and yet, they just didn't seem to want to form and flow off his tongue as they should… he needed to play his part and if that meant staying with Gin, then so be it.

"You don't have to do this Toshiro…" Ichigo said gently as he could only stare longingly at the clearly tormented boy. "You don't have to pretend anymore…" Ichigo paused, Toshiro needed to hear it out loud or he would never realize it. "Most of all, you don't have to protect me anymore… I know you've just been pushing me away to protect me and I'm telling you right now that you don't have to suffer anymore for my sake."

Gin chuckled at the strawberry's words, but the grin instantly faded as he noticed the internal battle waging inside of the smaller male still in his grip. He slowly brought his head down to Toshiro's level so that his breathe ghosted over his ear and proceeded to whisper four bone chillingly simple words. "You. Belong. To. Me."

"You and I both know you don't want this…"

"Ya know tha consequences."

"Think of yourself for once in your life!"

"I think it's time ya showed tha strawberry tha door; we have some matters tha still need attendin' ta."

"I'm done with feeling sorry for myself and I refuse to sit around and watch him tear you down more and more every day until there's nothing left… you don't deserve this!"

"I've had mah fun, now let's go Shiro." Gin turned around and was about to venture to his room where he knew they wouldn't be disturbed when he noticed Toshiro, still frozen on the spot. "Come now, Shiro."

"no…"

"Excuse meh?" Toshiro's voice had been so soft and there was still a large amount of uncertainty in the boy's voice, and yet the fox could feel his control of the boy slipping through his fingers every minute he remained in the strawberry's presence and if this continued, he would lose the boy forever, which was not an option.

"No." The young genius's voice was stronger and louder this time, he now sounded adamant at what he was saying as though he had finally made a decision. Toshiro yanked his arm away from Gin and its crazy how such a small gesture seemed to infuriate the fox as much as it did.

Gin. The man who got everything he wanted. The man that always won. About to lose. To the damned Strawberry.

"I'm done, Gin. I'm tired of being pushed around, controlled and forced to endure your physical and emotional abuse. I don't owe you anything anymore." Toshiro calmly walked across the room to where his shirt had been discarded before pulling it over his head and walking over towards where Ichigo was standing instead of returning to the stunned fox.

"Goodbye."

It was the last thing the genius cared to say before turning to walk out the door with Ichigo at his side. Given the chance again, Toshiro wasn't really sure what else there was to be said to the man behind them… a part of him wanted to tell him that he had at one point actually loved him and he was pretty sure that Gin legitimately had cared for him, but things had changed and to be able to sum up in just a few words… that served quite a task.

"Comon Toshiro, let's go get you checked out; you look horrible." Ichigo said as he gently placed a hand on the smaller male's shoulder as he guided the boy out of the house.

"Not as bad as bad as it looks." Toshiro replied quietly, despite continuing to lean on the strawberry for support; but before the pair could step out of the house completely, Ichigo stopped for a moment causing Toshiro to look up with a puzzled expression.

"I'll be back later to collect Toshiro's things." The actual words insignificant and yet the meaning was plainly obvious.

Toshiro wasn't sure whether to be relived or scared out of him mind at this point. Why was Gin letting him just waltz out the door? Especially when it concerned who exactly he was walking out of the house with… it all seemed too easy. Gin never gave up… never… and yet, here he was just standing exactly where he had been for the past few minutes with a blank expression on his face as though all emotion in his body had drained from him…

"Comon Toshiro." Ichigo beckoned as he stepped out into the crisp late night air. The boy nodded before taking one more glance at the fox before going to rejoin the strawberry. Right as the pair had stepped out the door a cool, calm and chilling voice broke the silence.

"I see ya've made yer decision, Shirou... hope tha' ya don't regret it." Then, before either Ichigo or Toshiro could answer, the fox disappeared into the confines of his house.

As the two teenagers neared the street corner, the uneasy feeling in Toshiro's stomach refused to silence. He couldn't help to repress a shudder that Ichigo obviously mistook from being cold, which was evident when he took off his jacket and draped it over the smaller's shoulders. That however, was just about as far from the actual truth as one could get. The last sentence that Gin had uttered before they had walked out the door… it was haunting and Toshiro could only imagine what it could have possibly meant.

"Ichigo…"

"What's up, Toshiro?"

"I don't like this…"

"What do you mean?"

"This…" Toshiro waved his hands around in a vaguely general gesture which only served to confuse the strawberry further.

"Mind expanding on that thought a bit more?" Ichigo laughed.

"It was too easy…" Toshiro muttered as he stopped on the spot and glanced up in the strawberry's direction.

The other male simply shrugged. "Maybe he just finally figured that he couldn't control you anymore and it wouldn't be worth it?"

"Not likely." The smaller male countered quickly. "Gin doesn't admit defeat that easily. He thrives off controlling other people's lives so that he can make their lives as miserable as possible and it's always worth it for him."

"Well, I don't know what to tell you…" Ichigo said while shrugging his shoulders. "But it's over, so try not to think about it too much, okay?"

"I guess…" The young genius muttered. "Let's go, if I never see this place again it will be too soon."

"Leavin' so soon?" Toshiro froze. He should have known… he really should have. It was too easy… too fucking easy because deep down he knew that Gin would never let him walk out the door with another man, especially Ichigo… not unless he let them.

"Gin…" Ichigo snarled. "What the fuck do you think-" The strawberry turned around about ready to pound the fox to the ground when he realized what Gin was holding in his hand, his usual cruel grin back in place.

"Gin…" Toshiro started, and when he too noticed the small revolver grasped in his former lover's hands, pointing at where else, but Ichigo's chest. "You don't have to do this…"

"I told ya earlier… I'm not a big fan of sharin'."

"Gin, you do realize that if you shoot me right now, you're only going to be pushing Toshiro further away, right? This isn't the right way to resolve things between you." Ichigo said calmly, his hands up by his head to as not to provoke Gin unnecessarily.

"I've noticed mah Shiro's being pulled away from me fer quite some time now… he's made his decision and he's a stubborn one. I know tha' he's slippin' through mah fingers, but tha' doesn't mean I'm gonna accept it, ya get mah drift, Ichigo?"

"Gin-"

"No. I told ya before… ya belong ta me Shirou, and if I can't have ya, then no-one can have ya." Gin smirked.

Ichigo heard the shot go off, closing his eyes and expecting to feel a blinding pain; but honestly apart from being cold from the being out in the street in the dead of the night and not to mention exhausted from running around town all night, he couldn't say he felt any different than a few seconds ago. This isn't right… I've never been shot, but this just can't be right… I should feel something…! Ichigo opened his eyes, immediately noticing a few things: one, Gin was gone… as thought he had simply ceased existing, two, when he looked over his body he found no blood or otherwise injury, third and most terrifying of all, he noticed Toshiro was lying mere feet from him flat on the ground, his eyes wide in fear and blood flowing much too fast for Ichigo's liking, from a small puncture wound in his lower abdomen.

Meanwhile, far away from all the commotion, Gin walked calmly back into his house deposited the gun in the closest trash can and proceeded to head towards his bedroom as casually as though he had simply come back from a late night stroll.

A/N: I'm not sure if I absolutely loveee this chapter, but I really needed to write something to get back into the swing of things and this is what resulted from me wanting to be productive and get something uploaded. Reviews are as always extremely welcome and very much encouraged.

Thanks for reading and please review! :D