Haunted

Review Replies: Kera-Izaki: Thanks, I will!
Shadowkittae: Hopefully this chapter will shed some light on what is going on =)
Kunitsu: Yeah, Shiro is a weird seme that way…hopefully he will get over it.
NeonOranges: If duel Ichigo molestation was an Olympic sport I would get front row tickets =D
MasterAkira: I can’t guarantee that there will be more duel molestation…but maybe.
Kitaro: Thanks!
LGFS: I haven’t read the books in a very long time too. I was tempted to pick it up and read it again but I was worried that there would be less originality in this story so instead of borrowing a few key plot points it would be like a screen play…which I didn’t want.

Beta’d by the wonderful WarriorNun- thank ya!

Chapter 6

It was Rukia, like always, who had gotten Renji and me into dancing. She had dragged us by our ears to a dance one time and forced the both of us to actually enjoy ourselves. Now it is a regular occurrence that Renji and I found both fun and sensual.

I hadn’t seen Shirosaki for two days and I could feel the tension coiling inside of me, begging to be released. So I called Renji and Rukia and asked them if they wanted to go to our favorite dance club, Seireitei. There was nothing like freely grinding against his boyfriend while their actions were lost to the dark and contorted by flashing light.

Renji had a firm grip on my waist as he rocked his hips forward to the beat of the music. Rukia was dancing with a girl named Orihime while Byakuya, who insisted on chaperoning them, sat in a dark corner and watched.

Eventually, Renji and I grew tired and told Byakuya and Rukia that we were leaving. Renji had work the next day and I was still stressed out over the whole ‘ghost’ thing.

We exited the club, laughing and holding hands. It was a warm evening but Renji stayed closed to me with out shoulders brushing. He gave my hand a squeeze and smirked when I turned red, making me look away with a scowl.

“What do we have here?”

We both turned to see three guys all with heavy motorcycle jackets lounging against an old muscle car. They were too far away and it was dark so I couldn’t make out any of their faces, but their mocking tones and hyena laughter told me that they weren’t interested in a friendly chat.

“A couple of fags,” Another one jeered.

“Fuck off.” Renji shot back. He tried to nudge me behind him but I rolled my eyes. I wasn’t a pussy, I was a fighter.

“Nah, that’s what it looks like ya were gonna do to your little bitch here.”

Renji and I were both startled when we heard a voice directly behind us. There was a loud smack as the man behind us punched Renji square in the jaw with enough force to knock him out. I didn’t stop to think. I swung my fist forward only to have it easily blocked so I delivered a sharp roundhouse kick to the still unseen man’s side. He grunted and then grabbed my leg, twisting it and forcing me to drop to the ground.

He grabbed me by the back of my shirt and yanked me against him while the others laughed and began to walk over. “Get the fuck off of me!” I screamed but only got my arm twisted behind my back for my effort.

He dragged me over to the other three men who I could now see more clearly. One had blue hair and a sneer that suggested he was looking at something disgusting. One was very tall and had shoulder length black hair and was skinny as fuck. The third one seemed rather bored with the proceedings and yawned before rustling his wavy brown hair.

“Heh, you really are a pretty boy.” The skinny one commented and smirked. “No wonder you’re gay, no woman would want a man who’s prettier than she is.”

“Bastard!” I hissed and tried to stomp on my captor’s foot but was shoved forward into the blue haired man who snagged my arms and pulled me over to their dark car.

“Play nice Grimmjow.” The man who had knocked out Renji said condescendingly.

“Grimmjow doesn’t even know what playing nice means.” The skinny one commented.

“And you do?” The bored man asked with a yawn.

“Shut up, Stark. I know how to play real nice.” The skinny man then proceeded to stalk over to Grimmjow and me and grabbed a hold of my hair, yanking my head back.

“Ya can’t have all the fun, Nnoitra.” The last unnamed man drawled. His face still in shadows. “Pin ‘im down against the hood of the car.”

“Right,” Grimmjow shoved me back and I stumbled, catching my hand on the rusty car. The blue haired man smirked and stepped forward, but I was ready for him. Using the car for balance and as a brace, I swiftly brought my foot up and smashed it into the side of the bastard’s face.

He cursed and stumbled back a few feet into another car, gripping the side of his face and pulling his hand away to look at the blood. Nnoitra burst out laughing and reached for me, easily batting my attempts to attack him aside as he grabbed my arms.

“You little bitch!” Grimmjow swore and stepped forward.

“It’s you’re fault for underestimating him.” Stark commented and moved beside me as well.

“Tch…” He spat some blood to the side and glared at me. “Fucking fag knows how to hit.”

“It’s not hard to hit such a stupid target.” I growled back.

“Why you-”

“Hold ‘im down would ya?” The unseen man snapped and then I was shoved onto my back against the car with my arms spread on either side of me. I struggled to sit up but the man with the wavy brown hair grabbed my wrists and slammed them above my head, pinning them solidly. Grimmjow and Nnoitra grabbed my kicking legs and held them firmly as the fourth figure finally stepped forward.

I knew his face. I had seen it very frequently recently, and I never thought I would see him in a situation like this.

Shirosaki Taikei was grinning at me, his sharp teeth dully glinting in the sparse light. His hair and skin were as white as they were before, but his black and gold eyes were now a normal white and the red of an albino. I inhaled sharply in fear as he walked over to us confidently and leaned over to drag his [warm!] hand down the side of my face. I flinched.

“Ya certainly are a pretty fairy, aren’t ya faggot?”

“I think you’re a pretty ugly one yourself.” I shot back and earned a sharp slap across my face for the effort. I hissed at the sting and felt a small bit of blood trickle out of my nose as Shirosaki glared at me.

“Keep those smart ass comments to yourself, homo.” He pulled away and reached into his back pocket, pulling out something small and silver that I couldn’t make out. A second later there was a clicking noise and I realized what it was.

“You fucking freaks!” I shouted and threw all my strength against the hands that were holding me down. “You’re not going to get away with this!”

“Now now, I’m not gonna hurt ya.” Shirosaki soothed mockingly and dragged the side of the switchblade down my face. “Much.”

Grimmjow and Nnoitra snickered at that while Stark said nothing. I inhaled sharply and tried to hold as still as I could while the very sharp knife dragged lightly down my neck to my shirt where Shirosaki applied more pressure. “Don’t worry…I’m sure a catcher like you is used to it.”

Oh shit. “Fucking stop already!” I tensed my muscles in preparation to struggle again when Shirosaki pressed the blade down harder and began to drag it down my chest. “Ah!” My skin itself suffered little damage other than a light scratch, but my shirt was steadily cut in half as the blade continued its descent. “What the fuck!?”

“My, ya certainly do have the look of a fairy.” He shoved me ripped t shirt aside and dragged the blade across my nipple, making me inhale sharply. “What do ya guys think? Should we show this little fag why he shouldn’t mess around with men?”

“Hm…” Stark hums in agreement and his fingers flex against my arms.

“You fucking bastards!!!” I screamed, hoping somebody would hear me and save me from these crazy men, one of which was somebody who was supposed to be dead since I allegedly killed him.

“What do you care? You should be used to taking it up the ass.” Grimmjow commented.

“Step away from him now.” A cold voice drifted over us. The men holding me down froze and then glared over at the speaker.

Byakuya Kuchiki stood there in all his regal glory, holding a cell phone in one hand with Rukia latched to his other. “This doesn’t concern ya.” Shirosaki snarled. “We’re just teaching this fag a lesson.”

“Get off of him or I will call the police.” Shirosaki twitched and glanced at the cell phone which was poised in his hand.

“Tch…” With a snarl I was release and I wasted no time in running over to Renji and feeling his head. “Yeah, that’s right, run back to your boyfriend ya little bitch.”

Rukia tensed by Byakuya laid a calm hand on her shoulder. “Leave.”

They glared, but got into their car, slamming the doors hard and starting it up with a throaty roar before driving it away with shouts and excessive screeching.

I turned my attention back to Renji and nudged him. “Renji, Renji! Are you all right?” With a groan he began to stir and the Kuchiki siblings were at my side in an instant.

“You are unharmed?” Byakuya asked calmly.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” I muttered. “I’m more worried about Renji.”

“Your nose and chest is bleeding.”

I wiped at my upper lip slightly and then returned my attention to the red head that was slowly waking up. “Ichi?” He asked groggily.

“Ren…” I breathed a sigh of relief. “You okay?”

“Ugh, my head hurts…” He reached up and gripped his head tightly. “Where’d those guys go?”

“Byakuya chased them off.” I answered and smiled at Byakuya. “Thank you, by the way.”

“It is not something you should thank me for.”

“But still…”

“Am I bleeding?” Renji asked me loudly and I returned my attention to him.

“Just a little bump, you’re okay.”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t think you have a concussion, but try to stay up just in case, ‘kay?”

He nodded obediently and I smiled. “C’mon, let’s get you home.”

Byakuya dropped me off first at my house and then drove on to drop off Renji. I slipped into my house quietly since my parents were asleep, although they knew where I was. When I finally got into my room I let out a sigh of relief and let the jacket Renji let me borrow drop to the floor. I hissed as I unconsciously jarred the long scratch across my torso and flicked on my bedroom light to cross the room and examine it in the mirror. It was a superficial cut, but it stung like a bitch.

“What did ya do to yourself now?”

I froze as I heard the familiar voice I had heard so recently caress my ear. I slowly turned and scowled at the ghost who wasn’t dead. “What?” Shirosaki asked in irritation. “Don’t look at me like that, it’s not like I did it.”

“Actually, you did.” I said with a glare and turned to face him. “You claim that I killed you, when just under an hour ago you accosted me! A very undead, real, alive person!” I whispered because I didn’t want to wake my family but it still came across just as powerful as yelling.

Now Shirosaki was frowning at me in confusion. “I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

I snorted and crossed my arms over my bare chest. “Do you want to know why I can’t remember killing you, or why you can’t remember killing me?”

“Stop…”

“It’s because I never did.”

“Stop…”

“It’s because you’re alive.”

“I said stop it!!!” He screamed and I backed up quickly, making my back hit the mirror.

A concerned look crossed his face and he stepped forward to pull me up right but I flinched, making him freeze. “Don’t touch me.”

“Ichi…”

“You’re just as bad as you’re alive self.”

We were both quiet for a moment as I righted myself and Shirosaki studied me with a frown. “What did he do to ya?”

I snorted and turned away. “I don’t know…why don’t you find out from him yourself?”

He said nothing. I looked up and saw that he was gone, leaving only a slight chill in his wake. I turned off the light and crawled into bed with just my boxers on, not wanting to waist energy in getting into pjs.

I couldn’t fall asleep despite how tired I was. All I could think about was the ghost’s apparent concern and the live Shirosaki leaning over me with a leer and a knife. I rolled over and buried my face into my pillow, squeezing my eyes tightly shut and wishing the world away.

…

Shirosaki watched the boy on the bed toss and turn before finally settling down. When he was certain the orange haired teen was asleep he glided over and settled next to him. Ichigo’s face was so much more peaceful when he was asleep. Beautiful and almost ethereal with the soft orange bangs barely hiding his closed eyes.

The ghost continued to stare and then shifted forward to lightly kiss the corner of Ichigo’s mouth. The teen frowned in his sleep and burrowed deeper under the covers, making Shirosaki chuckle and pull away. Oh how he wanted to do that again when he was alive, if such a thing was possible. If Ichigo was telling the truth about him being alive…

Shirosaki stood again and gave one last glance to the sleeping figure on the bed before disappearing once more.

LINE

So…how many of you saw that coming? Are you more or less confused now? Hehe…