Yoite

With a few clicks he submitted his profile. He didn’t get out much but that didn’t mean he could have a friend online right? He let out a quiet sigh, got up and headed over to the kitchen for a snack. When he came back he had an e-mail saying he had a match. 

"…Already?" he murmured. He sat down and looked over his supposed match quickly. With a slight shrug he opened an email and typed out a greeting.

Hello to you.

This is a little out of the blue, but apparently we were matched up on a dating website. If you are interested in talking to someone then cool, just hit reply and we can get to know each other.

If not, that’s cool too.

I don’t often leave my apartment so I’m in no rush to meet in person. My name is Takashi, I’m a college student Majoring in Medical science (Mainly Pharmacology) and art. If you have any questions just let me know.

Signed,

Takashi

     He moved the mouse over and opened it up, scanning over the message before him. It actually wasn't too bad; this guy seemed like someone he wouldn't mind messaging every now and then.

[Hi,

It's not all too shocking, I hadn't expected that it would find a 'match' so soon. But I can't really complain over the results.

I'm a second year in high school, almost third, however - I'm quite sickly, so I never get out of the house. Although if I had a reason perhaps I would.

Yoite]

        We thank you for joining our website.

        Do you wish to find true love? A constant companion?

        You have come to the right place. Please fill out the following form in your response and we will find the perfect match for you!-

—

Gender: (Any gender is fine.)

Age range: (16+)

Job: (if required)

Location: (prefered place they live)

    [Gender: Male.

    Age Range: Under 21 but above sixteen

    Location: Tokyo City

    Looking for: Friends, people who know how to keep a distance yet maintain interest.]

Looking up at the boy, Kon’s mouth slowly contorted into a large smile due to the others words. He would like nothing more than to be Yoite’s friend, eagerly bringing up a hand to take Yoite’s and shake it awkwardly. The only reason it was awkward was due to the fact that Kon was sort of upside down with the way he was looking at Yoite…. But other than that he was happy.

    The male hummed, it was probably better to meet Isshin now, and after last night's upset and checking himself earlier, the bandage did require a change. He'd been up and down the stairs a couple of times ,and also realised Kon was itching to like hug him or something. "You think you could help me walk there?" He'll definitely know why in a moment or two.

Thus the younger male had his arm slung around Kon's shoulder as he helped him to the clinic. If he had any questions he certainly wasn't voicing them just yet. Which suited Yoite, he didn't want to talk about it yet. However, if the doctor asked, he'd tell him.

    He returned, sitting down a little closer to him than they had been before, despite the other being on the floor, because of his wounding, it would be dangerous of him to get down to Kon's exact level, never the less he was still sitting quite close to the other male.

Yoite breathed in deeply, it wasn't that much closer, just a bit. He looked at Kon, who still seemed a little, upset or bothered? He wasn't sure. "I'm sorry if I hurt you." Yoite stated, that was the last thing he wanted to do to anyone.

       "I have.. a few things to get through, it's not you." He paused, that sounded like a break up. "You know, you struck me as very kind yesterday when you arrived home, and again in the morning. I hope we can be friends." He'd never uttered such words to anyone, usually telling people to leave him alone, to stop looking at him. 

But for this adorable goof, Yoite could see there was no harm in befriending him, he may be able to provide him comfort if something bad happened again, when Ichigo wasn't there, he couldn't rely on the one brother.

"Bleach: Soul Resurreccion. It’s a beat-em-up game," Kon explained, pretty much beaming across at the other male. Smiling at Yoite, Kon shuffled over to him slightly and offered him the controller "You wanna have a go? It’s really fun… and you can just mash the square button to take down guys real quick."

Ichigo smirked slightly as he finished up with the cleaning and leaned against the wall, staying back to give the pair a moment. The orange haired brother never really had much care for the game, not caring about ghosts or spirits or whatever the hell it was about… some orange haired teen going around and swinging a sword to fix all his problems. 

    He'd never actually played a video game before, so moving the controller as he did every time he clicked something or moved the joy sticks, in fact his character just got KO'd, however he wasn't one to give up easily which should be quite obvious by looking at him.

This method was definitely proving ineffective. He handed the controller back to Kon. "Uh, you play better than I do." really, watching was much easier, a little boring at times, but he wouldn't look so stupid just watching, and he had this massive urge to move away, noticing how Kon kept creeping closer.

      It wasn't that he was untrustworthy or anything, Yoite just preferred space when he could get it; which was most of the time. Kon seemed very nice and all, but he just didn't feel like he could open up to anybody not yet, Ichigo last night had been an exception.

“Sure, I’d love to take you shopping… the clothes look a little baggy on you,” Ichigo chuckled, rubbing the back of his head due to how poorly dressed Yoite was because of him. “How about we go later when it’s supposed to cool down and uh…” Ichigo leaned and murmured to the boy for the next part, not wanting to embarrass him. “If you feel uncomfortable with going out in public with your marks showing I can try to find something to cover them for you…”

“You don’t wanna go shopping with Ichigo…” Kon eventually spoke up from the couch, peering over at the two as he twisted in his spot and looked over the top like a kitten observing its playthings. “Ichigo has a sucky way of dressing, let me take you.”

“Yeah cause Yoite wants to go into a shop and come out looking like he grabbed the first two things out of his closet at random…” Hichigo stated, not looking away from his magazine which caused him to miss the bare foot that came to rest against his face. The foot was possibly the only thing stopping him from realising he had just kind of helped the dark haired male.

Kon glared at his albino brother, Ichigo and Yoite not able to see what was happening to the pair due to the back of the couch though Ichigo did have a good idea… hearing the magazine shuffle as it rested between Kon’s foot and Hichigo’s face.

“… I think Yoite just wants to be able to get back to the house,” Ichigo stated blandly, rolling his eyes and turning back to smile at the kid. “Don’t worry, Kon won’t pull any of that kicking stuff on you.”

“Course I won’t,” Kon mumbled in a reply before yelping, Hichigo finally grabbing the boys foot and yanking him so he fell to the floor. “Hey! What was that?”

    His gaze drifted back to Ichigo, nodding in confirmation. "Maybe a hoodie or something?" Though it would look out of place, a scarf would definitely look worse; he just wanted to enjoy the day, get a couple of clothes, maybe also chat with Kon a little who seemed to want to get to know him.

Finishing his food, he decided to slide off the stool and sit with Kon for a while, let Ichigo clean up plan out the day for them. Of course, he sat on the opposite end of the couch, looking at whatever the auburn haired male was playing; it didn't look like something he was familiar with.

“I see that is quite unusual as… well forgive me for saying so but I don’t believe you experienced that problem some time ago,” Isshin stated as he brought a hand to stroke his chin in contemplation.

There were other explanations for why Yoite could be experiencing this particular problem through it wasn’t due to anything clinical… Isshin actually expected that this particular issue was caused by psychological strain. He expected that it could in fact be due to the negative events and experiences that Yoite had gone through in his past, knowing that the boy had been subjected to a number of cruel home lives even if the boy had never opened up about it before… Isshin was not a stupid man no matter how foolish he acted and it was actually quite easy for him to notice these kinds of things.

     Yoite sighed once more, looking up at Isshin with troubled eyes. What he was about to say was going to be hard for him to do. He'd never told anyone about it before, not even Ichigo whom he shared a lot of his troubles with, ever since that first night the orange haired boy had held him when he'd awoken in terror.

"I.." No that wasn't right. "Two years ago, around this time." He pointed at the ugly scar on his neck. "I received this." It was ugly, in plain sight - people often whispered about it at school, and usually one of the other boys would come to his rescue, that usually helped. However, so close to the anniversary, it just wasn't helping. "My father, he did it to me." Hence he could never refer to Isshin by anything, except for... you.

      "You see, when I was born; my mother died.. And I was blamed." He couldn't cry over it, he'd done that enough in his life time, now it just made him feel hollow and sad for the people who so persecuted him for something that wasn't his fault. "I haven't been able to ever talk about it; you're the first person.."

Ichigo was in the kitchen, pouring himself a glass of juice as he felt rather dehydrated despite the cold. Hichigo was on the couch, lying on his back and reading some sort of magazine about music and games and other stuff that Ichigo didn’t really get into… the pair were two very different people and even though they had spent a lot of time together over the multitude of years they had found themselves interested in different things. Hichigo’s head rested on Kon’s leg, the brunette brother playing one of the games on the television console along with the occasional shout of triumph or muttered curse of defeat. Finally there was Isshin who was out of sight at the moment, the door to the clinic wide open as he worked within the room. He didn’t have a patient at the moment but still working on some filing, also attempting to figure out the budget for them while they had their latest house guest. It wasn’t such a difficult arrangement though Isshin was still sending some money over to Yuzu and Karin overseas to assist the friends they were staying with but even then the government was supplying the Kurosaki clinic and household with some money to assist in taking care of their ward.

“Morning Yoite,” Ichigo smiled as he spotted the boy slowly walking down the stairs. Grabbing another glass, Ichigo poured the boy a glass of juice and offered it to him. He reasoned that Yoite would most likely be hungry due to the fact that he hadn’t eaten any dinner last night and it was quite late in the morning.

“Give him some food, Ichigo~” Kon called out from the couch, Ichigo looking over to see the youngest brother kneeling on the couch and peering over the back to stare at Yoite. Hichigo meanwhile was scowling, Kon’s movement forcing the albino to sit on the opposite end of the couch to read his magazine.

      Yoite sipped the juice before speaking again. "Yeah, I'll be fine with anything though." He assured, fixing up the clothes that he swam in. They were nice, and he wouldn't mind his own in a similar style; however something more appropriate to his size would be much better.

He observed as the other male made bacon and eggs for breakfast; judging by the dishes and lingering smell, the others had also eaten the same meal. To Yoite it was both a good thing and a scary thing; it meant he was being included - which was nice. But it also made him fear that if they decided one day they no longer liked or wanted him. He would be hurt.

    Eating in silence was nice; Kon seemed to have settled down, and he was still very indifferent towards Hichigo, as the other male was to him. Ichigo began cleaning dishes as Yoite finished with them.

"Say.. Uh.." He paused.. "Remember you said that we could perhaps go and shop for clothes today." Another awkward paused, fixing up the clothing too big for him that slipped. "Maybe we can, I feel alright today." He wasn't sore, Yoite had taken his pain medication on the way down stairs.

     Eyelids falling heavily; the young male slipped into a deep sleep, remaining such a way until morning, despite the light throbbing through the wound on his abdomen.

Light crept into the room when the sun had risen; Yoite found himself alone; which he didn't really mind. Ichigo probably had things to do, even if it was the holidays. Eyes scanning the room to find some sort of clock, noticing the one on Ichigo's bedside table, it was about 10:30 in the morning.

      "There actually... is something.. I wanted to talk about." He turned away, they had shared in a similar discussion once before; but in the past it had made sense, his body was terribly ill, but it was better now. "I have.. I'm not able..." He paused, turning back to look at Isshin. "I am unable to get aroused." Yoite couldn't think of a reason, but it was more than likely to do with the emotional strain over the last couple of days.

That face… not Yoite’s face in particular but rather the expression that sat across it, he had seen it many times some years ago. It was one that every person in the Kurosaki household to date had worn though it had been so long that Ichigo had forgotten it. It was the face that was worn by them the many days after their mother had passed away. Ichigo had seen it on all of the men in the family… he had never seen Yuzu and Karin make quite the same expression as they were mere babies when it had happened. But he had seen it on Kon… just a little kid when he had found out that their mother had passed… hell, they were the same damn age. The three brothers only separated by minutes. Hichigo had worn the face though for not as long as Kon, able to fake a smile though it came across so weak he may as well have been screaming to everyone. Even Isshin had worn that face, the face of pain and agony as he had lost the woman he had truly loved… and Ichigo… Ichigo had never believed he had worn that face until one day where he had glanced in the mirror to see it upon his own features, twisting them to show just how badly he was hurting.

It was a face that portrayed great hurt and sadness, the face that showed how much the person wearing it just wanted to be held. So Ichigo didn’t ask for permission this time, reaching back to switch off the light before hopping onto the mattress next to Yoite, tenderly placing his arms around the boy’s body and clinging to him as much as Yoite was supposed to cling to Ichigo.

     But that was what he liked about the boy holding him right now, Ichigo so far hadn't pushed, he hadn't asked - he'd even assured Yoite that he looked fine, that nothing was wrong. Of course those were probably just kind words, but they did at the time sound sincere.

Managing to wrap his own arm around the other boy, Yoite rest his head in the crook of his neck; this was the closest he'd ever been to someone, and the closest he'd allow, the walls fortifying his heart had fallen, but they'd be up again in no time; it was the sad truth of the matter.

“You don’t have to worry about anything like housework, the boys got some done before they let for school and I can do the rest. Don’t you worry,” Isshin grinned widely down at the boy before his face grew a trace of seriousness. “However I do think it would be best if I move you downstairs so you’re closer… one trip to the clinic for a quick check up and then you can go and laze the day away on the couch.”

     The man carried him down to the clinic, Yoite had since grown to like wearing looser fitting clothes, a little like Ichigo and Kon, it hid his body more, and they didn't get too hot too quickly, they were comfortable, and they looked nice.

Sliding onto a bed in the clinic, Yoite wondered what exactly Isshin wanted to check, the two had shared in medical secrets, that were even being restricted from appearing on his file, because the boy had asked - even though technically the things that had happened could have cost the man his job, but that wasn't the deciding reason, it was for his own privacy.

“Where’s Yoite? Why didn’t he come down with you? What did you do?” Kon pouted, questing Ichigo as the boy walked, following his brother like a second shadow as Hichigo watched from the kitchen entrance.

“He just isn’t feeling well, moron. He wants to see dad,” Ichigo explained without looking back, instead knocking on the clinic door before Isshin came along to open it, glasses balancing on his nose as he looked over his sons.

Kon meanwhile scampered off in the hopes to see Yoite but of  course was interrupted when Hichigo grabbed a hold of him and pulled him off to the side. Kon cried out in surprise but Hichigo ignored him, grabbing his own school bag and dragging the brunette along to school. Hichigo understood that the last thing Yoite wanted was probably being disturbed by a loudmouthed idiot like Kon.

“Hmm? What is it Ichigo?” Isshin asked, watching the other two brothers in the back and waving them both off.

“Yoite isn’t feeling well… I need to go off to school so can you go check on him? I don’t think he can come to school today,” Ichigo explained once more, glad that his father wasn’t acting the fool or once.

“Of course, you head off,” Isshin replied, stepping into the main room and patting the boy on the head. Ichigo scowled but set off nonetheless, saying his goodbye as Isshin went upstairs.

Stepping into Yoite’s room… or rather Ichigo’s room… Isshin w left the light on in case it would bother the boy, walking to the bed side and resting his hand on Ypoite’s head. He was pleased that there was no great temperature, moving to brush the boy’s hair tenderly instead.

     "I have a strong headache..." He knew it really wasn't a good idea to stay home because of a sore head, he hadn't a concussion or anything, no; just an ordinary headache from not enough fluids.

"Truthfully, I just needed a day to rest, things have been easier lately, thanks to you and the guys, but some days - I just feel heavy and weary." He couldn't tell the man his exact reason for wanting to stay home, about the memory that plagued him, and if you looked hard enough you could see it.

      Yoite trusted the family, so he would walk around with the scars visible, on hot days it made sense not to cover everything up. Like that first day he had been there, especially - since the boys had helped him acquire clothes that were both comfortable, and also suited him. Not only that but he still had a few long-sleeve skivvies, for when they would go out.

"Yoite!" Ichigo shouted in his hushed voice, not wanting to wake anyone quite yet as it could just be something that was due to a night terror rather than an actual emergency. "What’s the matter? Are you okay?"

Quickly walking to the light switch, Ichigo flipped the switch and allowed the light to envelop the room. After he could see properly, Ichigo walked back over to Yoite with hurried steps so he could check on the male properly. It was simple enough to tell that the scar on the neck hadn’t reopened or anything, too old for that to happen… however as he inspected the other wound he was surprised to see that it hadn’t reopened either… this problem that had caused Yoite to awaken couldn’t have been from the wounds at first… the way that he had been sleeping had been in such a way that it wouldn’t have exacerbated the wounds.

    Once more he was startled when light flooded the room, that was all he needed, there was light, he really was safe - so the painful thing had been a dream and not the events of today. It made him feel slightly better despite the fact they were events from the past, but not immediate, it was alright. He'd be fine.

Surely Ichigo must have noticed the way a hand protectively rested over the the old wound on his neck. He looked up at the other boy with his dull grey eyes. There was still slight fear in them, but it was okay, he'd managed to regain partial control now.

     Yet he could feel a knot constrict his throat. Yoite choked on a sob before placing a shaky hand on Ichigo's torso. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry." He wailed. "That wasn't meant to happen." In the hospital they'd knock him out with drugs so heavy nothing could make him move until they'd worn off, that was how the 'professionals' dealt with Yoite's broken psyche, to render him from disturbing other patients.