Chapter 4 Four

Kaien spent the night on the hallway floor leaning against the bedroom door, listening to Megumi's sobs until she fell asleep. He didn't want it to be like this. He had waited for so long to have her, he had been through so much... Just looking at her last night, on stage, displayed like a delectable delicacy to all these vile men. She belonged to him, even before he bought her. She should only be displayed to his eyes and be taken by him only. Last night, he had watched her sleep after he brought her home. And when she was supposed to wake up and remember him.

She should be relieved and thankful that he saved her. She should see how much he had changed. And he would tell her how he set her free and fulfil her every wish and demand. And they would finally be together. But his fantasy never came true. She didn't recognize him. Her eyes only held fear and hostility towards him. At that moment he had felt an almost hate. He felt a need to hurt her like she had hurt him. He took away her freedom. And she looked so beautiful, all weak and helpless in his arms that he couldn't resist. He had to force himself onto her, to make her surrender to his love. To make her see she belonged to him like he belonged to her. Even if she denied it, her body was betraying her and they would become one. But in the process of bending her, he broke her. And he saw the tears. The tears that he swore she would never again shed when he took care of her. She didn't want him. She rejected him. She broke him.

Megumi woke up in a haze, feeling restless. When she tried to sit up, the soreness shooting from between her thighs brought back the unpleasant memories. Her innocence was gone. Stripped vilely from her by a stranger. What would her Nii-sama think? What would Ājei think? No, she shouldn't be thinking of him, she had abandoned any hope she had with Ājei when she quit college. She wanted to cry all over again. She had never felt so lost or helpless since the arrest of her Brother. What was she supposed to do now? One thought was playing over and over inside her head: Get out.

After a series of steady breaths to calm down her panic, she swallowed her tears. She was a Ishikawa. If she fell, she had to get back up. Wrapping the silk sheets protectively around her naked body, she looked around the room. She was alone. Rich sunlight poured from the glass wall, meaning it must be close to noon. Her nightie was torn in two on the floor. She stood up carefully, wincing from the abuse her body had suffered, the sheet secured around her. She walked towards the glass wall and the door attached to it. She gently turned the knob, trying not to make any noise. It was locked. She looked at the garden longingly. It was small and round, with forget-me-not flowers planted around the small cobbled path that circled the most prominent feature of the garden. The fountain. It was an Italian style marble fountain that looked quite old. It was beautiful. It was round, and on top was the statue of a small woman bent on one knee, feeding a strawberry to a big wolf who was lying next to her. Her small hand was laid on the beast's head, while her other held the strawberry to its mouth. Odd, but beautiful.

Kaien opened the bedroom door noiselessly, so as not to wake Megumi. But she was up and when he entered, she jumped back like a cat, her hands coming to hold the sheet tighter around her body. She kept her scared eyes on him, taking careful steps backwards. Ichigo kept his face blank, trying not to show how much it stung him.

"I've made breakfast." he stated and placed a pile of folded fabrics on the bed. "I brought you a few towels for your shower. Bathroom's over there." he pointed at a third door in the room. "You can put this on, it's my sister's and I guess it'll fit better than my clothes." on a second thought, "or you can walk around naked."

A small growl escaped Megumi, who was stuck against the wall opposite Kaien, wishing she could sink into it.

"I'm not hungry." she hissed, half angry and half scared.

"I don't care. You didn't have anything last night. I'll give you half an hour to wash up, if you don't come out I'll have to carry you myself all the way to the dining room." he spared her a sideways glance before he got out of the room. Once in the hallway, a deep scowl made its way on Kaien's face.

Megumi didn't move for a while, thinking over her situation. Maybe this was good. If she had something to wear and access to the rest of the house she'd find it easier to escape. She'd jump out of the window if she had to. She walked over to the bed, inspecting the supplies as if there was a bomb underneath. He had brought a plain yellow sundress and matching flip-flops along with the fresh white towels.

Megumi, with the resolution of escape deeply edged in her head, grabbed the towels and proceeded to the bathroom. It was lavish to say the least. It was covered in expensive marble, with a giant bathtub, cabinets and a huge mirror over the sink, which took up almost the entire wall. To Megumi's dismay, there was no key to lock the door. She figured even psychos don't fancy rape first thing in the morning. She shivered at the thought, ditching the sheet and walking into the chrome shower, with the intention of rubbing every bit of him off her body. She let the cold water wash over her as she scrubbed hard enough to tear her skin. By the time she was done, her body was so cold her lips had turned blueish. She inspected herself in the mirror, as if the loss of her purity had left a big scar that would show.

Nothing. Nothing except two small bat-like bite marks on the base of her neck, but it could easily be covered by her hair. She ran her small hand through it, pouting at the length. It only reached her shoulders. She used to have so beautiful hair, that fell like a raven waterfall down her back and up to her thighs. It was her pride. But she had to sell her precious mane three weeks ago, after she left Cole's. She wiped herself and slipped into the dress, which was a little small for her but decent enough. Her panties were torn from last night and he hadn't given her any underwear. Then a thought came to her. He said the dress was his sister's. And she must be a kid to wear that! Did she live in the house with him? Did...did she hear them? She yelped when the bathroom door opened.

"Time's up. Hmm, looks cute." said Kaien, smiling faintly at the astounded girl who started to flare up.

"H-how can you just walk in? I could still be in the shower!" she growled, praying that her theory on psychotic rapists was valid.

"Che, if you'd been in the shower so long you would have drowned so I'd save you and if you hadn't then I wouldn't see anything I haven't already seen." he answered casually, but the hurt that caused Megumi's face to contort momentarily made him want to bite his tongue. He scowled, lowering his face so that his eyes were obscured. "You should come eat." his voice was a little unstable and gruff.

Megumi waited for him to start walking in order to keep a distance between them. As she walked, she started to inspect the house for ways out. The hallway outside the bedroom was long with royal blue tapestry and a cream colored rug. Various doors were spread across it, probably opening up to more rooms.

"These are spare bedrooms. This is my sister's bedroom, when she stays over." said Kaien, pointing at a door with a pink daisy painted on it.

Megumi felt relief. Of course his sister wouldn't be staying with him! At the end of the hallway the space opened up to a small salon with two armchairs and a fireplace, which led to a massive living room with a dining table in front of two windows that took up almost the entire wall.

"This is the main living area, over there you can get to the pool room and the kitchen..."

But Megumi wasn't listening. She had walked over to the window and to her shock, she faced the view of the entire Tokyo City, the cars down the boulevard looked like ants! Megumi's mouth dropped. She would definitely not jump off the window! She turned around, feeling almost betrayed.

"Where the fuck am I?" she demanded.

Kaien raised an eyebrow and smirked when he saw her spring to life so suddenly. "My house. You like the view?"

"H-how can we be so high up?" she snapped, her hand outstretched and pointing at the window.

Kaien chuckled. "That's what you get if you buy the Division Imperial Penthouse."