Chapter One

Inside the Dollhouse

Gin Ichimaru looked like the type of person that would be down in the warehouse district looking for something less than legal. His silvery hair hung eternally in his eyes, and he had a perpetual smile on his face. He was one of those people that just looked sneaky. The way he moved was something that fed more into this image. He had a way of moving without people realizing he had done so, and they often didn't realize he was behind them. He wore suits and ties with plain white shirts, nothing special, and in fact, he was rather unnoticeable most of the time. Then, when people spoke to him, they got a feeling he was a strange fellow. He just was not a trustworthy soul, most people would say. Sort of creepy was another thing people said about him. Some people went farther and said he was a pure snake. He was difficult to trust and that made him perfect for this job. No one could lie as well as he could, and no one could walk into the most disturbing situations without a flinch of surprise like he could.

Gin had been on murder scenes where bodies were dismembered and he was able to walk through them with composure. He'd seen some grisly torture scenes from local gangs fighting with each other, people torn apart literally, and he always seemed unfazed. People described him as cold, some called him the ice snake, and he didn't mind. It went with his image, and he had to maintain his image more than anything. To be honest, it wasn't that it didn't bother him, it bothered him as much as anyone else, he was simply better and handling these things than other people. His division in the organization he worked for often handled the dismal and hopeless, so it was no surprise than his current mission was under his purview. These people down in this area were in the depths of despair in which no one could reach.

That's why he stood now with a private keycard into a slum warehouse in downtown Tokyo. He'd come a long way to get here, and spent the last three weeks buy hookers and rent boys and paying them to leave when he got frustrated with them. They weren't what he was looking for. No, he was looking for something special indeed. Something that the typical red light district didn't have. The laws were rather unclear when it came to purchasing companionship. Both female and male prostitutes walked the streets as cops passed them by. Love motels set up shop and no one batted an eye, as long as no one was "pimping" or running them like a brothel, they were left alone, like the group of hookers he worked with to find this place. They called themselves the Visored because they identified themselves by working with a fabric mask when they were on the streets. People knew not to mess with them because they knew they would have back up. They were a group that protected each other, and were more like a family than anything, and worked out of a Love Motel called the Dangai.

Coincidentally, the Rukongai motel was actually managed by the sister of one of Gin's fellows in law enforcement, and owned by his family. It had been more than handy lately because of the information that they often had to offer. They had got him to this place, however. That was more than enough. He was curious because the girl that had been approached looked very child-like, which was why they were suspicious. A couple of the others had mentioned something about a place that dealt in "underage" tastes, and that was quite illegal.

Gin entered the building and there was a nondescript looking monitor over a row of eight drawers. In front of these drawers was a table with a simple binder on it. The monitor lit up and words appeared on the screen with a computerized voice.

"Welcome to the Dollhouse. Pick a sweet for yourself from the binder. Make your choice. Place requested fee inside the drawer with the number matching your choice. You will receive a key. Proceed up the stairs to your left to the designated room. Use the key and enjoy your stay. Replace the key in the drawer upon leaving. Remember, you have received a great privilege to come here. Thank you."

Gin opened the binder, unsurprised at what he found. This is what he was looking for after all. The first page was what looked like a little girl. Her hair was orangey red, and her eyes were almond shaped and dark brown. She was made up with white pan makeup and vivid doll-like features. The top read "Strawberry Tart" and listed a price of 300,000 yen. He flipped the page. Another made up the same way, but with blonde hair in pigtailed braids. Clear blue eyes looked back from the page of this one. "Crepe Suzette" this one read, with a price of 200,000 yen. He flipped the page again. This one was named "Chocolate Éclair" and had short, pixie cut brown hair and bright eyes looking back and light colored skin, but there was a large x on the page with hasty writing that said "no longer available". There were five more, but the prices went down as the book went on, obviously the top earner was the first listed with the final entry an older looking choice named "Raspberry Truffle" that had one a pair of bright pink pigtails, and costing 50,000 yen. All were highly made up to look like a little girl's doll and had vacant expressions.

Gin smiled and counted out 30 of the fifty 10,000 yen bills he was carrying in the first drawer and pushed it in. In for a penny, in for a pound, he thought. Might as well see what their highest earner was like. A moment later, it popped out again with a silver colored key attached to a strawberry keychain. He nodded to himself and followed the dark and creaking stairs up to the rooms. The place looked more like a rundown squatters' home rather than a location for this particular type of business. The hallway was dimly lit, and he swore he heard rats running in the walls behind him. This was not boding well for a pleasant experience. The area to the right was a row of eight doors, each numbered. The outside of the doors was rough and had peeling paint. All in all, the place was dark, dank, and lonesome. He wondered what kept people coming back and speaking so highly of this place? He shook the thought away and approached the first door. It was adorned with a sign with a number one on it and a strawberry. He unlocked the door, noting as he entered there was a light above the door that was on. An indicator someone was coming up?

He stepped into the room quietly. It was like stepping across a threshold into another world. All of it was decorated to look like a child's room. The walls were white except for the framed decorations of teddy bears, princesses, and hearts and simple white shelves. On the shelves sat the kind of knickknacks one would find in a child's room, small ceramic and porcelain dolls, bud vases with fake roses in them, and red glass jar candles. The room smelled of the cheap strawberry scented candles. The smell of the candles was not quite strong enough to cover the underlying smell of ammonia and cleaners. Besides the candles, there was a white metal floor lamp beside the door providing enough light for the whole room. On the other side of the door, there was a large empty wicker basket lined with plastic. The center of the small room was dominated by a white metal framed canopy bed. The white metal curved in scrollwork that made hearts here and there in the frame. The bed looked to be a twin and was covered with a strawberry printed covering that had lace all around the outside edges cascading down to the floor. Over the canopy it was decorated with a matching lace edging. Beside the bed was a small table with a drawer in white with decorative red heart knobs. On the bed was a plethora of pillows and stuffed animals surrounding what he was here for.

She, or rather he Gin realized, was sitting in cross legged in the middle of the bed. Gin knew it was a boy because now that he was close he could see that he was definitely not a child, but had a perfectly flat chest and belly. Gin realized the dressing was for show, and the child-like room was made for those that would visit it. It was a fetish brothel, he understood. It catered to those that had a thing for little girls, and wanted to play out their fantasy without crossing that line into pedophilia. He understood now why the name of the place was The Dollhouse. The boys were all dressed like Victorian era children, which were the basis for most Victorian style dolls. They were highly made up and looked like dolls.

He took a closer look at this particular boy. He was indeed dressed like a doll, with thick makeup coating his face. His cheeks were colored bright pink over white pan makeup underneath. Both eyes were lined thickly in kohl and accented with strokes of hasty pink eye shadow. His lips were plump and coated in red lip gloss. His hair was vivid orange in the garish light of the room and put up in pigtails that sat high on each side of his head and fell down to his chin in wavy ringlets. He was wearing a cropped red top that was edged all the way around in white lace. As Gin slowly got closer he saw he was in a red mini-skirt to match the cropped top he was wearing, which like the top was edged in lace. The rest of his body seemed to be covered with the same pale white makeup that was used on his face. The boy didn't seem to notice that someone was there. With the way he was sitting, Gin could see a strawberry patterned undergarment of some sort under the edge of the skirt. He had a stuffed lion clutched against his chest. He didn't even flinch when Gin came up to the edge of the bed.

Gin looked at the table and saw a note lying upon it. He picked it up and opened it slowly.

"Welcome to Strawberry Tart's room. She's been a very bad little girl, so please punish her accordingly. There are plenty of toys in the drawer if you wish to use them to teach this naughty child a lesson. She is pouting, so she refuses to speak. Have fun making her cry for mercy. Most cannot accomplish that task. Leave used items in the basket by the door. Use of condoms are required. Enjoy your stay."

Gin frowned, replacing the note on the small table. He leaned a bit and opened the drawer and arched two silver brows. In the drawer was an assortment of sex toys of the like Gin rarely saw in use, along with lubes, condoms, and various paddles and whips. Gin blinked and shut the drawer. The fact that the boy hadn't moved or even looked at him had him worried. Gin sat down on the bed next to him and heard the distinct crinkle of plastic. The bed was lined with plastic to keep the mattress clean. This was quite a thorough operation. He leaned forward and snapped his fingers in front of the boy's face. Nothing, he just stared into space. He frowned and took out his phone, turning the LED on and shining it into the boy's face. He did flinch, slowly, and Gin saw that his pupils were dilated and nearly unresponsive. Drugged. He sighed, turning off the LED flash and dialing the number in the phone.

"Cap, inside, confirmed brothel, don't raid the place hard. Looks like we have forced a prostitution ring. This is not an underage ring. Victims are possibly drugged; at least the one I'm with is heavily drugged. We need to assume the others are as well until we know otherwise. Yeah, I know. I'm in room one. Proceed. One confirmed on site, entry way, someone is behind the wall taking money. There may be others, the place is immaculate inside the rooms, so there must be cleaners and set up crews." He put the phone in his pocket and turned to the boy. They weren't prostitutes like they thought, they were victims. That certainly changed things in how they proceeded.

Gin reached up and put a hand on the boy's face beside him. "Mah, mah, can you hear me?"

He blinked slowly and looked at Gin finally, tilting his head to the side slowly. He didn't speak, though. Gin nodded. "We're going to get you out of here, okay? Can you tell me if the others are drugged?"

The boy's brows knitted for a second and he swallowed hard and nodded slowly. Gin smiled at him in a way he was hoping was reassuring. It probably came off as creepy like usual, however. He sighed, and looked around, finding a container of hand wipes beside the bed. He pulled out one and began wiping away the white makeup from his arms, frowning as he uncovered various shading of bruises underneath. He shook his head, seeing the pale skin underneath. It was quite obvious that he hadn't been outside in a while.

"Can you tell me your name?" Gin said, putting the wipes aside and looking into his eyes.

His brow creased a bit and he started to speak then shook his head, an almost pained expression on his face. Gin heard someone below and knew that the team had come in. A few minutes later the door popped open and his blond haired lieutenant, Izuru Kira looked in.

"Captain, there you are, we got one in custody, but there's no one else here outside these rooms," he said, coming and glancing around. "They're not children," he said softly, looking at the young man.

"No, they aren't, but this is organized, for one, so that's not permitted, and for two, he's drugged, so this is most likely a forced ring. How many vics?" he said, moving to stand up.

Just as he started to stand, one of the boy's hands reached out and grabbed him by the wrist. Gin looked down and frowned. The boy wasn't looking at him, and his left arm clutched even tighter to the stuffed lion he was holding than before. It surprised him. Usually, they avoided him because he looked so much like the johns they served in these hellish situations. He sat back down slowly and put his other hand on the boy's. Slowly, his brown eyes moved up to meet Gin's gaze. He tilted his head to the side slowly.

"You…" he began softly, his voice rough and thick. "You…help?" he asked finally.

Gin blinked and nodded. "Yes, yes, we're going to help. We're going to take you out of here, okay?"

Izuru stood to the side with his arms crossed. This was a new one. He never watched his boss interact with the victims or the prostitutes they picked up. Usually, they didn't want anything to do with him since he looked so sleazy, especially at times like this when he was dressed for this.

The boy nodded. "Th…Thank…you…" he managed, but his hand gripped Gin's wrist even tighter. Gin glanced down, and back to Izuru.

"Kira, can you bring Isane or Retsu up here to see our friend here?" he said quietly.

Kira nodded. "I'm sure they've gotten the other rooms open by now, so we'll see what we have. I'll alert the hospital. Stay here, Captain. I'll be back."

Gin nodded but kept his eyes on the boy. He looked like he was trying to focus on Gin's face very hard; as though he was fighting the drugs he'd been given. Gin left his right wrist clutched in the boy's left hand where he'd grabbed it. He reached over and grabbed another wet wipe from the box where he'd left it on the bed. He started to wipe away the makeup but the boy flinched back from him. Gin held the wipe up so he could see it and this time he let him wipe away the white paint that was coating his face. Gin knew he wasn't going to come near getting it off the boy, but he hoped that at least he could give him some semblance of gentle touch rather than what he was used to in this place.

A few minutes later, the main medic for their organization, Retsu Unohana, came into the room with her case. She came over and smiled at Gin.

"Good work, Gin-san," she said smiling at him gently. "There are six other young men, all made up like this, and all are on varying amounts of drugs. I'll have to get full tox screens for them all to see what, but most of them are in this same state of near hypnotic trance. My guess is phenobarbital, but I won't know until we get forensics to clear the rest of the place or the screens back. Kira said you were having difficulty here?"

Gin smiled at her. "Ah, yeah, he seems to not want to let go of me," Gin said with a smirk. "That's a first, they're usually runnin' the other way."

Retsu nodded and came up beside Gin and smiled at the boy. "Can you look my way?" she asked, reaching out to adjust his face toward her. As soon as her fingers touched his face he jerked backward away from her and fell off the side of the bed, pulling Gin over with him. He'd tried to get away from Retsu, but he didn't release Gin's wrist.

"No more," he yelped as he tried to pull away, seemingly not realizing he still was holding onto Gin with his right hand and clutching the lion with his left. "No…no more…" he said shaking his head and trying to pull himself to his feet using his elbow on the windowsill. Gin managed to keep somewhat upright and got to his knees by him and used his other hand to grab his left arm. He turned suddenly.

"Hey, hey, calm down, here to help you remember?" he said quietly.

His eyes went back to the confused Retsu and back to him. "She hurts us," he said quietly, trying not to look at Retsu.

"What do you mean?" he asked, looking back to Retsu.

"The dark one, she has the needles," he said, trying to pull even further away from where Retsu was standing.

"A woman with dark hair?" he said, looking back at Retsu who nodded and left the room, understanding what was happening. "A woman with dark hair gives you the drugs?"

He seemed to relax a bit with Retsu gone and he nodded. "She doesn't like us…" he whispered.

Gin nodded, still kneeling beside the window. "Okay, okay, we'll get you out of here, okay?" he said, glancing to where his right hand still circled his wrist. "Come on, can you walk?" he asked.

He nodded and let Gin help him to unsteady feet. Gin put his right around his shoulders and let him hold onto his left wrist as they moved slowly to the door. When they got to the doorway the boy stopped and looked up at the lit light. "Customer up," he muttered slowly and clutched the lion against his chest. Gin swallowed and ushered him down the stairs. Luckily, until the building was cleared of victims, the forensics teams weren't allowed in, so there weren't many people around. They came out into the night and he winced and looked up at the lights. He led him over to his car, an unmarked, and a uniformed officer came his direction.

"Sir, did you want me to transport him?" he asked.

Gin shook his head. "Nah, I'm done here, I'll take him back with me. The rest get off to the hospital?"

"Yes, sir. Ward three," he said with a nod.

Gin opened the passenger door and sat him down. "I need you to let go," he said, pulling gently at his hand. He nodded and let go, both hands now clutching the stuffed lion he held. Gin buckled his belt and went to sit down. He was staring straight ahead and he had to wonder what all they had him on. They made it to the hospital and he was unsurprised to find that most of the victims had reacted poorly to any female nurses with dark hair. They had been given a ward together with separate rooms, and Gin led his charge into a room to a bed. A couple nurses came in and Gin stepped back.

Again, though, the minute one of them got near, he started to lash out, this time kicking one of them. Gin winced. Great, he thought as she started to yell for help restraining him.

"Wait, wait, don't," he said. "Here, let me help, he seems to trust me," he said to the flustered nurse. She frowned but nodded. Luckily, he'd just kicked her in the arm and not too hard at that.

Gin sighed and stood in front of him. "They just want to get these awful clothes off of you and put you in this hospital gown. Can I do it?" he asked with a sigh.

The boy nodded slowly. Gin smiled and held out his hand. "Here, let's get you in a shower while we can, yes?" he asked, looking to see the nurse nodding. The showers were equipped to catch any stray fibers anyway. One of the nurses followed him to snap the evidence pictures as he was undressed.

He maneuvered him into the shower, and sat him down on the seat it was equipped with. He pulled out the hair ties first, and then reached behind and unbuttoned the crop top. Once it was off, he could see fading bruises underneath the makeup that was covering his body. He stood him up to take off the skirt and underpants that were underneath it. He didn't seem bothered by any of it, however, just stared past Gin's face. Gin got the water warm and started washing off the makeup. Gin, while usually unfazed by this sort of thing winced at the amount of old and new markings on his body. It seemed he'd been in this brothel for a while, and if he was always left with the same instructions…

When he had washed it all off of him, they found a painfully thin young man, they guessed in his early twenties, with numerous contusions and abrasions. One of his eyes was black, and his nose was in need of being set properly. He got the gown on him and maneuvered him back into the hospital bed. He seemed so very docile, but he knew better. He'd seen the fight or flight reflex snap into reality anytime he felt threatened despite the drugs he was under. He had a feeling this one might be a handful.

He looked up as the door opened and one of his fellow captains, Captain Kuchiki, came in. He nodded. "Gin, you've outdone yourself this time," he said. "Quite a bust. Do you think any of them can identify who they were working for?"

"They weren't working for anyone," Gin said, watching as the boy stared out the window and clutched the lion to his chest. "All seven were drugged up so much they could barely move, let alone leave."

Byakuya nodded. "So, more than just a brothel."

He nodded. "Much more. We'll see what we can find out. Those the files on the others?" he said, looking at the stack Byakuya was holding.

"Yes, this one is the last before I take it to the office," Byakuya said. Gin arched a brow to ask to see them.

After a few minutes he handed the stack back. "This one," he said, pointing to the bed. "He's the one that was there the longest. The signs are more pronounced, and he has more scars than the rest, some are quite old."

Byakuya nodded. "So he possibly knows the most about what was going on," he agreed quietly. "I'll go talk to the head captain, but you should probably stay with him for now. I'll let the others know. This is too organized an operation to be some fly by night sex scam. There may be more victims. I'll see if my sister has heard anything at the Dangai from her friends."

Gin nodded and sighed. "Wonderful. Now I get to play guard," he muttered, grabbing a plastic chair and sitting it outside the door to the boy's room.

Hopefully they got fingerprints back soon so they knew who they were. Calling them John Doe 1-7 was going to get old really quick. He was about to nod off when he heard a shout and blinked and came to awake when he heard another. He turned back and opened the door to see one of the nurses struggling to restrain the boy with great difficulty. He was panicking, it seemed, most likely having woken up in a strange place as they flushed the drugs out of his system. Anyone would panic.

Gin put a hand on the nurse's shoulder. "Easy, sweetheart," he said and she gasped.

His eyes were locked on Gin the second he came into the room. Gin nodded. "Remember me, kid?" he said.

He nodded slowly yanking his hand out of the half tied restraint. "Wh-where…where am I?" he asked, looking around and blinking.

"Hospital, remember?" Gin said slowly, moving closer and sitting down beside him, untying the restraint the nurse had managed to tie.

He lifted his hands and rubbed his wrists and looked around. "What…what happened?" he said, patting his bed as though he were looking for something. Gin smiled and saw that the nurse had set the stuffed lion on the table. He reached over and picked it up. He patted the boy's leg and he turned back and snatched it out of Gin's hands immediately.

"I found you in a brothel, you were drugged. My guess is for quite a while. Can you tell me your name?" he said softly.

"Ich…Ichigo," he said, looking around with bleary but much clearer eyes than before.

Gin smirked. "Ichigo," he said softly. He understood the strawberries now. "Do you remember your last name?"

"K-Kurosaki," he said without thinking. "What…how long has it been?"

Gin blinked. "I don't know. How long were you in there?"

Ichigo shook his head. "I don't know…I don't know…it all blurs together…"

Gin nodded slowly. "Well, today is the 3rd of June, 2014."

"Five years," Ichigo muttered, looking back at him. "I've been there five years?" he said, frowning deeply. "Five years. Are the others safe?" he said, looking at him.

"They're fine; they're all here with you. We got everyone out. There was only one person other than the seven of you working there. We have her in custody," he said with a smile.

"Seven?" Ichigo said, eyes widening at the world. "There should have been eight," he said. "Someone was missing? We never leave the warehouse…" he said softly, looking worried.

"Don't worry, we'll find out what happened, for now, you need to rest. And try to avoid taking of nurses' heads, okay?" he said, smirking.

Ichigo nodded. "I do that, that's why she always gave me more shots than the others, I fought too many times…" he said softly.

Gin nodded. "You don't have to fight anymore, you're safe now."

Ichigo shook his head. "I'm not safe, none of us are safe, they'll come for us, take us again, and we'll be gone like the last time someone helped us…" he said softly, clutching the lion.

"What do you mean? You've been rescued before?" Gin said, now worrying more.

"I have," he said. "There was a policeman. In Hong Kong. He bought me and took me out but then they came and shot him at the police station and took me back. They were very mad after that. She broke my jaw."

"Who?" Gin asked. "Who are these people?"

Ichigo looked at him and shook his head. "The Sternritter. They don't let go of what they own. They'll come for us. They won't give up."