AN: It's been a while since I updated this and feel somewhat ashamed for taking so long. My apologies to anyone who yearned for an update.

Just a note, a lot of stuff happens in this chapter so strap in.

*****

Kohaku stood on the deck of the ship, his eyes drifting over the port. Dozens if not hundreds of people walked through the crowds, the noise near deafening. Yet Kohaku heard none of them, his racing heart overtaking all his thoughts.

This was it. He was finally leaving Japan.

While he might have preferred to be doing this with others, that was exactly why he had to leave. His brothers were probably not here anymore.

They had agreed to set off to the west someday, so they had to be there, waiting for him. This is what spurred Kohaku as he turned his back on his homeland for the last time.

The Captain of the ship was standing behind him, his large frame unmoved by the young man bumping into him.

"Captain!" He greeted, steadying himself against the wall. "How may I help you?"

"Question for you, kid."

"Yes?"

"Are you sure you want to go on this trip with us?" He asked, his eyes roaming over Kohaku. The youth knew what he looked like. Compared to the hulking men on the ship, he was tiny and looked liked a gust of wind would tip him over.

He'd heard it all before.

"Did I not pay enough?" He chose to ask, just in case it was something else.

"Payment isn't the issue." The elder scratched his neck, the look of pity in his eyes warming Kohaku's heart. He had been worried there would be no nice people on the ship. Yet this rough-looking man was worried about him.

How nice.

"You don't have to worry about me, Captain." He assured with a smile. "I'm tougher than I look."

The captain looked doubtful but shrugged. "Fine, but I ain't gonna protect you or anything."

"Thank you, sir!" He called out as the man walked away. Within minutes, they had set sail as Kohaku watched the shore of his homeland fade into the horizon. His heart raced with both fear and excitement.

What amazing things would he see once he got to the west?

***

After the ship left the port, Kohaku sat in one of the spare rooms, going through his stuff. While he didn't have a lot, his time on the streets taught him to always make sure his stuff was still there. As he did so, his mind drifted to how far he'd come.

Since the day he and his brothers got separated, he hadn't seen them again. It was hard for a while, his little heart breaking at the thought that he'd never see them again, yet he did what he did best.

He kept his spirit high with hopes of finding them again. His young mind couldn't think of a way that would happen but he never let go of that hope. Ten years later, his mindset hadn't changed much.

He was definitely going to find his brothers again and this trip to the west was his key to doing all that. As such, his default mood was chipper and cheerful.

When he'd first arrived on the pier that morning, the 18 year old was being admired by everyone he walked past. Men and women alike marveled at the beautiful flower drifting among the crowd. The few with the courage to talk to him quickly learned that he was looking for a boat to the continent.

"Eh? A little thing like you?" One man questioned, frowning at the young man. "They'd eat alive, little one."

"No, I'll be fine." He assured with a smile. "I'm stronger than I look." 

Some distance away, he saw a man struggling with some merchandise and ran to assist. While many snickered as they saw the thin and small man insist on helping lift the stuff, all laughter stopped when they saw him easily lift it onto his shoulder and walk away with nary a huff or struggle.

Kohaku paid no mind to others too much. He knew what they saw and was fine with it. He had tried to make himself suitable for anything. He had learned to speak politely since it was the best way to get jobs and well educated by sneaking into the schools. All in all, Kohaku had turned out pretty well for a street kid.

Then again, he technically wasn't a street kid anymore. He had been adopted by a kind family for a time and took the name Ishikawa. It was a nice life for a time but he couldn't stay. If he could, he wouldn't use their name but he couldn't venture over the seas without a surname.

"Thank you, mother. Thank you, Father." He mumbled as he bowed to the shore that had long since faded away. "I will honor the name you so kindly gave me. I'm sorry I couldn't be your son for a little longer."

He sighed, his eyes drifting to his boarding pass. He had kept the scrape of parchment safe for all this time, waiting for the day he could leave the island and seek out his brothers. The word "ENGLAND" stood out, his goal finally just a bit closer.

***

Kohaku had been watching the sunset when he felt someone draw close. Once again, the captain came to greet him.

"This your first time on a ship?" He asked with a smirk.

"I've been on boats but never this far out." He replied. "It's kind of scary but exciting too."

At that, the man laughed, liking the kid more already. "As long you ain't puking on the deck, I don't care. So Where ya goin', son?" 

In response, he gave the captain the letter. While he usually wasn't willing to let it go in fear of it being stolen, he felt that the captain wouldn't do that. He owned a ship so what would he need that little piece of paper for?

Out of nowhere, Kohaku was slapped on the back by the captain. The older man was laughing hard.

"I guess you're another one, huh?" The man couldn't stop laughing. The man started to walk away.

"Eh? Wait!" He cried at the captains retreating form. "What do you mean by that?" Kohaku asked confusion evident in his voice. The captain never answered the question, leaving the young man to stare after him. 

Thinking that the whole episode must have been some kind of joke, Kohaku decided to let the matter go, choosing to bask in the view. The sea was beautiful. So many colors reflected off the surface. As the boat tore through that surface, the waves crashed against the ship almost melodically.

With a smile, Kohaku admired the beauty of the sea until the sun went down. Somehow the sunset had always made him sad but he could no longer remember why.

***

Hours later, he found himself facing quite the dilemma. One that made clear why the captain had been so worried about him before.

Dinner. 

Most meals weren't scheduled so one could eat when they like as long as they didn't let it get in the way of their tasks. Dinner, however, was a social and scheduled event that was like a war zone.

The men on board with him were rowdy and lunged for the food like animals. It was very much first come, first serve so it took a while for Kohaku to get used it. After a few attempts at being polite, he rolled up his sleeves and went for it. After the brawl, the men gained some respect for him, previously seeing him as weak and submissive. They treated him like an old friend. It was definitely a good feeling.

"I'm impressed, boy." One beastly looking man with a thick beard said in awe. "You're quite a fighter. You're so skinny some of us thought you would starve before we make it the shores." The men laughed loud and heartily. Kohaku blushed in embarrassment.

"Aw, look at him." Another man snickered. "You made him blush, Hakuda."

"Hey, boy, I heard you're going to the Harrisons Manor after we dock right?" Another sailor asked, sounding a bit drunk. 

The room got quiet and all the men looked at Kohaku with concern. Confusion yet again crept its way into his mind for the second time since getting on board the ship. What was wrong with the Harrison Manor? Was it scary?

"What do you all know about the place?" Kohaku asked, sipping some tea from the table. No one would look at him. They all looked nervous and unsure which was a strange sight with men this strong and burly.

"Well, I can't say much about the place since I've never seen the inside the place." The man at the head of the table said after a long silence. "All you do need to know about is the new owner of the place."

"New owner?" He echoed, mildly concerned. "I thought Viscount Harrison was the owner. Did something happen to him?"

"Yes, he died some years ago." The man replied. He looked out the window and sighed. "He probably died of old age or something but the fact remains that he died a long while ago."

"So who is the owner now?" Kohaku asked, silently reeling from this new knowledge. The men remained silent for a moment, almost as if waiting to see if there was anyone listening.

"The... The Baron." He whispered, his hand shaking as he took a swig of sake. The men around them flinched and some even pushed their plates away at the mention of the name. Kohaku looked around, feeling the air get tense. If this Baron could scare men like these with a mere mention of his name, what could he do when Kohaku showed up on his doorstep?

"Who is this Baron?" He asked, wanting to know more. It was best to learn as much about this baron fellow before- 

Wait, Baron? 

"I'm sorry but shouldn't he be a Viscount rather than a baron?" He was sure that was how titles worked.

"He's not a baron." Another man explained, drawing a confused Kohaku to look at him. "I mean, he is a Viscount but Baron is the only name people know him by. He's never told anyone his real name. He's a real mysterious guy. No one knows how he got the house or who he was before gaining ownership of that place. We sailors only know his name and his legend." The man shuddered in fear of this mysterious Baron

"L-legend?" Kohaku stuttered.

"It's a mad tale of how he fell in love with a witch, they say, and lost his heart forever because of it. He sailed the seas for a while, bringing fear and death to those who had the misfortune to cross his path. A fearsome devil, they called him but now he is the Baron."

Kohaku stared at the men in wonder, his curiosity overshadowing his fear in an instant. This Baron person sounded like a really interesting person. He lost his heart to a witch? Like a totally real magic witch!? Did that mean he couldn't feel love? 

More fascinating, he was a sailor as well? Perhaps even a pirate! Kohaku didn't know a lot about life at sea but he'd heard tale of pirates and wanted to know more about them. This man, Baron had done something like that? He must know a lot of stories. He must have so many tales to tell but was a mystery. How very interesting.

"I really want to meet him now!" Kohaku exclaimed, super excited at the prospect of meeting and talking to this Baron. He hadn't realized that he said it out loud until he saw the incredulous looks on the surrounding men's faces.

"A-are you mad, boy?" They all yelled out. The phrasing was different but the meaning was the same.

"The Baron is an evil man."The captain yelled, worried for the boy. Surely he didn't know what kind of man this Baron was. "He'll cut ye open and rip your guts out while ye still breathe!"

"I think your thinking too much with only the legend to guide you, guys." He retorted with a smile. "Maybe the witch stole his heart but left him without her own. He is probably heartbroken and sad." Empathy settled into his heart as he continued. "He must be so lonely."

The men stared at Kohaku with both wonder disbelief evident in their eyes. This was a rare boy indeed. To feel sympathy for someone he had never met before and to have such unwavering trust in strangers. To read between the lines and show pity. If they all didn't know the boy better, they would have assumed he was just a sheltered rich kid.

The problem was that Kohaku was the curious type. If something was unknown, he strove to figure it out. No matter how stupid or dangerous the unknown fact was, Kohaku ran to solve it headfirst. It had always been that way with him. The only reason he had yet to get hurt or die from that was sheer luck alone.

The men continued their dinner, changing the subject as Kohaku let the fire of curiosity burn within him.

***

Days turned to weeks and then to months as Kohaku traveled across the sea. At the end of his journey, he found himself in London, England.

The place was so different from his home in Japan, he gawked at the strange building and even stranger clothes people wore.  The town's people wore big fancy-looking clothes that made Kohaku want to laugh. 

As he walked the street, he chuckled to himself at the strange clothes the people wore. Women wore dresses that spanned farther than their arms and the men wore tight clothes that looked like the tailor was trying to cut off blood flow. 

After hours of wandering about and asking for directions, Kohaku finally found the Harrison Manor. The gate alone towered over the young man as it gleamed in the afternoon sun.

He tried to peek inside but the manor was shrouded by bushes and trees. While it was disappointing, he was sure the manor must be beautiful. The one thing Kohaku had liked as he wandered about the city was the architecture. It was so different from the building back home and left the young man staring in awe,

Walking up to the gate, he noticed that the men standing guard had yet to move since he walked by minutes before. He had walked around the property twice but the gatekeepers hadn't even budged.

Englishmen were really something else, it seemed.

"Excuse me?" Kohaku asked in his best English. While he had been taught English while living with his adoptive parents, he had come to realize learned a few new words on his way here.

He could only hope the two men understood. The two burly men glared down at him but Kohaku just smiled back. 

"Is this the Harrison Manor?" He asked, turning to one of them. He presented his invitation to the man. "I was invited here a couple of years ago but I was too young to come before. I just turned eighteen so I can work harder than before."

The men looked at him then each other. Snickering to themselves, they nodded in unison. 

"Sure, son, you can come in." The man on the left said with a kind smile. Despite his size, this man seemed nice. He had thick brown hair like Kohaku and was handsome as anyone Kohaku had ever seen.

"Just make sure you don't regret it, kid." The man on the right warned. He was just as big but he looked rougher than his partner. His short black hair and scarred face would frighten most people but Kohaku thought nothing of it.

He only wondered how he got the scar and if there was a story behind it.

"Don't say that, Gregory." The nice man scolded. The smile they exchange was very affectionate. A little too much so. 

As the two started to talk more romantically, Kohaku snuck past them. That was certainly not what he expected out of the guards but this was a foreign country, so what did he know? Maybe men talked to each other like lovers here.

As he walked, taking in the sights, he found himself falling in love with the manor. It was truly breathtaking. Fresh cut grass filled the air while the bushes and trees acted as a path to and from the gate.

Beneath his feet, the pebbles crackled and the sun peeking through the canopy of leaves gave off a somewhat mystical feel. It was like he was wandering down a sacred path lost to time. Excited, Kohaku started down the path, not paying attention to his surroundings.

That's when he ended up bumping into a group of young men to which they all fell to the ground. The closest to him glared daggers at Kohaku.

"Hey, watch where you're going, !" One man snapped, helping him and his friends from the ground. There were six men who all wore the same uniform of a white shirt and black pants. There was a strange insignia on each of their shoulders. 

Looking up, he saw the group was now glaring down at him. Flinching, Kohaku bowed his head to the ground and practically yelled his apology.

"I'm sorry." Kohaku said in Japanese, and then quickly repeated it in English. 

Silence. 

Kohaku looked up from the dirt but could only see the men's feet. But, wasn't there six pairs in front of him before? Why were there only four now? 

The answer came quickly as he felt a hand stroke on his ass and upper back. Kohaku jumped away in surprise but ended up in the arms of another guy. He was the most muscular of the group and pinned his arms to the ground. Fear clouded Kohaku's mind, making him panic and struggle to explain himself.

Surely it was just some kind of misunderstanding.

"W-wait, what are you doing?" He yelled as they tore at his clothes. Were they strip searching him? This was the kind of thing people did when Kohaku was caught on someone's land without permission in Japan. "I'm not an intruder, I swear! I'm going to start working here! I was invited here ...Please let me go. I promise I won't bother you all if you stop now! Stop!" 

By the time he was done, he was almost completely naked. Still, he struggled, his words shifting from English to Japanese quite often.

"Oh, you were invited, were you?" The blond man who had yet to do anything said. Kohaku nodded desperately. "Well then, this will be even more fun. Do you have any idea what kind of place this manor is?" 

Kohaku would have answered but the man behind him tore off the remaining shreds of his clothes. He tried to call out for help but someone gagged his with a wad of his torn shirt. Once he was gagged the group proceeded to strip themselves. 

What was happening? Kohaku thought, his eyes darting everywhere.

The man behind him who was holding him down pushed him down to the ground. Looking up, he saw the men's lecherous stares. Kohaku knew what would happen if this went on. The same thing happened before in Japan. Except that time, he was saved by a stranger he hadn't seen. 

There wasn't one here.

The next couple of minutes were humiliating. The men took turns with him. They made him jerk them off and his mouth was used to pleasure the men. He was covered in their seed and outside was getting cold. Even when he begged them to stop and let him go the men just laughed and continued. 

The only good thing was that none of them tried to get his ass. He had yet to show his tears and he wanted it to stay that way. The men were panting at this point. The blond, the one who mostly came in Kohaku's mouth, spoke like a king to his followers.

"What should we do next to the naïve little foreigner, men?" The people called out there ideas. A good portion of the suggestions was unknown to Kohaku but a few he understood and reviled. 

With renewed vigor, Kohaku struggled to get free. At some point during the whole event, the man pinning him had bound his hands and he couldn't get free. Despite that, the men still held him down and spread his legs. 

On the ship he got injured so most of his legs were covered in bandages. The blond man held his cock in his hand and pressed the head to Kohaku's ass. With the five men holding him down, Kohaku couldn't move but for some reason, the men forgot to gag him again so he screamed.

"Someone, HELP!!!!!!" The man slapped him. Hard. Kohaku's eyes blurred for a while and the pain distracted him for a couple of seconds. All the while the blond man tried to enter him, pushing hard despite the lack of lubrication. The man hadn't even gotten the tip in before a voice roared out+.

"What the fuck are you people doing on my lawn?" A deep voice snapped from far behind the group. The group froze, their gazes snapping back as Kohaku heard footsteps rush over.

His captors, upon seeing the man approach, shivered with fear and made a mad dash for their clothes. As soon as they were dressed, they ran. The blond man, his would-be rapist, bowed to the man knowing that running wouldn't save him.

Instead, he tried another tactic to get out of trouble.

"My Lord Baron, this man was trespassing and we were just punishing him, sir." The blond man insisted. 

Heart racing, Kohaku felt a rush of rage fill him. Not only had this man violated him, but he was trying to lie his way out of it! He might be nice but Kohaku wasn't so stupid as to allow this person to screw him over twice.

*****

AN: This a super old story of mine so I actually forgot about a lot that happens in this story. Skimming over it, a lot happens that might need some tweaking but I don't want to change too much.

I'm sure there's a reason I wrote it this way.