Chapter 21

Captivity

"What exactly happened?"asked Aizen. Stark combed a hand through his hair, pacing around irritably.

"Ginjo took them! He must have used a distraction to pull away everyone. It's been fourteen hours now, Aizen. I have no doubt Ichigo is now mated to that bastard. Shiro may be as well."

Grimmjow growled low in is throat. "I'll kill him myself."

"You'll do nothing of the sort," Aizen said sharply. "If Ichigo is mated, then he will almost certainly feel Ginjo's pain, if it is severe enough. We don't want to risk hurting Ichigo, and Ginjo's death would undoubtedly be very traumatic. It might even kill him."

"How can you be so calm about this?" Grimmjow roared, turning the table over. Stark glanced at him. Aizen simply pinned the younger Alpha with his cold brown eyes.

"Do I appear calm to you?" Silence met the man's question.

Stark sighed, shaking his head as if to dispel the uncomfortable atmosphere. "Does Gin know about Shiro?"

Their leader's expression hardened. He didn't need to explain anything. Stark understood that Aizen had matters to tend to, and was left in charge of Los Noches as a last resort. Only he and Kaname were running things, and Aizen did not want to compromise anyone yet.

"Then we can't use Gin's skills," Stark said with a frown. His head dipped lower than before. As the full realization weighed down on him, he slammed a fist onto the table. He wanted to swear, but none of the words he knew seemed adequate enough.

A door opened, and Isshin entered. He moved awkwardly, as he was still injured, but he had a determined glow in his eye.

"Have you come to a conclusion? Perhaps a plan to get my boys back?" he asked boldly. Grimmjow scowled, and Stark shook his head.

"I heard that there is a witch here who can track someone's location," said Aizen

"Yes, but she cannot track the same person twice. And she can't use my blood again," the old wolve replied. Stark's head jerked back up.

"Then she can use ours to find Ichigo," he suggested slowly. " After all, we share a formal bond with him."

Isshin smiled. "I was hoping that you would actually think about that. If not, none of you would be worthy of keeping my son."

Grimmjow slapped him (gently). "This isn't a time to joke around!"

。o.0.o 。o.0.o 。

~With Ichigo and Shiro, Basement~

Ichigo and Shiro sat together on the bed, holding onto one another in the dark basement.

"What is he doing?" the albino whispered. Ever since his brother had returned with blood on his face, Ichigo had been able to since Ginjo's whereabouts, moods, even a few thoughts.

"He's pacing," the younger twin answered. "He is trying to decide what to do next. Ever since he first snapped, his entire life has evolved around getting a hold of us, and now…he doesn't know what to do."

Shiro shuddered. "That's a little bit scary. We're his obsession."

"He might try to mark you," Ichigo added. "But he won't make you his mate."

The albino seemed a little more at ease, but another thought occurred to him. "Does he expect you to sleep with him now?"

Ichigo's expression remained static. He stared straight ahead of himself, not answering his brother's question. In all honesty, he did not know. Ginjo had previously molested him with the intentions of marking him. But through the pagan mating ceremony, there were now limitations. Ichigo instinctually understood that the man could not force him to do anything, but he was sure there were other ways. The young man didn't know how it worked too well. He could only hope that his three lovers could find them before he learned.

Ichigo stiffened. "He stopped pacing."

"Why?" Shiro wanted to know. The younger twin tried to discern Ginjo's suddenly chaotic thoughts and emotions. They were more intense than anything he would have ever thought to have seen.

"He's remembering things…things that he is making sure I can't see." Ichigo dug as deep as he could, trying to make sense of the faces and expressions that appeared. As well as the emotions that accompanied them. One image stood out clearer than the rest. Ichigo turned to his older brother abruptly. "He plans to take us out of the country."

Anger filled Ichigo. He looked around the room before sliding off of the bed. He scowled, reaching beneath the bed to feel for anything that he might use as a weapon. He had come too far in this new life. He loved his three beaus, he loved Los Noches. He wanted to go to college with his friends, then help the supernatural beings that came to Los Noches. He would do anything to prevent that future from being taken away from him.

Shiro immediately understood his brother's intentions. "Ichi, you can't kill him.

"Says who?" the younger brother demanded. His hands found a metal support beneath the bed. He gripped it tightly and began to pull it.

"If he dies, won't you feel it too?" Shiro saw the small flinch in his brother's eyes. "What point is there in killing him if you hurt yourself in the process?"

"I don't want to lose what I have, Shiro," he replied stubbornly. "Not Dad, not my lovers, or Gin, or you; I'm not so weak as to shy away from a little bit of pain to keep what I treasure."

Shiro watched as Ichigo strained to break off the support. He tried to help his brother, but the chain on his ankle held him back. The moment Shiro looked at the binding, the piece of metal snapped. Ichigo fell back and the metal clattered loudly against the ground. Both twins froze for a moment. When no signs of Ginjo coming down alerted them, they slowly unwound. Ichigo picked up the bar carefully and studied it.

The edges were blunt except where they snapped off of the bed. Ichigo took it in his hands, bending it some more.

"What are you doing?" Shiro asked.

"Hopefully, making it easier to carry," Ichigo replied. He then tried to bend it, feeling triumphant as the metal began to curve under the pressure of his hands. After a certain point, however, the metal became harder to crook. He struggled to force it down, hands hurting from the strain.

"Let me help," Shiro said softly. Ichigo looked up at his brother, then climbed up to join the albino. Snow white hands moved just above Ichigo's. Together the twins made the metal bow beneath their shared strength. Ichigo prayed that his intentions of using it would work. Shiro prayed for his brother's safety, and that it would break before it could even hurt Ginjo. In his gut, Shiro felt that Ichigo's life now depended on Ginjo's. He feared that he might soon lose his brother.