Countdown to end of Black Doves: 2 more chapters (not including this one)

I know this is going sort of fast, but you'll find out why in this chapter =) All your questions shall be answered... or at least the one about who took Ichi =D I'm hoping to surprise everyone, but I really doubt I can ^^; Oh well, at least I tried. Now, I'd tell you what to expect in this chapter but that wouldn't be any fun ;p So I'm just going to say I got a lot done on my novel yesterday and the outline (which I hadn't really finished and still haven't), plus I had an awesome idea for a couple of my characters!

Grimm: You seriously can't use an outline? What the hell's wrong with you?

Vae: Nothing! I just... they're so annoying and stuff! *whines* Besides, I don't use them on my fics and they seem to go well. T^T

Ichi: Lay off, Grimm! Not everyone can use an outline.

Grimm: She can't even write one correctly.

Vae: You're so mean to me! Just for that, no more sex for you in this fic! D=

Grimm: 0o I didn't mean it, you know. I was just teasing. *nervous chuckle*

Vae: Too late. Maybe this will teach you some manners, Grimm-kitty!

Ichi: Wow... you should fuck up more often! I love the consequences! =D

Chapter 13

Grimmjow is beside himself, pacing furiously as the girls sit around the living room area of the cabin. Ichigo has been missing all night now, having vanished in the midst of the luau without a trace left behind, and none of the girls had seen him when he left Grimmjow's side. The crowds had gotten rather thick last night, he never should've allowed Ichigo to roam without him… he let his guard down. If… no… when he gets the orangette back, he will never make that mistake again.

"Calm down, Grimmjow," Hallibel says soothingly. "We'll find him. Gin is out there now with three Shinigami, two Visoreds, and four of our own… they'll find something."

"If anything's happened to him…"

"Nothing will happen to him, I'm certain of it."

"… Who's looking with Gin?"

"Kisuke Urahara, Yorouchi Shihoin, Soi Fon, Shinji Hirako, Kensei, Ulquiorra, Nnoitra, Szayel, and Stark. There are many great minds in that mix, including Gin's. They're sure to find some lead."

"I… I should've kept him with me. This is all my fault…"

A resounding slap fills the room, a nasty red handprint lain aside Grimmjow's jaw where his bone fragment would be in his Arrancar form. Everyone waits, uncertain how the male alpha will react to getting hit by a female alpha.

"I will not have this!" Hallibel snaps. "Your self-pity isn't helping that female! Either pull yourself together enough to help out, or step down for the time being! I'll gladly go out there and hunt him down while you watch my pack!"

Cyan orbs watch her in shock, morphing through a myriad of emotions before settling. From shock to rage and finally determination, Grimmjow stands and heads for the door. He's going to find his bitch and that's that. Hallibel's eyes follow his progress a small satisfied smirk touching her lips before she turns back to her pride, surveying them for any emotions she can soothe.

Ichigo groans and stirs from his sleep, remembering very little from last night save for the insistent pull. When he opens his eyes, he finds himself submerged beneath water. Panic spikes through him, amber eyes searching blindly for the surface as he tries to keep from drowning and finding himself in his mindscape. He's lying in the park area of the Karakura manifested within his inner world, water still consuming the small town since he kind of liked the idea.

"Ya 'kay?" Shiro questions cautiously.

"I was kidnapped!" Ichigo panics. "I was taken away from Grimmjow! I want to go back to Grimmjow! Shiro, please help me! Please get me back home to my mate!"

"… Take a deep breath, Aibou," the other sighs in irritation. "Calm down. Yer actin' like a helpless chick. I'm here an' I'm gonna take care a ya."

"We have to get back to Grimmjow."

"No, we don'," Shiro scowls. "I can take care a ya, Ichi. I been takin' care a ya fer way longer than he has, I got this!"

Ichigo stares at his other half, suspicion flashing in his amber orbs. Finally, he forces himself to his feet and crosses his arms over his chest. His stance is cocky and dangerous, his eyes flaring with unchecked rage that warns Shiro of impending injuries.

"Who kidnapped me, Shiro?" he growls out. "I know you're aware of who it was."

"I'm takin' care a it," he mutters petulantly.

"Who… kidnapped… me?"

"… Aibou…"

"Shiro if you don't tell me right now, I'm not gonna talk to you for the next five months and you know I can lock you in here with nothing but your echo as company! Now tell me who the fuck kidnapped me!" he snarls in fury.

"… I did," Shiro says quietly.

He's shrunk back away from Ichigo, feeling small beneath shocked and angry eyes. He loves his Aibou, he really does… but he wants his safety more than the returned love he normally gets. If Ichigo is safe, he can hate Shiro with all his heart.

"You owe me an explanation and it better be a damn good one," Ichigo hisses.

"Uh… ya might wanna sit down fer this," Shiro sighs as he rubs the back of his neck.

Ichigo does as told, sitting down and glowering at his copy. Shiro carefully picks his spot, out of reach of both arms and legs from Ichigo, and sits down across from him. It takes a few seconds, a moment that stretches with tension and nervousness, but Shiro eventually begins.

"Yer safe," he assures. "I took ya 'way from Grimm 'cause I don' want him ta hurt ya. Ya don' belong wit him in the first place, Ichi, but yer damn pride an' sense a duty is fuckin' up yer brain. Ya don' have ta worry though, I'll take care a ya just like I always do!"

"Shiro, I want to go back to Grimmjow."

"No ya don'!" the other snaps. "Ya don' wanna go back ta him! yer brain is just handin' ya the feelin's ya think yer s'posed ta feel! It ain't ya, Aibou! I know it ain't!"

Ichigo stands and Shiro is quick to scramble to his feet as well, ready to defend against any assault should it happen. Instead, Ichigo closes his eyes and attempts to force himself back out of his mindscape. Shiro doesn't relax, tensing more if possible, and when Ichigo opens amber eyes to find himself still there he's ready to dodge the punch… that doesn't come.

"Ya can' leave," Shiro informs quietly. "I locked ya in here."

"Let me go, Shiro."

"I can' do that, ya'll go straight ta him! Ya'll go right back ta playin' the puppet fer the Shinigami an' I don' want that fer ya. Don' worry, that Kido will fade 'way in a couple weeks. I been workin' on tearin' it 'part since they put it on ya. Once it's gone ya won' feel like this no more an' I'll let ya go."

"… Why are you doing this?" Ichigo asks with tears in his eyes.

"'Cause I love ya, Aibou," Shiro states with a blush. "I love ya more than ya think an' I don' want ya hurtin' like this no more. I'm gonna take all that pain 'way, I promise. Now ya stay here an' be good. If ya need somethin' ta do, Zangetsu should be 'round this area."

"Shiro…"

"I'll come back an' visit later, Ichi."

"No..!"

Shiro disappears, leaving the mindscape to guard Ichigo's body in the living world. Ichigo screams out his frustration, pulling at his orange locks as he voices his rage to the sky. Shiro can hear him through their connection even though he's in a separate body, the snowy haired male letting slip an expression of sadness. This isn't going to change his mind. Ichigo was his to begin with and he won't let another steal him away, not even with the help of the Shinigami. He knows his Aibou is just confused, nothing more. He'll help him through this and force him to see the light.

Grimmjow scours the beach, searching for anything he might be able to use to piece together where his mate was taken. Gin and the others are supposed to meet him here in a few minutes, but for now he's free to roam the location of the luau. He managed to pick out Ichigo's scent after sitting for five minutes, picking through the scents of humans and food layered over one another. Ichigo was beside him at the bar, moved toward the girls, and was caught up in a crowd that took him to the dance floor. He stands at that spot, breathing in all the smells that surround him with his cyan eyes closed. The feel of Ichigo's reiatsu changes from this spot to the next, almost completely gone although a hint still smolders at the core of this new feeling… and there's a familiar scent he just can't place. Gin roams up from the water's edge, where the others were combing the shore for footprints before the tide can get a chance to wash them away.

"Find anythin'?" he wonders.

"Yeah… a scent I'm familiar with, but can't place," he murmurs without opening his eyes. "And Ichigo's reiatsu has changed drastically."

"Changed? Not gone?"

"No, it's still at the very center… but it's been consumed by… Shiro!" he snarls out. "That stupid son of a bitch, I knew he couldn't be trusted!"

"Now just wait," Ulquiorra states, always the voice of reason. "If Ichigo said Shiro wouldn't do anything against this arrangement, there must've been something that pushed him into it. What was his reason?"

"How the hell should I know!" Grimmjow hisses. "Why the fuck should I even care!"

"You should care, Grimmjow," Shinji speaks up. "Shiro has absolutely no reason to go against you, especially since you were taking such good care of Ichigo. Besides, he's got the same status as Hallibel."

There's a drawn out silence as Grimmjow processes this, and then he's roaring in fury. Obviously, the first thing that comes into his mind is Ichigo being taken away from him by Shiro. Even though a dominant 'female', Shiro will still have the urge to take a beta as his own. It would just figure he'd have to fall for his 'brother' and Ichigo wouldn't catch on until it was too late… he probably still doesn't know.

"Okay, let's say Shiro did do this," Grimmjow frowns after forcing himself to calm. "And let's just say he's trying to 'protect' Ichigo in his own way… how would he go about it?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Shinji sighs. "Though, from what I've observed so far… he'd have to be on foot. He wouldn't trust either his luck or those around him enough not to stand guard. Since he can't stay in control if they're together, he'd have to stand guard in his own form."

"Which means he wouldn't be able to drag him any further than this resort," Grimmjow smirks in realization. "I have the fucker's scent now, he won't stand a chance!"

"I have the fucker's scent now, he won't stand a chance!"

Before the Sexta can bound off on the hunt for blood, he's tackled by Mashiro. The girls have come out to check their progress, standing off the side as they listened to the exchange. Grimmjow snarls in anger, furious someone would try to keep him from his mate, and Hallibel growls back just as aggressively. She won't have any male attacking a female of her pack.

"Hall, calm down," Stark yawns. "Grimmjow is just upset, he's not stupid enough to hurt Mashiro."

"Why are you stopping me!" Grimmjow hisses.

"Kitty can't hurt Berry-bun's inner psycho!" she states in panic. "Berry-bun's inner psycho is a part of him! If Kitty hurts him, he'll damage Berry-bun's brain!"

"… What?"

"They may take possess separate bodies, but their minds will always be linked," Shinji explains. "Any damage done to Shiro will send a bout of pressure from the reiatsu through Ichigo's mind, damaging some part once the pressure builds up to an unbearable amount."

"Great, now what?"

"You can try talking to him," Ulquiorra comments.

Grimmjow stares at him as though he's grown a second head, everyone else already knowing his thoughts on that. Afterward, he brushes off Mashiro as gently as possible and heads off to at least locate Ichigo's prison.

Shiro is crouched beside Ichigo's prone form, the other's chest rising and falling in sleep. Reaching over carefully, he runs his fingers through orange locks and lets off a small smile. There's no sound outside his hideaway, but there's a strange feeling of intrusion within his new found territory that has his body tensing as he creeps out of the cavern he's tucked Ichigo away in. Outside is daylight, it's around noon now, and the brush easily covers the entrance to the tunnels. When he peeks through the leaves, however, he's met with a solid body only a few feet away… turned toward him and settling an intense glare of cyan on the area of brush.

"I know you're not gonna hurt him," Grimmjow states. "So I'm gonna make this easy on you… I have your scent, Shiro. That means no matter where you run and no matter how well you hide… your ass is mine! I'm giving you no less than twenty-four hours to return my mate to me before I hunt your ass down like a dog!"

Grimmjow turns and walks away, feet soundless as they were when he arrived. Without a doubt, he knows he'll never get away from Grimmjow. He's unable to hear him approaching and Grimmjow has an iron will that nearly wipes out his reiatsu signal, which makes him the ideal hunter in Hueco Mundo. Unfortunately, that carries on to the other worlds as well. Cursing quietly, Shiro backs away from the entrance and hurries to Ichigo. He contemplates spiriting the other away to another hide out, yet knows it won't matter. If Grimmjow can locate their scent within that mess of sweat, arousal, food, and alcohol created last night… he can track him through anything. With an irate growl, Shiro vanishes to stalk their mindscape and think.

Ichigo is hanging upside down from a tree branch when he feels Shiro enter their inner world, Zangetsu sitting beneath the tree in case the orangette should fall. When Shiro heads their way, Ichigo grabs the nearest ammo he can find… thank goodness he's in an apple tree! He hurls the first one once the snowy head is in his sight.

"Ouch! What the fuck?" Shiro yelps. "Ichi, stop!"

"You kidnapped me, you don't get to order me around!"

Shiro dodges the next apple, but the two after that hit him in the stomach and the head. It's a horrible beating he has to suffer on his way to the tree, but he makes it and leaps up to pin the other male within a tight embrace.

"Let me go!" Ichigo snaps.

"No, stop strugglin' 'less ya wanna fall!"

Before Ichigo can cause them both to tumble from the tree, Shiro leaps down and sits to hold the other close. Zangetsu is quiet, personally understanding Ichigo's fury while also getting Shiro's point of view as well.

"It's 'kay, Aibou," Shiro whispers in attempt to hush the other. "I ain't lettin' that damn cat take ya 'way from me."

"What?" Ichigo asks in surprise. "You saw Grimmjow?"

"He found my hidin' place," the snowy haired copy grumbles. "Don' know how, but he did. Gave me twenty-four hours ta give ya back, but I ain't gonna 'til this mark is gone."

Ichigo can only gawk at the other, trying to understand all this without having a meltdown. Grimmjow came for him… then left him there? That doesn't sound like his mate, yet he trusts the Sexta enough to give him the benefit of the doubt.

There you have it! The culprit is Shiro! *evil laughter* How many saw that coming? Just curious. ;p I'm trying really hard to shake things up so I'm not that predictable. So, today is yet another 'novel day'. I still have tomorrow for it, since I've already written and uploaded chapter 14, so I'm hoping to get a bunch done! Hoping being the key word *sheepish smile* 'Till next time! I loves you lots! =3

Grimm: Yeah, but don't get your hopes up... she loves us more. =3

Shiro: Who wouldn'? ;p

Ichi: ... Didn't we already have this conversation once? I'm getting the weirdest feeling of deja vu.

Shiro: Pro'bly. Why? Is there somethin' else ya wanna talk 'bout? =)

Ichi: Yes, yes there is! I demand to know why I'm yet again the victim in this fic! D=

Shiro: ... Ya make such a pretty damsel in distress...

Ichi: I'LL KILL YOU!

Grimm: *watching two fight* I just love when Ichi gets aggressive, he's so fucking hot. =3