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All right, I know y'all hated that last cliffy, but fear not! The answer comes this chapter~! Warning though, it shows up at the end…Ok….here's Chapter 17!
XxxxxX
Chapter 17: Losing the sight of hope…
Dion's POV
Present…
Shiro was awake. He had woken up and instantly asked if Ichigo had had anything to eat yet. So, as I left the room, I could see Shiro cradling Ichigo's neck in one arm, a bowl of warm soup on the floor and spoon in the other hand. He was whispering to him, and slowly tipping the spoon against his pale, dry lips. Ichigo's mouth barely parted, the spoon placed into his mouth. I walked out and closed the door. "So? How is he?" Rukia asked me.
"Awake, and Shiro's…feeding him." I said. They gave me nervous glances.
"What happened? How come he can't remember us?" Renji growled, glaring at me as if his eyes would incinerate me. He was still sore about how bad I trashed his ass.
"That's…hard to explain…" I said.
"It's because he shut you all out." We all turned to see Shiro walk in the room. "He fell back asleep, and I can't say I blame him." He explained as he sat next to me. He was giving Renji nervous glances and I can tell he still felt anxious around him. I gave him a reassuring glance.
"What do you mean by that? 'Shut us out'?" Orihime asked. I could already tell this was gonna be bad…I know what happened too, and they were gonna take this completely wrong…
"He shut you out of his heart…one by one….he began to deny you all…" he whispered quietly.
"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?" came Renji's immediate reply, causing Shiro to cringe.
"Wh-what I meant was…"
"Renji!" I snapped at him. "Calm your ass down, got it? It's not exactly as it sounds!"
"Well then what is he saying?" he snapped.
"I mean, he began to ignore you." Renji stared as Shiro stared at him, his golden eyes burning. "The entire time we were there, we thought we could get out on our own. But…over time, we knew it wasn't possible. So…we put our hope in the fact that you guys would come; he would have done the same to you." He explained.
"But we never did come…" Rukia said quietly. I could tell they felt bad, especially now. But past was past, and they can't change what happened.
"We couldn't though! Not with all the Soul Reapers watching us every waking minute!" Uryu said. I have no clue when he got here, and his presence spooked me a little.
Creepy…I thought. "Yeah, but none of us knew that at the time. Even I was hoping that someone would come to help them…before I was found out…" They all gave me odd stares…well, all except Shiro, that is.
"Found out?" Orihime asked.
"Yeah…I wasn't….doing my job, ya could say…" I replied sheepishly. They continued to stare and I could feel something clog my throat.
"Your…job. Wasn't it to…"
"It was to report whatever he could find out about us." Shiro answered Uryu's question for me, although I know it was just as hard for him to answer.
"Why didn't you?" Orihime and Rukia asked at once. I just sighed.
I did…I thought. But…it was worse than giving them his name…
XxxxxX
Normal POV
7 days ago…
"So…this Quincy is a rival of yours?" Dion asked. Ichigo shook his head.
"He still thinks so, but to be honest, he's still my friend." He explained. Dion nodded, smiling.
He has a lot of friends it seems…he thought. "I don't have any friends you see, all I have are allies."
"Allies aren't truly allies unless you know each other and can work together successfully." Shiro pointed out. Dion just gave him a funny stare.
"What about you two then, eh? You don't exactly get along 24/7 I've noticed." He replied, causing both of them to blush a little.
"Th-that's none of your buisn-" Ichigo had started to retort, but a loud, painful cough shook his body.
"Ichigo!" Shiro began patting his back as Ichigo's body shuddered from the cough.
"M-man, it's cold in here…" he whispered, rubbing his arms slightly. Shiro grabbed one of the blankets and threw it over Ichigo's shoulders.
"I'll go get some more blankets." Dion said, standing up and heading towards the door. "But it'll take me a while. I'm gonna have to sneak them in here."
"Thanks Dion." Shiro said. Dion just smiled as he opened the door.
"What are friends for, eh?" he asked as he closed the door.
XxxxxX
After Dion shut the door, Ichigo suddenly pulled Shiro into a kiss. "Mmmph!" Shiro gasped against it, but as a tongue slid into his open mouth, he melted into it instead, tangling his blue tongue with Ichigo's pink one. Ichigo parted from him, his eyes hazy slightly. "Ichigo? Are you feel-"
"C'mon Shiro…let's do something while Dion isn't here…" he whispered huskily into the hollow's ear. Shiro could tell something wasn't right, and when he felt a small wave of heat come from Ichigo's cheek, he knew.
"You're sick. I'm not gonna do a thing here. You need sleep." He said, trying to push the fevered teen off, but he was adamant, and practically fell on Shiro to keep him pinned.
"Please Shiro? I'm fine, honest. Just a little bit…not too long." He replied seductively. Shiro knew better, but he was still a hollow. The way Ichigo was acting…his instincts kicked in and kicked his rational thoughts out the door as he instantly slid Ichigo's shirt off.
"Very well then…" he whispered into the hot teen's ear.
XxxxxX
When Dion made it back and he opened the door, he was stunned. Although nothing was going on other than the two sleeping, the odd smell and clothes on the floor was enough for him. Oh god…god no way…he thought. They…they're… He sat down on the small chair in the corner of the room. I knew they cared for each other…but they're intimate…He shook his head. What do I do? His eyes widened as Shiro stirred slowly, locking eyes with Dion's.
"D-Dion! I…uh-I-" Shiro felt horrified, desperately trying to cover himself with the blankets. Dion just shook his head.
"Don't. Just…don't explain. I didn't see a damned thing." He said, holding his hand up. Shiro stared at him for a second.
"Dion…"
"I told ya; what are friends for? So…I'm gonna keep my mouth shut." He said. "I promise Shiro." Shiro stared at him for a moment more before reaching down to put his clothes back on.
"Thanks Dion." He said, shaking Ichigo's shoulder. Ichigo sat up slowly and stared at Dion.
"Wh-when did he-" He stammered, but Shiro sealed his questions with a quick, but passionate kiss.
"It's fine, Ichigo." He said, smiling. Ichigo stared at Dion, who was covering his eyes, but there was a small crack in them.
"Not a word…" he said, tossing the blankets into their faces. "Here, get some sleep. God know when Ulquiorra will come again." He said as he walked out of the room. He shook his head slowly. Not good…this is not good…he told himself. But a promise is a promise… As he walked away, he was completely unaware of the Espada in the shadows.
Now…what has him so worked up? Grimmjow thought, a sadistic grin on his face. I'm more than interested in finding out…
XxxxxX
Ichigo's POV
I didn't feel as hot as I was earlier and I was glad for that. They say sex fixes all, maybe it's true! But it didn't fix this uneasiness I felt, and it wasn't about Dion. It was about…something else… Something I needed to talk to Shiro about. "Shiro…"
"You don't need to say it, Ichigo. Remember, our connection is still in place. I can tell how you feel." He grabbed my hand softly and locked his beautiful golden eyes with mine. "They'll come Ichigo." I wanted to believe him, but for all the pain I was still in, the pain Shiro was in, I wasn't sure anymore. They wanted to break me…and sadly, slowly, I think they were. I was trying so hard to not break down…but I just couldn't handle it anymore.
"Shiro…I'm not so sure. If they were coming, they'd have done so by now, wouldn't they?" I asked him. He sighed and gripped my hand harder.
"Ichigo, if I know you're friends, which I do in a sense, seeing as I dwell in your mind, they're trying to work some way to get here. So don't lose help, got it? If you do, I'm gonna beat the shit outta ya." He teased. I punched his shoulder lightly and he just grinned. He really did make me feel better and my hope felt renewed, as cheesy as that sounds. He was right. They're my friends; if they were here and I was back home, I'd be working on someway to get here and rescue them! We have no clue how long we've been here…but we'll get out of this mess.
"Thank you Shiro…" I whispered, pulling him into a tender kiss.
XxxxxX
Normal POV
Grimmjow ran hurriedly back to his room, and when he opened the door, he wasn't surprised to see the 4th Espada looking out the window. "Knew you'd be here." he said. Ulquiorra turned to lock his emerald eyes with Grimmjow's blue ones, a small flash of mischief in them.
"Of course. You're room isn't the only thing you share with me." He said, walking up and wrapping his arms around Grimmjows neck, forcing the 6th down into a harsh kiss. Grimmjow was surprised, but only for a second before deepening the kiss, smiling as Ulquiorra willingly opened his mouth. Their tongues seemed to dance with each other, each taking turns in exploring each other's mouths. When they finally broke the kiss, both Espada were grinning.
"So…the fact you're being so open means that the plan went well?" Grimmjow asked.
"Yes. The three of them are dead now, as well as the top 5." He said.
"Excluding yourself of course." Grimmjow added. The plan was simple; after they had kidnapped Ichigo, the three Soul Society traitors would be so absorbed in their own plans for the two of them that they didn't see the huge betrayal that Grimmjow and Ulquiorra had been cooking up. "So…did you kill them? Or did you have the others kill them, and then you killed the others?" he asked.
"The latter option of course. They have no clue what hit them." He replied. Grimmjow smiled. Ulquiorra was crueler than he could ever be, and he loved him all the more for it, as twisted as that sounded.
"So what are we going to do about our…'guests' down the hall?" Grimmjow asked.
"The Soul Reaper is still useless, but we need the hollow's name. Without it, we can't use the Hogyoku to control its power to wipe out the Soul Society." Ulquiorra explained. Grimmjow smiled.
"I think I have something that'll help, especially since Gin is no longer here…I can interrogate him as much as I please." He said. Ulquiorra nodded.
"Go on ahead. I have one more thing I want to do to Kurosaki." He said. Grimmjow raised an eyebrow as Ulquiorra began walking out of the room.
"And what pray tell would that be?" he asked. Ulquiorra turned to face him, his normally unresponsive face twisting up into a nasty smile.
"Crippling the garbage." Was all he said before walking away.
XxxxxX
Shiro's POV
I know how Ichigo really feels about our situation, and what he's doing is scaring me. Slowly, in his heart, I can feel it; he's pushing his friends away. His normal idea, I'd come for them so they'll come for us, wasn't working for him anymore. It's true, we have no clue how long we've truly been trapped here, and every second they don't show…it's hurting Ichigo. He's losing hope, even though we're both desperately trying to hold on to it. Right now, he's in the shower and I'm on the bed, trying to clean up after our last little…intervention. Suddenly, the door is slammed open, Ulquiorra standing in it. He walked straight into the bathroom, yanked Ichigo out of the shower and threw him to the hard floor. "Ngh!" he grunted as he hit the ground.
"Ichigo!" I could hear a snap as one of his arms broke. His body was so weak because of his rather shitty diet, nothing, so his arm breaking even after that toss, I was surprised I didn't break his body during sex.
"You are to follow me." Ulquiorra replied in his usual emotionless tone. I helped Ichigo to his feet, his legs shaking violently. I glared at the Espada.
"What the fuck does Aizen think he'll achieve here? We'd rather die then give you whatever the hell it is he wa-"
"Aizen is dead. As is Gin and Tousen." He said, cutting me off. I couldn't believe him, but then again, their massive spiritual pressure was gone, but I couldn't feel anyone familiar, which meant…
"Y-you killed them?" Ichigo asked, voicing my fears. It was Aizen's orders to keep Ichigo alive, so…
"Yes; however, you are both still needed. Now stand and come with me." He said. As we stood up, Dion walked in, his eyes wide. "Ah, Novia. I will need your assistance here. Come with us please." He told the arrancar. Dion just stared at us, but nodded and got behind us.
"I can't feel them anymore…" he whispered, and I didn't have to ask what he meant by 'them'. As we walked down the halls, I could feel Ichigo shivering slightly in my grip.
Are you ok? I asked with my mind.
I…I just don't know what he can do to us now that… This was bad; Ichigo was terrified. If there's one thing Ichigo's known for, it was his thick-headed bravery. So, if he's scared…then he is breaking. Even being able to hide it from me was impressive, but this made me nervous. I closed my eyes briefly, trying to feel his heart. I can normally tell what he's feeling if I concentrate. As I did, I could practically feel his heart shivering. He was terrified beyond belief!
"Chain him." My mind was snapped back to reality as I was suddenly chained to a wall, again. "His wrists as well." Both of my arms were then tightened and entirely pinned to the wall. I watched as Ulquiorra forced Ichigo into this odd contraption, a vice like device clamping onto his head. It looked odd, like something someone would use when they performed head surgery, but Ichigo was facing the ceiling.
"What are you planning Ulquiorra?" I snapped angrily. He didn't reply as he walked over and dipped something into a pot of steaming, yellow liquid. As he walked towards Ichigo, I could see it was an eyedropper. "Ulquiorra!" I snapped again.
"Will you tell me you're name?" he asked me. I could feel the fear in Ichigo's heart, but the words in my head reflected the Ichigo I loved so much.
Don't tell the fucker a goddamned thing! He yelled in my head, even though that voice was shaking as well. I smiled weakly at his colorful tone.
"Fuck off, dickweed! I ain't talking, no matter what ya do!" I yelled. He just shrugged.
"Very well then." He said. That was when the first drop of liquid fell….straight into Ichigo's chocolate eyes.
XxxxxX
Ichigo's POV
The moment that liquid hit my eye, it felt like it was on fire. It burned so badly, and when he repeated it on my other eye, I screamed. I wasn't ashamed of holding those back anymore, it didn't matter. The only friends I seemed to have now were in this room, watching me. I don't care what Shiro said; those people back at home didn't care…and Ulquiorra made the point clear. "When our friends get here…you're fucking dead!" Shiro snapped. Ulquiorra laughed…he actually laughed, and it was empty and metallic. And it scared the shit outta me.
"Do you honestly believe they care?" he asked, dropping more of the burning liquid into my eyes. They say pure cinnamon oil burns, but this was ten times worse. It felt like my eyes were melting, but because my arms were bound and my eyes were being forced to stay open, there was nothing I could do to stop his onslaught. "Face it hollow trash, they ditched you here and left you to rot." I could hear the chains in the background, Shiro trying to lunge at the 4th Espada.
"Bull fucking shit! They'll come, you'll see!" he snapped. I wanted to believe him so badly…but I just couldn't see it happening. He dropped more of the liquid in my eyes, burning them up. I screamed again, unable to blink or rub the liquid out. My vision was blurring, making it hard to see.
"I'm waiting…" Ulquiorra said and it caused me to shiver. "Nope, nothing. Give it up hollow; it seems the Soul Reaper here already has; it shows in his eyes, not that it matters what shows in them anymore…" He dropped at least six more drops into each eye at once, and I felt like my eyes were melting. If there is a God, I prayed for him to stop this pain! But it didn't, not for what felt like years later. Shiro had continued to call my name, both out loud and in my head, but I didn't have the strength to respond. Finally, after three more drops, my mind slipped away into the deep abyss of darkness…
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Normal POV
Shiro was brutally shoved into his room, barely able to catch Ichigo as he was tossed in, Dion quickly following inside. Ulquiorra said nothing as he shut the door. "God damn that fucking bastard to the lowest pit in hell!" Shiro snapped furiously, causing Dion to cringe.
"You're language isn't gonna help much here." he sighed. "Here, let me see him." Dion moved over to sit next to Ichigo's head and opened one of his eyelids. His eyes widened and then he bowed his head.
"What? What is it?" Shiro asked, his hands shaking as he held Ichigo's.
"If he doesn't get treatment soon…that liquid is going to turn him blind…"he whispered. Shiro could feel his rapidly beating heart freeze for one whole second.
"B-blind?" he stammered. Dion nodded.
"We can prevent him from being totally blind. Go get a washcloth and wet it with cold water." He said as he stood up. "I'm going to get some more soap." Shiro nodded and walked towards the bathroom. As Dion walked out of the room, a hand shot from the shadows and gripped his shoulder tightly. The figure behind him leaned in really close to his ear.
"Hey there, Novia…" Grimmjow whispered menacingly into his ear. "What do ya think you're doing?"
XxxxxX
Chapter 17 end
Yes I know, bad me! Well, if ya click the button, you can hurt me in some way for the cliffhangers…*shivers* I don't think I like this button…