Forbidden Love

Chapter 15 - Not This Again

Ichigo's POV

The living room was pitch-black, the only light coming from the television in front of me. The curtains were drawn shut tight, letting no light from the streetlights outside seep in, and all the lights in the house were turned off. I stared blankly at the moving pictures on the screen, my fingers curled into tight fists and pressed to the tops of my thighs. I sat on the edge of the couch, my body rigid as I thought about the previous 24 hours.

My brother had left the house somewhere between midnight and six a.m. to fight off some Hollow he had sensed, which turned out to be two Arrancar who were after Inoue. Shiro had somehow gotten mixed up in the crazy, psychotic mess and was dragged off to where Aizen was hiding somewhere in Hueco Mundo.

I ground my teeth together in frustration before relaxing my hands, my fingers twitching as the blood began to flow through the appendages again. With a sigh, I brought my hands up to my face, and rubbed my temples soothingly. After a few moments, I allowed myself to fall backward, my head hitting the back of the couch. I ignored the throbbing pain in the back of my skull as I fought back tears of vexation and annoyance.

Shiro, my brother, best friend, and now lover, had been taken away from me; just like that. He hadn't even been with me longer then a month and he was already leaving me again. Granted, it wasn't his fault, but it seemed that every time something, or someone, good happened, something else had to go and fuck it all up again.

The phone suddenly rang, the sound piercing the thick, silent air and my jumbled thoughts. It startled me and I jumped nearly a foot in the air as the ringing echoed around the empty, dark house. I sat up quickly and glanced through the doorway leading into the kitchen at the phone sitting in it's dock on the counter. I could barely make out the name lit in neon green on the screen. Sighing, I scrubbed my hand through my hair and stood up, padding into the kitchen. Tiredly, I snatched up the phone and pressed it to my ear.

"This is the Kurosaki Residence. How may I help you?" I drowsily recited the usual message into the receiver, crossing my fingers and hoping that nobody needed medical attention. Pops had closed the clinic for the week, but not everyone would get the memo. I just really didn't feel like breaking it to some poor, injured person that I couldn't and wouldn't treat them.

"ICHIIGOOOOOOOOO! IT IS YOUR HANDSOME DADDY!" I winced, yanking the phone away from my nearly bleeding ear. I waited until he stopped yelling and ranting before daring to put the phone anywhere near my ear.

"Pops! You don't have to fucking scream! I can hear your stupid ass well enough!" I heard him whimper and start to cry and I growled, rolling my eyes at his annoying antics. "What the hell did you want? It's already..." I cut myself off, glancing at the wall clock nailed strategically just above the kitchen sink. It read 9:03. I rose my eyebrows. I had been sitting on the couch that long?

"Hey, sorry, Ichi-nii. I asked Dad to call you earlier and ask how you and Shiro had been holding up but I guess he forgot." Yuzu's light chiming voice calmed me and I sucked in a deep breath before letting it slowly. "So how's Shiro? Are you guys getting along?" I froze, back straight as a rod. My hand clenched tight around the counter's edge, my knuckles turning white. I stared blankly at the wood cabinet in front of face, my brown eyes in narrowed slits.

"He..." I swallowed the lump in my throat and fought down salty tears before trying again. "He went back to the States."

"What? Why?" Her panicked tone barely reached my ears as I racked my mind for an answer, before remembering what Shiro had sloppily written on the napkin he strategically placed outside beneath his guitar case.

"He said he really missed all of his old friends. He left a couple of days after you guys left. Shiro wanted me to tell you guys he was sorry about leaving so soon."

"Oh... Well, is he coming back?"

"I don't know. We haven't talked yet." I vaguely heard Yuzu sigh sadly on the other end of the phone.

"Oh, okay... We're coming back tomorrow."

"What time?"

"Sometime in the afternoon. Probably around four, since Karin and I wanted to visit a few places before we headed home." I sighed and leaned against the counter before replying.

"I might not be home then. I was supposed to be hanging out with Rukia."

"Really? Then tell her I said hi!" I smiled softly when she became excited. I propped my elbow onto the counter and leaned back farther.

"I'll make sure to tell her."

"Thanks, Ichi-nii! Bye! Have a good night."

"You too. Bye." Click. Slowly, I set the phone back in the dock. The phone chimed, signaling that it was charging. I slumped down and set my elbows on the counter before pressing my face into my hands.

I actually was going to see Rukia, but we were going to Urahara's to make plans for retrieving Shiro and Inoue. We had been making plans earlier that evening but Ishida finally spoke up and said he wanted to get home so he could get enough sleep for school tomorrow. We all agreed to meet after school tomorrow, and everyone left besides Renji, who was still staying at Urahara's. Rukia had left last, making sure that Renji was going to be okay with all of his injuries before going to Inoue's empty apartment.

Normally, she stayed there with Inoue while she was stationed here, but the previous night she was called back to Soul Society by Ukitake-san to report all of her findings during her stay here in the Living World. I can't help but wonder what might have happened if she hadn't gone. She too might have been hurt... Or killed. I really hate thinking about it.

My hands fell from my face and I stood up with a sigh. There's no use dwelling on it. I padded out of the room and into the living room. Turning off the television, I threw the remote onto the couch before climbing up the stairs. Entering my room, I yanked off all of my clothes, mostly out of habit, before scrambling into bed. My eyes fell shut immediately due to exhaustion but sleep never came. I tossed and turned in the small bed for several minutes, but I just couldn't get comfortable.

Screaming my frustration into the warm pillow, I finally began to cry. Why couldn't Shiro be here to comfort me? Why did he always have to leave me? It wasn't fair. He left me three years ago and now he was leaving me again! It just wasn't fair!

My tears seeped inside of the pillow cover, dampening the fabric. I sniffed and pulled away from the pillow, rubbing away the tears from my eyes. There was no use crying about it then. I wasn't going to be able to sleep in this room without him now, not with his scent all of everything.

Throwing the covers back, I got out of bed and pulled on some pajama pants before going into the hallway. I snatched a blanket out of linen closet and a pillow from the twins' room before making myself somewhat comfortable on the couch. I turned the television back on and settled on watching some re-runs of old cartoons, snuggling up in the soft cushions of the couch. I threw my arms over my pillow and closed my eyes for the little amount of sleep that I could salvage.

Shiro's POV

I slowly opened my eyes, wincing at the bright light shining down on my face. I tried to cover my eyes, but leather bands held me back and I groaned in frustration.

'Not this again...' I sighed and settled on closing my eyes again, hoping that whatever was going on was going to end soon. I really wasn't up for dealing with crazy, pink-haired scientists every day or cocky brunettes, if that sick bastard was going to be here too. Hell, I'd rather deal with my dad every day for the rest of my life. At least I know how to handle him.

I placed my palms flat against the metal table before taking a deep breath. As I slowly let it out, I felt my body lose all of it's tension. I repeated the process over and over until my body was completely relaxed and limp against the metal surface area. Then, I focused on my hearing, trying to determine where I was or if someone was in the room with me.

I could hear the hustle and bustle of people working in the room adjacent to this one, scraping of chairs and clinking of metal or glass. I took another breath. There was a beeping sound coming from a computer nearby, a sound that vaguely grated on my nerves. Another deep breath. And just barely, I heard a swish of fabric brushing against the ground as someone swiveled in a chair, the back of it slightly hitting the table that had the computer on it. That someone stood up and began to walk towards me, heels clicking softly on the tiled floor. I took another breath and braced myself for the worst.

Someone leaned over me, blocking the glaring, overhead light and my eyes screamed in relief. Ever so slowly, I opened them and blinked at the figure leaning over me. Standing over me was none other then Szayel, who wore a calm grin, his rose hair cascading over his shoulders and hiding his sinister amber orbs. I scowled at him and I saw a flash of white as he smirked at me.

"Shiro-san. It's nice to see that you have awoken."

"And it's real nice ta have ta see yer face th' second I wake up, ya asshole." He ignored me and spun on the heel of his shoe, returning to his desk and allowing the light to wash over my face again. I squinted my eyes, tilting my head to the side to watch him. He gripped the back of the chair and spun the chair around, swiftly sitting down in it. Tapping sounds erupted as he began to type on the computer and the beeping sounds continued in the background.

Sighing, I clenched my eyes shut to keep out the light as he had his fun on the computer. I began to scrape my nails against the table and I vaguely heard him stop typing for a moment before he started again. I smirked and scraped my nails harder, listening as he skipped a beat momentarily in his typing again. Even louder and I heard a clack as either his elbows or his hands hit the keyboard. I heard Szayel grind his teeth together.

"Shiro-san?" I smirked and opened my eyes to look at him, his face in his hands as he rubbed his temples. His elbows were pressing into the keys and he was scowling.

"Yes?" I rolled the word out hard on my tongue and continued the action slowly, watching as his face contorted in anger. Szayel's lips pressed together tightly and he closed his eyes before taking a deep breath. Then, he turned to me with sharp eyes.

"Do you mind stopping, please?" I tilted my head quizzically before purposefully scraping my nails against the cold table once very loud. Szayel twitched in his chair.

"Stopping what?" I asked as innocently as possible, watching in pleasure as the pink-haired bastard clenched his hands around the arms of the rolling chair. He took another deep breath.

"I want you to stop scraping your nails on the table." I scoffed at him and did it anyway. Not even a second later, he had jumped out of his chair and walked over to me, fists clenched in anger. He stood over me and I looked up at him, his face shrouded in darkness.

"Ya know wha' I want, Szayel?" I sneered at him. "I want ta go home ta my brother. I guess neither if us is gettin' wha' we want, huh?" Szayel lips tugged into a frown and he turned away, sitting back down in his chair. The tapping noise started up again and I drummed my fingers against the table. This silence continued for a few more moments before I sighed and spoke up.

"When can I leave?" Szayel spun around and looked at me, leaning back in his chair. He crossed his arms over his chest and threw his right leg over his left.

"Well, that depends on what you mean by 'leave', Shiro-san." I glared at him, my eyes narrowed into slits.

"Since I'm obviously not gettin' home, I think ya know I meant when I could get outta this God damn room, you asshole." Szayel only chuckled at me.

"Do you really want to leave so soon? I've got hundreds more tests I could run, if you'd like to sit through them. It's all for the sake of science, my dear friend." I scoffed when he said friend, but I didn't answer his question, knowing that it would just start a stupid argument. Szayel sighed. "You'll leave whenever I feel like letting you go."

"Wha' th' Hell are these tests fer anyway?" Szayel scowled and surveyed me with sharp, amber eyes.

"I thought I already told you." I snorted at him and closed my eyes, turning my head away. My hair brushed against my neck lightly, sending a tremor down my body.

"Ya did, but I don't understand why you guys would pick me..."

"We saw the damage you can do, and we decided that you would make a great addition."

"Addition ta what? Wha' are ya guys plannin'?" He went silent and I reopened my eyes, looking at him. "Well?"

"...If you really want to know, you will have to ask Aizen-sama." I rose a brow.

"Alright, fine... I'll ask him. Now, do ya think ya could let me go so I can ask him?" Szayel snorted lightly and shook his head with a grin.

"I'll have to wait for orders before I can let you go, Shiro-san."

"...Fuck orders." I growled at him, my teeth bared viciously. His amber eyes flashed in the dim lighting, sending me a challenging message. The inky darkness around us seemed to come closer and I grit my teeth, the sound echoing loud in my ears. "Let. Me. Go."

"Maybe if you're a good little boy, I'll let you play outside with your friends." His voice took on a mocking tone and I snarled at him.

"My, how magnanimous of you." I cruelly mocked him back, my lips contorting into a sneer. Szayel stood up, glaring at me, and stepped forward with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

All of a sudden, the door opened and my eyes flashed to stare at it as it slid open. In walked none other then Aizen. He calmly walked towards me, and I saw Szayel straighten up out of the corner of my eye. I rose an eyebrow at the brunette, my eyes narrowed.

"Well, I see that Shiro-san is finally awake. How are you feeling?" I rolled my eyes and snorted.

"I feel fantastic, 'ow 'bout ya?" A cruel smirk slid over his lips but he ignored me and walked around the table, heading towards Szayel.

"How is everything working out, Szayel?" The rose-haired scientist lead the cocky man towards the computer, motioning and talking softly so I could not hear. I really didn't even want to hear in the first place. All that mattered was when I could leave. Or if I was leaving.

A/N: I sincerely apologize for the abrupt ending, but I haven't been able to work on anything lately, so I knew that if I dragged this out any longer, I would get frustrated and scrap this chapter, which would prolong the update times. I'm not really up for writing much lately, and I want to apologize for wanting to half ass this story so much, but I swear I'm not going to give this up until it's done. I love you guys too much, lol. This chapter hasn't been looked over completely, just a few glances so it probably will have some errors. If you notice any, please, feel free to point them out. I'm always up for some creative criticism.

Much work to do after this, lol, but I thought I'd mention that June 10th was the one year anniversary of Forbidden Love. I didn't think this story would take so long, but it's been so much fun working on it. I really want to thank you all who have been with me this whole time! And even more thanks to the people who are still going to be with this story until it's done! I love you guys :3

Love,

Sevvy