Forbidden Love

Chapter 19 - Don't worry, I'll save you.

Shiro sat silently as he waited, gazing at his hand as his fingers rubbed the smooth surface of the table and drew invisible patterns on the long, narrow table. Aizen sat beside him at the head of the table, hands folded neatly on the surface of the table as he stared at the doors across from him. Shiro shivered as he glanced at the man's eyes, seeing a frightening, passionate glint in the cocoa orbs. Something clearly had the man in a good mood and judging by the proud smirk on his face, it was something very big. And considering Shiro's situation, he figured it was probably something very dangerous.

The albino was so deep in thought that when the doors opened, he jumped in the air, as startled as a doe caught in the headlights of a big car. Golden eyes widened and his head swiveled to watch the Espada enter the room. Only a few of them were familiar; Grimmjow, who had a displeased glare in his eyes and a scowl on his lips, Ulquiorra who was as monotone as ever, and Yammy, who had a sneer on his face. Shiro allowed a small grin to twitch onto his lips when the familiar expression of the blunette reminded him of his twin.

When he remembered that he may never see him again, his eyes fell downcast and the albino's hands continued to make patterns on the table as more people entered the room. There was a total of ten, including the three that he recognized, who sat down around the table, taking their seats quickly and quietly.

"Welcome everyone! Today we are going to skip tea, as we have a new guest, Shiro-san. I have decided to allow you all to get to know him while Gin-san and I make some arrangements."

"Yes, Aizen-sama." Everyone answered him monotonously as the brunette stood up and made his way out of the room, a white-haired man with narrowed eyes and a huge grin following behind him. As soon as the huge doors shut, chatter erupted from everyone.

Grimmjow had taken a seat next to Shiro, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest. Blue eyes glanced over at him and Shiro smirked, watching as the blunette blushed furiously and scowled. Grimmjow leaned forward, sitting up straight and looking around before murmuring to him.

"'Ey." Shiro nodded a reply.

"Mind introducing me to everyone?" Grimmjow half-smirked before nodding. Shiro leaned forward as well, crossing his arms over the table as people began to talk even louder. Grimmjow pointed to the seat across from him, where a tall brunette sat with drowsy, grey eyes, light stubble on his chin and a jaw bone wrapped around his long, tanned neck. His head was on the table with his hair splayed around his face like a lion's mane and drool spilling from his wide open mouth as he snored. Shiro gave him a weird look.

"That's Starrk. 'E's Espada number one." He nodded towards his other side, where a gorgeous blonde sat silently, her nose and mouth covered by her top, and her green eyes stern as she stared straight ahead. Her long, dark arms were crossed over her large chest and Shiro thought with a mental chuckle that she was holding her shirt down. "Harribal. Number three and absolutely gorgeous, but I woul'n't fuck wit' 'er."

Across from her was Yammy and beside him was another dark man, much older with stern eyes and many scars drawn across his face. A crown on the older man's head held back his white locks. "Yammy, number ten and all talk. Don't bother wit' 'im. The other is Baraggan, number two. Borin' as 'ell." Then sat Ulquiorra who glared at them vehemently before looking away again. "That fag 's Ulquiorra. He's been put in charge of tha' girl they brought along wit' ya. He's number four. Not like 'e deserves it... He's also Aizen's toy. Follows his every order."

"Wait, 'e's been put in charge of Inoue?" Grimmjow nodded with a scowl.

"Yeah, he's supposed to be making sure she doesn' 'scape or anythin'. Not like she could, but Aizen still put 'im in charge." Shiro nodded, deep in thought now. Why was Inoue so important? And why did Aizen put someone in charge of her but completely ignored him? What was the brunette thinking?

Grimmjow nodded toward the next person, which was a golden-eyed, dark-skinned man with a bone mohawk and necklace. He had rippling muscles and a hard stare in his eyes, but didn't seem very intimidating to the albino. "That's Zommari and 'e's number seven. Never talked to 'im a day in my life, so I don't know what 'e's like. Doesn't talk to anyone else either so 'e's not much of a bother." Grimmjow scowled as he pointed to the next one, a pink-haired, golden-eyed man with a prominent grin and glasses. His legs were crossed and his gloved hands were tapping the table as he chatted with the man across from him, a tall, lanky man with an eye-patch and long, black hair. The taller male had a toothy grin that reminded Shiro of a piano and a huge hood that was shaped like a spoon. Shiro giggled under his breath at the strange attire.

"The fag is Szayel. He's number eight. Creepy as fuck. The other one is Nnoitra, number five. Nnoitra's okay sometimes..." The last one was a tall one as well, with a long mask that reached from his head to the bottom of his neck. "And that's Aaroniero, number nine."

"Oi, whitey!" Shiro and Grimmjow looked up, Nnoitra smirking at them. Shiro rose a questioning brow. "Why ya here?" Shiro scowled.

"Fuck if I know." Nnoitra smirked.

"So, I hear ya got quite a relationship wit' yer brotha. Mind if I take a test run?" Shiro's vision went red and it took every will in his body not to lash out at the man. Everyone was silent as Shiro took a deep breath to calm himself. The golden-eyed teen looked up with a straight face, a glare in his eyes.

"If ya do, I'll kill ya." Nnoitra just laughed and turned away. Everyone looked at Shiro before returning to their conversations.

For awhile, everyone just talked or sat there, waiting for the brunette to come back. Then, Grimmjow turned to Shiro.

"'Ey, Shiro, I have a question." Shiro had his chin in his hand and was staring at the floor, counting the tiles for what felt like the thousandth time. He glanced at the blue-haired Espada out of the corner of his eyes, silently telling him to ask away.

"'Ow come you look exactly like Ichigo but I'm not attracted to you?" Everyone froze in the middle of their conversations, glancing back at the pair. Most of them were just as curious. Silence spread throughout the room as Shiro stared at Grimmjow, who blushed lightly in embarrassment. Suddenly, Shiro sighed and the sixth Espada visibly jumped.

"Do I look like I'd let ya stick yer dick up my ass?" Grimmjow shook his head, earning a snort from Nnoitra. Shiro and Grimmjow threw a glare towards him, effectively shutting him up. Shiro turned back to Grimmjow at the same time Grimmjow did and their eyes connected. "An' who's th' one who practically screams 'Fuck me now'?"

"Tch... the brat does." Shiro narrowed his eyes and his back stiffened in anger.

"Tha' brat is my brother." Grimmjow held his hands up defensively as the albino growled at him.

"God damn. Sorry."

"Tch. Forgiven." Shiro turned away, crossing his arms over his chest and crossing his legs. Just then, the doors slammed open and everyone turned to see Aizen enter the room. He sauntered over to his chair and began to speak.

"Alright, now that you guys have gotten to know Shiro-san, I thought I'd let you all know what you've been called for." Everyone looked up, gazing at Aizen as he took his seat once again at the head of the table. In his palm was a round, glowing object, hidden beneath his thin, smooth fingers. A huge grin was on his face and when Shiro noticed the glint in his eye, the albino scowled, sitting farther back in his chair. "My dear Shiro-san, this is the Hogyoku. It is responsible for making Arrancar, which are Hollow that have removed their masks and have gained Shinigami-like powers. Your brother is a Shinigami. All the Espada are the strongest of the Arrancar and are placed in number order of their strength. Today, we will be adding the Cero Espada, the strongest of all the Arrancar."

Shiro raised a brow. "So, yer gonna be showin' me the process?" Aizen smirked and chuckled.

"No, my dear Shiro-san. You are going to be the process." Shiro's eyes narrowed.

"Be the process? Care ta explain?" Aizen's grin widened.

"How about I just show you?" Aizen crooked his finger and Shiro stood up hesitantly, moving to stand beside Aizen, who had stood up as well. As Shiro contemplated his decision, Aizen held up the glowing orb, which glinted even in the darkness. In one smooth movement, Aizen drove his hand into the center of Shiro's chest, tearing the clothing plastered to his chest. Some of the Espada gasped, others made a small noise, and some of them were silent. Shiro's eyes went wide as he bent over due to the force, Aizen's hand still delved deep inside his chest cavity.

Shiro's lips had spread open wide, blood spilling out of his mouth and dripping off his chin to splatter onto the floor as several of his ribs were broken and some of his internal organs were torn apart and damaged. Aizen slowly pulled his arm back out, picking up the Hogyoku before pushing his arm back inside, his fingers searching before placing the octagonal orb right in the center of his chest, where little tendrils began to sprout from the mirrored edges and suction themselves to where ever they could reach, whether it was deep inside a vein or the edges of an organ. Some of the small tubes wrapped around his heart and lungs and a few other laced themselves around his bones. All over his body were small, suction-cupped tentacles that were draining him of blood and replacing it all with a cool, thick poison that burned his body from the inside out.

Aizen removed his hand once more and the wound quickly healed, glowing a bright gold color that shined and shimmered before flickering out in the air. Shiro panted, his pupils pulsing and the veins in his body poking out and changing from a blue to a gold before fading once again. His body seized, trying to reject the Hogyoku's poison as it inhaled his blood and swallowed it, all of the red fluid being sent straight from the tentacles to the center of the Hogyoku. It filled with the liquid, burning a bright red in his chest. His whole body glowed gold as the tentacles returned to the Hogyoku and his blood turned gold in the orb. Then, the Hogyoku settled itself, Shiro's consciousness drifting away. His body plummeted to the floor lifelessly and everything went black.

Ichigo's POV

"My right hand is the stone that bridges worlds. My left hand is the blade that binds reality. The black-haired shepherd is hung from a chair. Stratus clouds come, and I strike down the ibis." Urahara spoke loudly and clearly and then a huge, black cavity opened right before my eyes. I pressed my lips together tightly, my fingers clenching into two, tight fists. I was ready.

Everyone gathered before the Garganta; Rukia, Renji, Ishida, Chad, and I. All day we had prepared for our journey to save Inoue and my brother and now, finally, we were all set. Urahara gave us a knowing grin and wished us good luck. Then, we stepped forward, on our way. As the darkness engulfed us, I closed my eyes, sending a message to my brother.

'Don't worry, Shiro. I'll save you.'

A/N: Been working on this the last two days. Glad I can finally get back to my life T_T

Anyway, I hope all of you enjoy this chapter! I haven't gotten a lot of reviews lately, so please review for me! :D It's encouraging!

Love,

Sevvy.