Forbidden Love

Chapter 23 - Let's Break Down The Wall

Bawabawa slid through the sand with the group on his back, bringing them ever closer to the huge building called Las Noches. Despite the huge clouds of sand flowing around them, the gray walls grew higher and higher into the dark sky and loomed over them forebodingly. Ichigo stared blankly at the castle while his thoughts ran rampant. The substitute Shinigami swallowed, somehow feeling determined yet still terrified. Despite what some may think, Ichigo wasn't stupid. He knew there was a reason Aizen took Shiro and Inoue. However, he didn't know what that reason was. Before the teen could give it any more thought, he felt Rukia's hand fall onto his shoulder. The action interrupted his thoughts. Ichigo turned to see the violet-eyed girl give him a solemn smile and nod her head. Ichigo's lips twitched up into a small grin in return and he turned away, allowing her comforting presence to calm him.

It wasn't too much later when Bawabawa finally came to a halt in front of the huge castle. Grains of sand flew up around them, blinding them for a moment and making Ichigo rub at his eyes to clear his vision. The substitute Shinigami sucked in a deep breath to calm himself when the dust finally settled. However, as the orange-haired teen let out the breath, he could still feel his heart flutter inside his chest. His fingers trembled as he snatched up a handful of his kosode (1). He gripped it tight in his palm as he slid off the giant worm. Rukia and Renji followed quickly behind him, landing beside him. Then, they stared up at the huge castle.

"What's the plan?" Rukia asked after a long silence. Ichigo finally moved, shrugging at her question. Ichigo released the patch of cloth and allowed his hands fall to his sides, his fingers now cramped. Renji growled softly, eyebrows furrowing in frustration.

"We've gotten this far, an' we ain't gotta plan?" Ichigo sighed and shook his head. The wine-eyed Shinigami just scowled and unsheathed his zanpaktou. "Well, I jus' got one, so help me out." Ichigo looked at him in confusion but pulled Zangetsu off his back and watched as Rukia did the same.

"What are we doing?" Renji only smirked and released his Shikai. The zanpaktou transformed into the segmented blade they all knew. Rukia copied him, snow surrounding her zanpaktou. The flakes disappeared with a flick of her now snow-white blade. Renji swung his blade towards the wall before them.

"Let's break down the wall." Ichigo and Rukia shared a look and rolled their eyes. Of course he would resort to aggression. Ichigo sighed and stepped forward beside Renji.

"Alright." When Rukia turned to Ichigo in confusion, he shrugged with a half-grin. "It can't hurt to try." Renji and Ichigo looked at her. Finally, she nodded and held out her sword as she moved into a more aggressive stance. With that being said, they swung their blades back, and with one final look, they lunged.

Stone wall cracked beneath the three blades. The walls screeched in protest but they fell without any other warning, chunks of rock spilling over the tiled floor. A huge cloud of dust blew out over the three Shinigami to blind them and send them into coughing fits. As it cleared, they pushed through the newly formed hole into the building. Nervous hollow followed behind them. Nel pushed her thumb into her mouth for comfort and hid behind Dondo Chakka and Pesche as they entered.

"Are you sure dis is a good idea?" Nel's head peeped out from behind the tense frame of Pesche, her huge eyes wide with fear and what may have been a little curiosity. Ichigo waved his hand in dismissal to quiet her and then peered around either side of the hole to look down the hallways. Fortunately, they were all empty. Unfortunately, Ichigo had no clue as to which one of the hallways they should head down. The orangette carefully maneuvered through the rubble, kicking away a few stray pieces of rock before jumping down from the mess onto the floor.

Ichigo winced when the sound of his fall echoed throughout the building. Rukia sighed behind him, leaping down as well. However, she landed lightly and there was no sound to signal her fall. She shook her head at him before stepping away to look down the hallways as well. Renji joined them, silent as a mouse. Ichigo grumbled under his breath.

"Where we headin' next?" Renji spoke up beside him, voice quiet to prevent any 'visitors.' Ichigo shrugged. Rukia turned to face the two boys, eyebrows furrowed. Renji looked at her, head cocked to the side in question. The violet-eyed Shinigami shrugged as well. Renji growled furiously. "Do we ever 'ave a plan?" Ichigo chuckled and shook his head in answer.

"Apparently not." Renji sighed in defeat, scratching the back of his head before looking around at his surroundings. Ichigo pursed his lips in thought. What could they do? They could randomly choose a hallway to head down, the three of them together. But if it was the wrong way, they would be wasting precious time that they would never get back. However, if they spilt up, they could run into something they couldn't handle. The other two people would never know. Ichigo muttered under his breath.

"Let's spilt up." Renji and Rukia faced him, shocked expressions on their faces.

"What?" Ichigo sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck.

"We need to split up." Renji stepped forward, grabbing the substitute Shinigami's shoulder and tugging the teen towards him. Ichigo stared up into Renji's wine eyes. They were silent, Renji searching his eyes for something the Ichigo would never know. The orangette himself saw something familiar in Renji's eyes, something his couldn't place. Finally, Renji spoke up.

"Are you sure?" Renji whispered huskily, so only Ichigo could hear. Ichigo shivered with a tingling sensation burned up his spine. He hissed as he sucked in a breath, suddenly finding it hard to breathe.

"Do you have a better idea?" The sarcastic remark held no venom behind it. Renji half-smirked but finally released the the younger male.

"We're gonna spilt up." Rukia rose a thin brow. There was a knowing look in her eyes when the black-haired woman turned to Ichigo.

"Alright, I'll go down here." Rukia nodded towards the hallway closest to her. Renji jabbed a thumb towards the one opposite of her.

"Yeah, an' I'll take this one." Ichigo let a small smile slide onto his face. Then, he reach out and pulled the other two closer to him. Ichigo stuck out his hand. They both looked at it before placing their own hands on top.

"Let's go." They three nodded before flash-stepping away.

Nel watched the whole thing, from the muttered conversation to the little scene with Ichigo and Renji. Then, she watch as the three dashed away, leaving behind her, Pesche, and Dondo Chakka. Fat tears welled up in her eyes. Nel's tiny bottom lip began to tremble. Then, her mouth opened and she let out a loud sob. Before Dondo Chakka and Pesche could even react, she was running after Ichigo. The little girl quickly disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel, her cries slowly fading away.

"We gotta go after her, dontcha know?" Pesche grinned and nodded in agreement. The lithe hollow spun on his heel before he ran down another tunnel. Before Dondo Chakka could stop Pesche, the smaller hollow had disappeared. Dondo Chakka muttered to himself under his breath. "That's the wrong way, dontcha know?" Instead of chasing the other hollow, he turned down the other one. "Time to get Nel, dontcha know?"

Ichigo slid to a halt, pausing at another fork in the hallway. The brown-eyed male grumbled under his breath and bounced on his heels anxiously before making a split-second decision and heading down the left tunnel. Fortunately, there were lights down these hallways now so the teen didn't have to grope around for walls like he did previously. The orangette flash-stepped as quickly as he could. When a wall appeared in front of him, the orangette skidded to a stop.

"Fuck... Another dead end." Ichigo spun on his heel, heading back to the fork. However, he didn't even take a single step before something launched at him and tackled him to the hard floor. Ichigo's head hit the concrete floor and he groaned in pain, already certain that it would leave a bump later. Once he could finally move, Ichigo sat up to look at whatever was in his lap.

Bright, teary, hazel eyes stared up at him. Green curls bounced when the little girl hiccuped out a sob. Ichigo scowled. The frown made Nel cower away and her lip began to tremble again.

Ichigo, having little sisters, flinched when he saw Nel pout. However, the teen's brotherly instincts kicked in instantaneously and he reached out, pulling Nel close. The substitute Shinigami wrapped his arms around the tiny girl and lifted her up as he stood up. Nel grabbed two bunches of his shirt in each one of her tiny fists and buried her face in his shoulder.

"Alright, fine. You can come with me." Nel let out a happy sound, rubbing the tears out of her eyes.

"Tank youse, Itsygo!" Ichigo just smiled before heading down the hallway once more. With that, they were off again.

A/N: (1): Can anyone tell me if 'kosode' is accurate?

I have no idea how this new version o fanfiction works T_T

I'm really sorry for taking forever! I was caught up with all the testing so I didn't get a chance to work on Forbidden Love. However, it's summer now so I plan to work on it a lot more.