The Crumbling World

Warnings!!! Character death and a lot of blood and gore.

Crumbling World: Chapter 14

Kenpachi’s POV

I was angry beyond belief. My Ichigo was gone. Kidnapped, yet again, by Grimmjow. I wouldn’t let the bastard escape alive this time. I would personally make sure that he would be taking his last breath by the time the night was over.

Some of Kurosaki’s guards came along as well, following me on horseback as I raced through the forest and to one of Aizen’s hideouts. Faster, faster…I must go faster! Ichigo was in trouble and I was too damn slow! Who knows what the bastard had done to my sweet Ichigo by now.

Despite my aggravation at not being able to simply teleport to his location, we managed to get the hideout well before the first rays of light would have revealed all the men surrounding it. Urahara silently directed his men to take care of the guards posted and worked their way toward the more populated section.

I knew that Grimmjow would want his privacy when…taking care of Ichigo… so while they were fighting off the other men I was kicking in doors and killing everyone I came across. Thus far unsuccessful, I grabbed a hold of a pink-haired man that was trying to flee and dug my sword into his side.

“Where’s Ichigo?” I growled, gleeful at the agonized shriek he gave.

“He…he’s with Grimmjow…” I frowned and pushed the sword deeper into him. He screamed and panted for breath. “In the outskirts in the biggest house!” He panted for breath and I pulled the sword out of him. “Please…I beg you for mercy-

I cut him off with a single stroke of my blade, his head tumbling to the ground and blood spurting from his severed neck. I was at the edge of the settlement in an instant, my eye resting on the easily-largest house. I wasted no time in opening the door and slipping in as quietly as I could. It was dark inside, but I could hear a whimpering noise coming from upstairs. I ran up the steps, my eye moving frantically for the source of the noise. I stopped in front of a door with a meager amount of light coming from underneath it and slowly turned the handle, delighted that it wasn’t locked.

I opened it just a crack and peaked in, my chest tightening as I caught a glimpse of Ichigo’s bright orange hair. My mouth tightened into a thin line and I drew my sword, the sound of it sliding out of its sheath muted. Lifting my foot, I kicked the door open with a loud crack. The sight that greeted me made me want to rip the bastard’s guts out and wear them as a necklace.

The blue-haired bandit was sitting on the edge of the bed in only his pants with his hand rested on Ichigo’s face. Ichigo was naked except for a sheet lying over his hip, but there were bite marks and bruises all over his torso and neck. His brown eyes that were slightly damp burned with anger, his mouth twisted in a snarl.

Grimmjow was on his feet in a second and grabbing his sword from where it laid against the bed. Ichigo looked up at me, his body relaxing in my presence while I glowered at Grimmjow. I would have to make this quick so I could take care of my orange-haired beauty.

The blue-haired man was smirking at me, dragging the hand that wasn’t gripping the hilt of his sword down Ichigo’s body and making him flinch. I leaped forward, bringing my sword down towards the man’s neck. He caught with his own sword, the loud clash of our swords coming together vibrating throughout the room. I pressed all of my weight down into it, grinning as he visibly struggled against it.

He twisted the sword, throwing me back slightly and thrust it forward toward my stomach. I grabbed his hand, crushing it in my grip and brought my sword down. Blood splashed across my face as the serrated edge dug into his shoulder, squealing when it caught the collar bone. He made a gurgling noise of disbelief and fell to his knees. With an irritated humph I brought my sword up again slashed it down across his body. Guts spilled from his eviscerated stomach as the skin and muscle no longer held it in- he fell into the stinking mess, his blue eyes going dull as death took him.

I stepped over his dead body to Ichigo who was shivering slightly from cold and shock. I reached out and untied his hands, little blood droplets falling onto his face. As soon as he was free he launched himself at me, wrapping his arms around my neck and burrowing his head against my chest. My eye widened in surprise, but I hugged him back, stroking his hair and glowering at the damage done to his lithe body.

I pulled away from him to look for his clothes, my shoes squishing on the wet floor. I grabbed them from where they were draped over the end of the bed and pulled them onto him, ignoring the scowl he sent my way. I pressed a kiss to his clothed knee as I knelt and slid his feet into his shoes. His hand reached up and stroked my hair, hugging my head to his chest. I embraced him back, loving the feeling of his body pressed against mine.

We finally pulled apart as the sounds of fighting grew nearer. I picked my sword up from where I had let it drop on the ground and wiped the blood off on the sheet of the bed before sheathing it. Ichigo was glaring at Grimmjow’s body and gave it a hard kick before stomping a few times on the head- the sound of the body moving producing several squishing noises- before turning back to me.

“I’ll protect you.” I finally said, gripping his hand and pressing a kiss on it. I noted that a smear of red covered it now as he gave me a shaky smile.

“I know.” He winced slightly and wrapped his arms around his middle. “But you can’t protect me from everything.”

My throat tightened at the truth in his words. I just needed to get stronger. “Ichigo, will you marry me?”

He stared at me, his jaw dropping slightly. “Kenpachi…”

Rejection burned in my stomach and I turned away. “It’s fine, I just-

I was cut off by him grabbing my shirt and yanking me down for a kiss. His lips were soft and hesitant against mine, the trauma from earlier still affecting him. “I love you.” He whispered, his voice was hoarse but perfect to my ears. “And yes, I will marry you.” I kissed him again, gripping his smaller body to mine tightly- I never wanted to let go. I felt him tense slightly and I immediately let go. His face was white but he gave a shaky smile. “Sorry, I just-

“It’s okay.” I held out my hand and he gripped it hesitantly. “I love you.” Before Ichigo I had never said the words before. I thought it would be too sugary and false-sounding, but nothing could be more true. Grimmjow was dead. Renji was dead. It is time that we start rebuilding our world together.

LINE

I hope there wasn’t too much angst in this. The next chapter will definitely have a lighter tone.

I love you guys so much, I’m glad you have stuck with me for this long.