"Take him away," Zack waved a hand to dismiss his men.
"Hai!" They all responded as they started to drag him out.
But Ichigo held his ground as he freed one arm to swing a punch to the unexpected man. "Get out of my way!" he shouted as he jumped up to land a kick against the other man that was holding his other arm. The moment he freed himself, the remaining people started to come at him and he was forced to fight each and every one of them.
Zack remained still as he watched the battle before him with almost no interest. He was not affected by the deadening sound of Ichigo's fists colliding against the jaws of his men. He didn't flinch when a body got thrown across the room and collided into his desk. He didn't even blink when more men entered the room and pinned Ichigo down on the ground with guns pointed at him.
"Fuck," Ichigo cursed as he tried to move but the three men on top of him held him down.
Zack finally stood back up and walked to the other side of the desk. "Resist and I will order my men to shoot. Do not think I will be merciful the next time."
Ichigo could only move his eyes upwards, since even his head was being pushed down, and glared at the man who was standing only a few feet away from him. "Don't think I'll—"
"Enough," Zack stopped him, "You cannot win against me so I suggest you stay quiet and leave my presence—"
"Ni-isama!"
Every man in the room jumped in surprise when they looked over at the door to see the unexpected Angel running towards them. The moment his eyes landed on her, Ichigo felt the fast beating of his heart that he was so used to feeling whenever he was with her.
"Angel," he called out and the woman immediately looked over to him.
When their eyes met, Angel's eyes welled up again. "Ichigo," she whispered and tried to run to him but Justin and Jane held her back. Suddenly, another group of men surrounded the three newcomers, two guns pointed at Justin and Jane.
"What is the meaning of this?" Zack asked.
Angel looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Ni-isama, please let him go! I beg of you!"
"Ladies should not beg, Angel," he sternly told him.
But Angel ignored his statement and got down on her knees. "I'll do whatever you want me to do as long as you let him go!"
"What?!" Ichigo shouted, "There's no way I'm leaving this place without you Angel! I'm not going to abandon you in this hellhole just so I can live peacefully!"
"But Ichigo—"
"I love you and I'm going to protect you so stop saying shit that makes you look even more stupid!" he shouted.
"You dumbass!" Angel shouted back at him, "What do you think you can do in this situation?!"
"Angel—"
"I will get you out of here and protect you from my family so just shut up and let me handle this!"
"No, you fucking midget! Just wait and I'll—"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Zack shouted, ending the argument between his sister and the Ichigo on the ground, "I have heard enough of this! Take Angel out of here!" he ordered.
"No!" Ichigo shouted as he struggled even more.
Jane and Justin were about to stop the men approaching their friend but got stopped when guns were pointed straight at their face. "Oi! Get out of our way!" Jane shouted but her arms were suddenly grabbed from behind and someone pinned her against the door.
"Jan—" Justin couldn't even call out his friend's name when he was given the same treatment. "FUCK!" he cursed out loud.
Angel tried to crawl away but two men grabbed her arms and started to pull her up on her feet. "No! Let go of me!"
"Stop it! Don't touch her!" Ichigo shouted. He looked over and yelled at the man who remained emotionless through the entire ordeal. "You fucking bastard! Tell them to let her go! How dare you let them manhandle your own sister?!"
Zack looked down at him with the same 'I-will-kill-you-insect' look before looking back up to all the commotion his sister was making. "Stop."
His single word stilled every person in the room and an eerie silence settled on them. Nobody dared to move, not even to blink, as they stiffly waited for the man to say something else.
"Release her," he ordered. The two men immediately released their hold on Angel and stepped back.
Angel fell back down on her knees when she was 'dropped' by them. Her chest was heaving up and down as she stared at her brother in her rumbled up state. "Ni-isama," she huffed, "Please."
Zack stared down at her pitiful state before looking over at the man on the ground who was glaring up at him. After another few seconds of heavy silence, he looked back at his sister and ordered, "Leave now."
Angel sat up straight. "Ni-isama, please lis—"
"I told you to leave Angel," Zack said sternly, "I will not tolerate this rebelliousness of yours any longer."
"But—"
"Angel," he called out her name again, but this time in a more soothing manner, "I promise I won't hurt him so will you listen to me just this once."
Angel closed her hanging mouth and just stared at her brother, unsure whether to trust him or not.
Ichigo was also staring at Zack, trying to read what he was thinking but his face was still emotionless. But this serious tone was all it took to make him curious. "Angel, listen to what he said."
Angel gasped as she looked over at him. "Are you insane? What if—"
"Angel," Ichigo smiled, "Nothing is going to happen. Right?" he glared at Zack. The man merely nodded his head in reply. "See? Tan. Bieber." The two looked up at him. "Can you guys please take Angel out of here? Make sure she doesn't get into any more trouble."
The two were immediately released by the captors, after getting a signal from Zack, and carefully walked over to the woman still on the ground. Angel was still reluctant to leave and forced her weight down.
"Angel," Jane whispered to her, "Com'on."
"Trust him," Justin added as he finally pulled her up on her feet.
"Ichigo…" Angel sighed as she allowed her friends to drag her out of the room.
Once the three exited the room Zack gave the signal to the men who were still pinning Ichigo on the ground. They slowly got up and Ichigo waited until they were all a good foot away from him before lifting himself off the ground. He grunted a bit when his muscles ached from being crushed to the ground for so long.
With another wave of his hand, the men in black bowed their heads before making their way out of the room through another door.
Finally alone, Ichigo stood up and glared at the man in front of him. "What do you want?"
"What were you planning on doing with my sister?" Zack asked.
A brow went up as Ichigo was slightly taken aback by his question. "Why?"
"Do not question me, Ichi. My patience with you is already drying thin."
Ichigo felt a twitch under his left eye at the word 'Ichi,' but decided to ignore it this time since there was more important business to attend at the moment. "I love Angel. And I'm planning a future with her as soon as we can."
"Present tense?" Zack sounded amused by Ichigo's confidence, "What makes you think you can still have this 'future' of yours if my sister is not with you? And what if my sister doesn't agree with you?"
The twitch was really starting to come full on. "I know Angel loves me and I also know she will stay by my side. We're already one in soul—you could say—and I'm not going to leave her. I promised her this over and over again, and if my mother taught me anything, it's to never back out of a promise with someone you love."
Zack stared into the amber eyes that were blazing with resolve. A sigh escaped his lips. "So much confidence…like myself."
The twitch got worse. Did that guy, with a stick up his ass, just say they were similar? "You have got to be kidding me—"
"How can I trust you to keep my sister safe?"
Ichigo growled when he was ignored again. "You fucking—wait, what?" his eyes widened after realizing what his questions might be insinuating.
"Did you suddenly go deaf?" Zack asked.
"No," Ichigo glared, "I was just checking to make sure I heard you right. AND—" he quickly added before Zack could step in to criticize him more, "I'm holding onto my position as a teacher. I make enough money to support both of us as it is, so that's not a problem."
"And what about Angel's future?" Zack asked as he looked down to check his watch. It was getting really late and he had an important conference the next day.
"If she wants to go to a university and get a job, I'm more than willing to let her," Ichigo told him, "She's been telling me how much she wants to pursue a career in writing, which I'm more than happy to support. We have already decided that she'd stay with me, while still pursuing our dreams, but this time together." Ichigo tried to ignore how gushy that all sounded.
Zack crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back against his desk. He silently eyed the man in front of him as if trying to determine the best way to kill him. "I want my sister to come back here every other weekend and you are to come too. I will see for myself if this union is valid," he said before walking back to his seat at the other side of the table.
Ichigo stood frozen for a few moments, not sure what just happened. "Wait…did you just—"
"Unless you have any objections now, I suggest you leave before I change my mind."
"None whatsoever!" Ichigo shouted as he quickly ran to the door. Just as he was about to open the object that was separating him from his love, he paused as questions began popping his head. He reluctantly turned around and saw Zack returning to the paperwork he was doing just before Ichigo came in. "I just have one question. Why are you suddenly letting us go?"
Zack never looked up from his work as he answered. "Angel has never begged for anything in her life. Nor have I ever seen her cry like that since Juvia passed away. If she is willing to go to such length for a Ichi like you, then I have no choice but to let her go."
Ichigo was still as he carefully listened. Maybe he's not that bad…if only he didn't call me ichi.
"If I keep Angel here, she will be miserable for the rest of her life. And I know Juvia will never look at me again if I did," Zack concluded. "Now leave."
Ichigo nodded and finally opened the door. A smile graced his lips when he saw Angel standing a few feet away, still being comforted by her friends. "Thanks," was all he said before exiting the room and running to embrace the woman he was willing to die for.
The moment Angel was in his arms, she knew everything was going to be alright. Her tears came down again as she held onto as if he was her lifeline. And she was never going to let go.