As Ichigo trudged through the white sands of Hueco Mundo he reflected on the events that had recently happened in his life. For the past few months he had been trapped under the Division Twelve barracks, along with the division captain's other horribly mutilated experiments. Ichigo had been taken there in secret in order for Mayuri to study his hollow, the sight of Ichigo's fully released hollow defeating Ulquiorra Schiffer not escaping the curious scientist. The head captain agreed to the substitute shinigami's capture due to the fact that 'His hollow may be dangerous to us in the future, seeing as it has a very unpredictable nature.' Bullshit. It was all nothing more than a bunch of bullshit.

Ichigo had no idea where his family thought he was, or his friends or his school. He assumed the head caption had sent one of his other captains to inform his family and friends that something had happened to him, knowing the head captain wouldn't dare tell them the truth. Ichigo tried to be angry at them, all of them. He tried to be angry at him friends and family for believe the shinigami's lies, for not coming to save him from that hell hole he had been in, but he couldn't. He didn't know what they had been told, he didn't know if maybe they had come looking for him, and just couldn't get to him. So he sat in his cage, clothes almost nonexistent, his wrists chained and hung above him, holding him just high enough off the ground so the very tips of his toes could barely touch. He was fed very little, maybe about once a week he assumed. It was hard to tell time in an underground cage. He had stopped feeling the pain inflicted on him about the first month in, which displeased the blue haired captain but didn't stop him from his tortures. What Ichigo would assume was two months in Shiro, his inner hollow, disappeared along with Zangetsu who was gone the moment they'd taken his zanpakuto away when he arrived. Shiro was all he had, and then he was gone. Ichigo tried for weeks to call out to him with no success. He was alone now, with a furious captain screaming at him, demanding to know where his hollow had gone. He attempted everything he could to get Ichigo to tell him where the hollow had gone, he poisoned him, refused to give him food, and beat him. Ichigo refused to answer the man, seeing no point as he himself had no idea where his albino counterpart had gone.

Mayuri had stopped coming to his cage at one point, Ichigo assuming he was just being left for dead because he was no longer of use to the man because his hollow was gone. Then one day Urahara showed up. He had scratches on his face, his ever present green and white striped hat and fan where no where to be seen, his zanpakuto out, his breathing jagged. When he saw Ichigo he signed with a mixture of relief and exhaustion.

"H-hat and clogs, what you…doing h-"

"Shh, Ichigo don't try to speak we don't have much time before Mayuri comes down here."

The blonde man opened Ichigo's cage and proceeded to cut him down from his chains. He caught the teen as he was falling to the ground, his legs feeling like jelly from the lack of use. After a moment when he was sure the teen could stand on his own he backed up some and handed the orangette something, Ichigo looking down to see the familiar sight of his zanpakuto, holding it to his chest glad to have it back.

"You need to get out of here. I can not take you to the World of the Living until I handle things here. I'm sorry we couldn't come sooner, there were many complications. You must go to Hueco Munro for the timing being because, as ironic as it may be, it is the safest place for you right now."

"W-wait, how long? How long was I here?"

"You've been missing since the end of the Winter War, which was four months ago."

The teen stood in shock for a moment, but he didn't have very long to process this new information because there was frantic yelling coming from the elevator that led to the lower, secret levels of Division Twelve. Urahara sighed as he threw a small red cube into the air, opening a Garganta. He grabbed Ichigo by the shoulders.

"Go, you have to run, avoiding hollows is obvious, but be sure to avoid any shinigami that aren't myself or Yoruichi no matter what. Now run and don't stop until you drop kid, stay safe."

With that the older man shoved Ichigo through the Garganta, Ichigo clinging to his zanpakuto and running as well as he could on his weak legs. He got through the Garganta and kept running for about another five minutes before he dropped. He lay in the sand for a moment, panting before he stood, leaving him where he was now, walking, using Zangetsu as a cane to make his way to an unknown destination.

Just then he heard an loud cry. Looking up he saw a large hollow, almost as large as a menos. It had a tail and a large alligator type skull atop his head with large clawed hands, which were in the process of swinging down to kill Ichigo. He knew he didn't have much strength but he'd be damned if he'd go down with out a fight, so he held up Zangetsu and braced himself for the blow. It never came. Ichigo looked to his side and saw the hollows arm laying on sand and turned back to see the rest of it disappearing into ash.

"What the-"

"Well damn kid, don't you look like shit."

Ichigo looked in front of him to see none other than the sexta espada, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. Ichigo scowled.

"Yea, well…you don't look too great either, asshole."

That was a lie. Grimmjow looked as hot as Ichigo always thought he was, even though he refused to ever admit it out loud. Grimmjow frowned at his come back.

"Save the sarcasm, kid. You barely look like you've got the energy to stand, let alone be sassin' me."

The whole time he talked the blue haired hollow had been moving towards Ichigo. The teen opened his mouth to say something else but somehow ended up choking on air. He hunched over, being reminded of the multiple bruises on his chest and possible broken ribs as his coughing agitated them. Once his fit was over he stood straight, or as straight as he could in his weak state, blood dripping from his mouth. Grimmjow was right in front of him is seconds, picking him up bridal style before using sonido to get back to Las Noches . Ichigo wanted to protest but didn't have the energy, his consciousness slipping from him slowly until he blacked out.

XXX

"He has two broken ribs, major internal and external bruising, multiple cuts head to toe, ranging from minor scratches to large cuts that required multiple stitches. He must have been bound at the wrist seeing as he has identical markings on each wrist, about two inches wide. He also had several deadly toxins running through his body which I've countered with toxins of my own and he is extremely malnourished and obviously over exhausted."

Grimmjow listen to the pink haired scientist as we went over everything that was wrong with Ichigo. This kid had been seriously tortured. The blue haired man wondered how anybody had been able to get him to that point, because as much as he wound hate to say it out loud Kurosaki was remarkably strong.

"So what your tellin me is that he was tortured by someone?"

"Exactly, and due to the captain I fought during the war I'd have to say it was his doing. I didn't get much time with him but from what I experienced he is very fond of injecting his victims with toxins of all sorts."

"Why the fuck would shinigami do this to one of their own?"

Before Szayel had the chance to answer Grimmjow some one else answered.

"You seem to be forgetting this boy is not a true shinigami. He is a human child whom the shinigami placed all their hopes in and threw him untrained into battle. He is also very much part hollow, which I can no longer sense, so something truly terrible must have happened to him."

The two who had been talking turned to the large doors of Szayel's lab to see Ulquiorra waking towards them with his usual stoic expression.

"Now that you mention it, Ulquiorra, you're right. I can not sense his hollow either."

"Wait, how can that happen? Just lose your hollow? What did they do to him?"

Szayel adjusted his glasses before Ulquiorra let out a very small sigh and answered Grimmjow.

"Those are questions you should save for Kurosaki upon his awakening. Now if you'll excuse me I have something to discuss with Szayel."

Szayel walked past the sexta, following behind Ulquiorra who was already walking away, leaving Grimmjow alone with an unconscious Ichigo.