Hello! Another Grantz oneshot, but far lighter this time. Since no one else has done it and I felt like writing it, this is the scene Szayel mentions to Renji when they first meet, about how he supposedly healed him and that was how Szayel knew about Renji's powers. It's really nothing but brotherly fluff.
Please note that this is MY take on the Grantz brothers' relationship—that they don't really hate each other but make others think that they do so that no 'weakness' is shown by either of them. It doesn't really have anything to with my other fic because in that one they genuinely hated each other until it was too late. In this, they regard each other as nuisances at worst.
'Why did you come to me anyway?' Szayel asked irritably, carefully preparing a syringe. He had better things to be doing than minding his older brother right now. 'Why not the Medical Sector?' Ilforte shifted slightly on the examination table and winced.
'Because they only heal the wounds,' he said, through gritted teeth, 'you can make it as if they never existed. I know it.' Szayel smirked from behind his surgical mask.
'I'm flattered that you think so highly of my healing skills.' He turned to face Ilforte. His brother lay in a steadily growing pool of blood on an examination table in a smaller, cornered-off part of the lab. Szayel did not heal very often so this part was a lot smaller compared to other rooms. However, it was equipped with everything a doctor might need—IV stands, syringes, bandages, flasks, antiseptics—and in this case, a patient—Ilforte.
The blond-haired man had come knocking at Szayel's laboratory door only a few minutes ago, pretty much bleeding to death but still managing to keep that annoyingly smug smile glued to his face. So, irked and exasperated, Szayel had allowed his brother in, lead him to the small space reserved for healing purposes, got him settled on the table and then begun the rather time-consuming process of healing him.
Szayel now carefully positioned the needle in the crook of Ilforte's arm. The Arrancar flinched away slightly, regarding Szayel nervously. 'Wait. What is that?' Szayel rolled his eyes.
'Nothing that'll hurt or make you worse. Now stay still.' Ilforte looked uneasily up at him, but did nothing to stop his brother. There was a short silence while Szayel administered the injection, which was broken only by the quiet hum of the ceiling lights and Ilforte's slightly ragged breathing.
'How did this happen anyway?' Szayel inquired, partly out of genuine interest but mainly to keep Ilforte distracted. He strode over to a cupboard and began rummaging through it. Now, where had he put the container?
'Hm? Oh, one of the lesser Arrancar was ticking me off, so—'
'So you decided to fight, no knowing your opponent's strengths or abilities, and got your ass kicked?' Szayel finished for him, earning himself an annoyed glare.
'No,' Ilforte replied indignantly, 'I won. And there's one less retard in Las Noches.' Ilforte sounded proud of himself. Idiot.
'Just hope you haven't ticked off Aizen-sama,' Szayel remarked, and out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw Ilforte flinch slightly. He didn't mention it, though—it was an unspoken rule in Las Noches that you did not get at people through their fear of Aizen. Everyone was terrified of him. Well, Grimmjow claimed to not be scared of anything and Ilforte would most likely back him up, but Szayel did fear him and wasn't low or stupid enough to point out the same thing on somebody else.
Szayel finally found the container he'd been looking for. It was large, but shoved right to the back of the cupboard. Who the Hell had put it there?
…Oh. Right. Him.
Szayel grabbed the container and went back to his brother. Ilforte's eyes were closed and his breathing deep. Had he passed out? Szayel hoped so…
'I know that what you're about to do will be more for your benefit than mine,' Ilforte mumbled. So much for being unconscious, 'but hurry up and get it over with.' Smirking to himself, Szayel put the box down on a small table. Ilforte was right—this was more for Szayel's benefit than Ilforte's, but it would help the both of them and wouldn't cause damage in any way…
Or at least, it shouldn't.
The container was filled with tiny half-flesh half-electronic insects, about the size and shape of sesame seeds, which were, currently, 'off'. They were designed to regenerate flesh, muscle, bone and organ cells, as well as to take highly detailed readings of their surroundings and stay in an Arrancar body without causing any harm. Szayel had already tested them on his Fraccion and deemed them safe to use, but he had yet to use them in a real-life situation. Fortunately for him, the Winter War was fast approaching and a battle was sure to happen soon. And, since he knew of Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez's personality quite well he expected Ilforte to be involved in battle soon.
This was, therefore, the perfect opportunity to use his invention!
He looked back at his brother, who now lay perfectly still with his eyes closed. The drug Szayel had administered seemed to have taken affect. Good—the last thing he wanted was for Ilforte to panic and mess up the experiment.
Holding a hand over the open container, Szayel sent a pulse of his reiatsu over the insects. Tiny pink lights on their 'heads' began to pulse, showing that they were on 'on'. Szayel then held the container carefully over a large gash on his brother's stomach and a few of the insects fell onto the torn skin. Szayel watched intently as the burrowed into the exposed flesh, leaving not a trace behind. Then, small beams of pink light began to form a zigzagging web over the wound. Slowly at the first but speeding up, fresh muscle tissue began to form. New skin quickly sealed over the wound and Szayel straightened up, satisfied.
He quickly repeated the process with the other wounds. Ilforte had already lost a lot of blood and losing any more wouldn't do either of them much good.
'At least try to take better care of yourself in future,' he muttered quietly, a bit of genuine concern showing in his voice. 'I can't patch you up every time.' He turned around, sending another pulse of reiatsu over the insects to turn them off and sliding the lid back over them.
'Wow,' came a weak voice from behind him. Szayel froze. 'You made it sound as if you actually care.'
'I thought you were unconscious,' Szayel said stiffly as he slid the box back into the cupboard.
'I was,' Ilforte replied, 'but I woke up just before you said that. What did you mean?'
'I meant that you are the only arrancar who shares 50% of my DNA and are therefore a very useful test subject so it would be annoying if I lost you,' he snapped, angry at himself for having let his weakness shown.
'…Yeah, right.' Szayel could hear the self-congratulating smile in his brother's voice. He bit back a groan, sure that he would never hear the end of it now. What his brother said next, therefore, came as a bit of a surprise; 'Hey, I'd be pissed if you died and I had to avenge you.' Szayel smiled nervously and licked his lips.
'Ilforte, you're scaring me… I think I may have overdosed you on morphine.' Ilforte chuckled weakly.
'Yeah, maybe…' They lapsed into silence. Szayel felt frozen to the spot, worried that any movement would somehow further reveal his weakness. Any positive relationship in Las Noches was regarded as something to be manipulated and used. Szayel knew that he couldn't afford anything like that to happen to him—he was only Octava, and the new Arrancar were stronger than the old. Anything that threatened his position also threatened his life and his feelings towards his brother could easily end everything.
'How are we brothers, anyway?' Ilforte asked, breaking the silence. 'I mean… we didn't meet until I got to Las Noches… so how does it work?' Szayel relaxed slightly—at least he could talk about this and not feel so awkward.
'I'm guessing we must have been siblings as humans,' he replied, pushing at the bridge of his glasses. It was just a tick of his—his mask fragment was attached to his face but he tended to fiddle with it when he was nervous. 'If my estimate is correct—and it probably is—then we died and became Hollows at around the same time… and possibly in the same place.' There was a short pause while Ilforte considered this information.
'…I bet it was your fault,' he said eventually, earning a chuckle from Szayel.
'Probably,' he said, smiling. Finding that he could now move again, Szayel removed his mask and gloves and tossed them into a trashcan before turning back to his brother. Only one of Ilforte's eyes was open and he gazed up at his brother lazily, smiling sleepily.
'I owe you now,' he said, 'so if you need anyone beating up for you, just let me know. I deal with them for you.' Szayel smiled and shook his head. A pleasant, easy atmosphere had settled over the room and Szayel was content to listen to his brother's idiocy.
'I doubt I'll require your services,' he said, smirking. Then he frowned slightly. 'Why haven't you passed out yet?'
'Dunno,' Ilforte muttered. Then he stiffened and opened both eyes. 'Wait. Should I have by now?'
'Probably, due to exhaustion, blood-loss and the morphine.'
'But not because you gave me anything?' Szayel rolled his eyes.
'No.' His eyes wandered over a partially-full syringe on a tabletop nearby. 'I could, though, if you want me to…' His lips twitched into a slightly malicious smile.
'No, thank you,' Ilforte replied hastily. 'I still don't really trust your drugs.'
'You don't trust your dear brother's medicines?' Szayel said, in mock hurt. 'Honestly, Ilforte, you think too little of me.' Ilforte smirked, closing both eyes.
'Whatever. I'm going to sleep now, 'kay?'
'Okay,' Szayel replied. 'Finally,' he muttered to himself. Ilforte didn't reply. It seemed that this time, he really was unconscious.
Leaving his brother's bedside, Szayel crossed the room to the door where he paused to dim the lights a little, before continuing into the main lab. In a few hours he would return to check on Ilforte and maybe kick him out, but for now he had work to do.
The end! Lol, ending line was kinda lame... please review; it means so much to me!
About the insects: I have no idea what they would be like, but since Szayel's color scheme is pink, I decided to give them pink lights. I also liked the idea of pink lazer beams. XD