The scratching of pen on paper echoed through the dimly lit lab, the soft sound of boiling substances nicely accompanying the sound of a scientist at work. Szayelaporro remained bent over his work, his hair falling into his eyes as he madly scrawled out his report. Nearing the end, he eagerly scribbled out the last sentences. He leapt up as he finished, grabbing the completed report with excitement. He shoved it into the file containing his many anatomical discoveries, each one bringing him one step closer to perfection. He began cleaning his lab, clearing the desk and storing dangerous chemicals in the vault, pouring acid into a safe container and packing it away. As he organized his lab to his heart's content, he felt that there was something missing in his pursuit of perfection. There was a big piece that he felt he was missing completely, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He retired to his bed, pulling the cool covers over his near perfect body. Not able to fall asleep, Szayelaporro tossed and turned, poring over the possibility of missing a vital detail. Giving up on the idea of getting sleep, he lay with his eyes wide open, taking in every detail of the above ceiling. Just one thing. One thing. One number to complete the equation. One amino acid to complete the protein. One atom to stabilize the molecule. One crucial element to complete his dreams of perfection. What was it?

…

"Joy," she said, her ringlets bobbing up and down as she fidgeted excitedly in her place.

"That's your name?" Szayelaporro asked, clearly not amused.

"Yep! I gave it to myself."

"One cannot name herself."

"I can."

Szayelaporro sighed. "Just put your things in your room and return here immediately."

"Yes, sir!"

Joy bounced into her bedroom, unpacking happily. Szayelaporro pulled out a pair of latex gloves, tugging them over his hand, listening closely to the familiar sound of the rubber snapping against his skin. He began pouring a dangerously hot red liquid into when Joy bounded back into the lab energetically, bumping into him, making him spill the chemical over the lab counter.

"Oh!" she squealed. "Sorry!"

"Clean it up!" Szayelaporro snapped, his patience already beginning to wear thin.

"Y-Yes, sir!"

Without thinking to protect her hands, she grabbed a towel and began scrubbing the table furiously when the liquid touched her skin and began eating away at it. She let loose a wild scream, dropping the towel to the floor as the acid corroded her hand.

"You are far more trouble than you're worth," Szayelaporro grumbled, grabbing a basic solution and applying it to the base of her hand.

She sniffled, tears falling out of her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whimpered. "I just wanted to make you happy."

"You're failing miserably. Wear gloves next time."

"Y-yes, sir…"

"This will take a while to heal, so you'll have to refrain from using this hand for the next week or so."

"Oh no…"

"Deal with it. Now, I'll have to kill myself to get some more of that acid from Lord Aizen…"

Joy's head dropped guiltily. "Is there anything I can do?" she asked.

"No. Even if there was, you would mess it up."

"Oh…"

"Go to your room, Joy. I'll call you in when I'm ready for you."

Joy nodded and slogged into her bedroom, closing the door slowly behind her, leaving only the angry scientist and his spilled chemicals in the lab.

…

"Joy, come in now."

Joy tiptoed into the room, careful not to break or knock over anything. "Yes, sir?" she whispered.

Szayelaporro gestured to a stool. "Have a seat." After she had settled down, the researcher pulled out a clipboard. "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"Not at all, sir."

"Alright then. First question: is perfection possible?"

"Well it depends."

"On?"

"What is being perfected."

"Ah. Good answer. What if it was a person?"

"Well… I don't really think that is possible."

"Why not?" the scientist asked, slightly annoyed.

"Because one cannot exist without flaws. To say someone is perfect is to say they don't make mistakes, never had, never will. To not make mistakes, that means there are no evil or malicious intentions in their thoughts and that their knowledge covers everything in existence, and that in and of itself is impossible. So no, I don't think the perfect person is possible."

"But it is! A person can be immortal, his intelligence never ending, his skills beyond that of anyone else!"

"But he can never go without hating, without desiring to hurt another for his own benefit. That I know is true."

"You obviously don't know what you are talking about."

"If you think that, then by all means, go ahead. What's the next question?"

"What is something you think is absolutely necessary in the pursuit of perfection?"

Joy twirled her hair around her finger for a bit before opening her mouth to speak. "Happiness."

Szayelaporro was taken aback. "What?"

"I think that you need to be happy in order for you to be 'perfect.' Happiness is the closest to perfection. Happiness means that everything is going well for you on the most part. So I think that is most necessary to perfection."

The stumped scientist took her answer into consideration. After he sat in silence for a few minutes, he asked, "Do you think I am happy, Joy?"

"No, I don't."

"What do you think will make me happy?"

"I really wouldn't know. Perhaps giving up this obsession of becoming perfect. A calmer demeanor. Being kinder to others. I don't know."

He grabbed her by the shoulders forcefully, madness in his eyes. "Tell me!" he demanded.

"It's subjective. I can't tell you. I don't have the answer."

"Yes you do! You're keeping it from me! Tell me!" he screamed.

Joy took his hands off her shoulders and held them in her own. "Does that make you happy?"

He calmed down instantly. "A little."

"Really? Hmm…" She leaned in close. "Does this make you happy?"

"Very." Joy felt the two syllables on her lips.

She pulled away. "Then you'll have to earn your happiness like the rest of us."

With that, she let go of his hand and walked back into her room, making sure her footsteps echoed against the unbroken beakers.

…

So the missing piece was happiness. Something Szayelaporro would never have guessed, probably because of its abstract nature. So far, he had only been dealing with concrete concepts, so this was completely new to him. Joy's cheerful demeanor had diminished in the past few days, and she hardly ever spoke, implying that it would be hard to get her attention much less her love. Love. That's what he wanted. Maybe then he could be perfect. He glided over to Joy, putting his hand on hers to guide her as she cleaned a graduated cylinder.

"You're doing an excellent job," he purred.

"Don't touch me," she said coldly, pulling her hand away.

"Come now, Joy. Don't be so cruel to me."

"I don't want a lover who just manipulates me."

"Stubborn, aren't you?"

"If you want a toy, Las Noches is full of whores."

Her comment seared like acid. "Finish your work," he said in frustration, wandering over to a lab table to toy with some viruses.

After some time had passed, Joy broke the tense silence. "You won't be happy with just some whore."

"Hm?"

"To be really happy, you need a healthy relationship. You need real love and care. Friendship. Arguments. But love mostly. Not just physical interactions like kisses and sex."

"I see. So that is why you keep rejecting me."

"Yes. Our relationship wouldn't bring you happiness if I let you get away with your lecherous ways."

"Ah. If I didn't know any better, you seem just as concerned with my happiness as I do."

Joy hid her face behind some test tubes, her cheek bright red. "What's your point?"

"You like me, don't you? You want me to be your 'knight in shining armor' as they say. You want me to love you."

"I don't."

"You care about me. It's rather apparent."

"It is not!"

"Hush, now. Denying it won't do you any good."

"So what if I like you? Love you, even? You're nothing but a manipulative pervert and I am just waiting for you to turn into the desirable man that I know you can be."

"You're a very patient woman."

"Yes. Of course."

"Curious, how did you decide on the name Joy?"

"Hm? That…"

"Tell me."

"Ask politely and I'll consider it."

"Will you please tell me the origin of your name, princess?"

"That was going too far. But I'll tell you. It's a rather simple story. When Lord Aizen first made me an arrancar, I saw the darkness in his world. The darkness in him, in his comrades, in the arrancars, the Espadas, in the atmosphere. I immediately wanted to change it. I wanted to be a light to all, so when he asked me my name, I immediately answered 'Joy' so that I could be a joy to all those that I met. Especially you, who I saw was missing happiness the most."

"Me? Funny. I would think that Ulquiorra was missing the most happiness."

"He has a light in his life already. I didn't need to interfere."

"I see. So you're here to be my joy?"

"Yes. I chose to be your assistant purely for that reason."

Szayelaporro smiled for the first time since she had spilled his precious acid. "My joy."

He walked over to her and pulled off his gloves, setting them on the counter. He tipped her chin up and kissed her, regardless of whether she thought he was worthy or not. He just needed her whether it led to perfection or not. It was when he held her close, putting all his affection into the embrace, that he realized that happiness was not something one needed for perfection or for anything else, for that matter. It was something that one needed to survive.