Defeat

Ishida Uryu stared at the Shinigami in front of him. She was small and had dark black hair plaited in a braid. His daughter… The very thought made the Quincy flinch. The very monster who had created her was limping away, a huge hole in his side as blood leaked and his bankai destroyed. Kurotsuchi Mayuri had laughed at him, telling him that he would live and the Quincy would die. Kurotsuchi Nemu… Uryu thought as she handed him the antidote. Why are you doing this? Although Uryu would not admit his weakness, he could feel his bones ache and the wound on his side tremble. The young teen stared into the Shinigami's dark eyes, finding relief and gratitude in them. Why? He thought.

The dark-haired Quincy had seen with his very own eyes of the treatment the captain of the twelfth division had reserved for her. Kicking her as she was wounded as he berated her and using her own body to stab his without a second thought. Uryu could still imagine the blood, soaking the ground as one of her arms was gone. "When you spared Mayuri-sama, I was glad." As he pushed the needle into his skin, Uryu wondered of what punishment now awaited her; certainly that Shinigami Mayuri would not be pleased by his survival.

Uryu remembered of how the Shinigami had become enamored with him as they fought, calling him a genius and wanting to experiment on him. He said…that he experimented on Quinces. Uryu's hand tightened at the thought of his kind suffering at the hands of that sadistic Shinigami. His anger increased at the thought of the countless bodies, limbs separated from bodies, a skull cracked, and a son who was forcibly burned by his own father.

Sensei… His grandfather had told him that someday there would be a time when he would understand his father, and that he would know what he wanted to protect. Uryu had no intent of understanding Ryuken, nor did he know what he wanted to protect. He only knew that the crimes that Kurotsuchi Mayuri would never be forgiven by him, and that he would do his best to kill him. Uryu had failed in that respect but he was –

Uryu stopped. The syringe fell from his hand and onto the floor. What…? He thought. The teenage Quincy stared at his hands, which were trembling and shaking. He could feel the tremors down his legs and entire body, and horror seeped through him when he saw Kurotsuchi Nemu stand and look at him with a blank expression.

"I am sorry, Quincy-san, but this is Mayuri-sama's orders." Uryu's vision started to fade, and he fought against the darkness as he continued to hear the Shinigami's measured voice. "He has an interest in you that cannot be satisfied."

Inoue-san… Uryu thought of the orange-haired girl, hoping that she was safe from harm. Although it had only been a couple of days since he had known her, Uryu felt drawn to her and was concerned about her safety. Inoue-san…do not worry about me.

I… His thoughts faded into a blanket of darkness.

Inoue Orihime sniffed the air in concern. Although it had only been a couple of hours since Kurosaki-kun's battle with Kuchiki-san's oniisan and that the orange-haired Shinigami substitute was healed, Orihime still found herself not at ease. She had been concerned when Sado-kun had been the only one in the room with her in the fourth division headquarters. The healer had tried to broach the subject with him, but Sado-kun had told her that Ishida-kun would be alright and that he was a Quincy. Orihime had been so focused on the battle between Kurosaki-kun and Kuchiki Byakuya-san that she had forgotten about Ishida-kun. Now as her long orange hair waved behind her as she moved across to the fourth division headquarters, Orihime's fears deepened. Ishida-kun's not back…and it certainly wouldn't take him this long to take out that scary weird-looking captain! Especially if it was made out of stuffing like Kon-kun!

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime called. She looked inside and could see his head turn. For a moment her heart leapt at the sight of him. His orange hair was slightly tussled and if Orihime had been observant enough, she would see a distant and sad look in his eyes. Beside him, Kuchiki-san was wearing her Shinigami robes and briefly waved.

"What is it, Inoue?" Orihime had stopped waving to Kuchiki-san and looked worriedly at her crush.

"Ishida-kun is missing!" The anxiety and stress Orihime had held inside her since Ishida-kun had her taken away from him tore away whatever calmness the big-breasted girl had. "We were fighting this creepy guy without any hair, and he had these really strange arms that could disconnect from his body and –"

"Wait." Kurosaki-kun's hand raised to stop her from speaking, and his expression was alarm, disbelief, and dismay. "Ishida is missing?" Orihime's gaze switched to Kuchiki-san's, and found that the female Shinigami was looking very grave. "Damn it! How come I didn't notice?"

"Inoue-san." Orihime stared at Kuchiki-san, surprised by the seriousness on her face. "Describe the Shinigami Ishida-san fought for me please." As Orihime explained, she noted of how Kuchiki-san's face began to pale and her eyes widened as Orihime continued her description. Suddenly, the two humans jumped when Kuchiki-san stood and gritted her teeth.

"Ichigo!" Kuchiki-san was walking rapidly from the center of the fourth division and immediately started to run. "Inoue-san! If you want to save your ally then follow me!"

Orihime's stomach plummeted at the sound of the grave tone, and she began to run across from Kuchiki-san with Sado-kun behind her.

"What's going on?" Ichigo bellowed.

"The captain that Ishida-san fought was Kurotsuchi Mayuri, Inoue-san." Kuchiki-san's violet eyes bored into Orihime's gray. "He's the captain of the twelfth division, and the president of the Shinigami Research Institute."

"Is that bad?" Orihime whispered.

Kuchiki-san wouldn't allow herself to look at Orihime for a moment before she sighed and stared at the three behind her.

"It was rumored…but not proven…that Kurotsuchi-taichō does live experiments." Orihime's eyes widened with horror as Kurosaki-kun recoiled in disgust. Sado-kun simply listened. "I heard Oniisama say that Kurotsuchi-taichō has a special interest in Quincy, and…he also experiments on them."

"Why?" Orihime gasped. How…could he? They're human, and Ishida-kun…!

"We're heading straight to General-Commander Yamamoto," Kuchiki-san stated as the four passed another division's headquarters.

"What are we waiting for then?" Kurosaki-kun stated, outpacing Kuchiki-san as he started to run faster ahead.

Orihime pushed down the deepening fear in her stomach. Ishida-kun…please stay safe!