Ngoc Chau does not own Bleach.

Really this is a filler, but it's still sort of Mayuri/Nemu if you squint real hard! Part two of three, continued from Cold, to be concluded in Hold.

Prompt: Ice

Mayuri never depended on anyone else's zanpakuto, let alone his own creation's. And so he had told her to leave it back at the Seireitei for she was not really a shinigami designed for swordplay(though she was more than capable with than most, he boasted when he first created her) and he often used her as a decoy. As he had suspected and planned for, it had her in its jaws. He had taken a precaution in stuffing her body with drugs and medicine for this particular trip, knowing that it was imperative to bring back the specimen alive. After finding the Hollow eating an unfortunate hiker's soul, it turned its attention to the group of shinigami stalking closer to it. It had ran and ran, those who were capable of shunpo were able to come close after it, wile those who had yet to attain the ability made it their responsibility to keep the storage cart ready to bring back to the Seireitei. Nemu knew what was her duty for this trip, to always be the first one on the frontlines and she had done it.

Now there was a static silence as the entire expedition group observed the suppressed pain of their Lieutenant, of her muffled gasping and body spasms.

She knew what Mayuri had expected of her and threw herself in front of the Hollow, to first subdue it with her bare hands first and if that was not successful…

The Hollow closed its massive jaws around her chest and there was a louder crunch and a louder scream to accompany it.

Mayuri snarled at the standing bunch, "Don't just stand there, you imbeciles! Take it down alive!"

One of the head scientists, who had transferred to the 12th division just a few years ago, reached for his zanpakuto and called out, "Shine white, scatter red: Shiroi Fukushu!" The zanpakuto resembled something like a gauntlet with extended claws. As his claws swept through the snow and sent it flying at the Hollow, enveloping it in ice, the others began to follow his example by drawing their own zanpakuto and trying to incapacitate it. Nemu then struggled to get out of the Hollow's mouth, but in doing so, the Hollow just increased the pressure of its teeth. Then there was another crunch and Nemu was still.

"Fukutaicho!" one of them called for her. The Hollow, its arms bound by the power of the zanpakuto, smashed its head onto the ice on which it stood and dove beneath into the waters.

"What do we do now?" one of them asked.

Mayuri reached into his pockets and threw onto the ice, bombs. As it exploded and cracked, the Hollow burst through, his head held upwards. However, Nemu wasn't in its jaws. Had she been eaten whole, he wondered. If so, what drug would work its magic on the Hollow first?

Reader, the Hollow had put up a good fight, but a hollow is never any good against a group of shinigami. They were able to at least bring it to its belly and keep it from running, but the monster was still dangerous as long as it moved. Its tail thrashed everywhere and it hit against the ice, sending it back into the watery depths. Mayuri was cold and he was getting tired of this little game. In fact, he was now possibly considering just chopping it into bits and salvaging that instead of keeping the thing alive.

The Hollow burst out of the waters again and somehow it appeared to be tipsy. Mayuri was glad that something was actually going well today. The 12th division saw their opportunity and chased after it, dragging it back to be captured.

As Mayuri was about to go after the beast as well, a sudden splashing had him look rose from the waters, gasping and shaking. Something in him struck and he actually found himself going towards his lieutenant. But the Hollow somehow avoided the researchers and intercepted him in front of Nemu. Not willing to divert from what he was planning, one hand went to his zanpakuto while the other twisted the cone over his ear and pulled out his hidden kurasarigama. He planned to kill two birds with one stone: he would get both his Lieutenant back and capture this beast. The Captain's kusarigama came flew swiftly through the air and hit its intended target: Nemu.

It went through her stomach and caught her like a hook would for a fish, Mayuri pulled the ligament and Nemu back towards him. The Hollow lunged for her and held her in its tightening grip. There it was that Mayuri saw that Nemu was missing almost half her ribs on her side. He had hidden a paralysis drug there, one that had a much similar effect to the poison of his zanpakuto. Then, as if right on cue, the Hollow became dizzy once more; it fell on its back, cracking more of the ice and Nemu had the unfortunate luck to fall between the cracks into the water.

Reader, I cannot recount every single detail there was about capturing this Hollow, that had evaded the Shinigami for almost a month, but I lack the writing experience for adventure and swordplay and would fail to make it as exciting as the occasion in which Kurosaki Ichigo had defeated Barbewire. Nor can I accurately recount it without knowing the present shinigami there and what levels of power did they possess. It was definitely a dangerous Hollow to have evaded and eaten three shinigami before, and even after having taken a bite of the 12th division lieutenant, it was unaffected. But I will tell you that it did ultimately rest on Mayuri's Ashisoji-Jizou to stop the Hollow, now flattened against the ice atop the lake.

He leapt and stabbed his sword deep into the spine of the hollow. In a few seconds the Hollow stopped struggling and breathed long low breathes as it hung on the ice, its eyes still darting wildly. Mayuri looked down at the creature and pulled out a huge needle, plunging it deep into the creature's neck. There was a low sort of whining sound from the Hollow, but all those around knew that what the Captain had just done was a punishment to have it feel pain, but for what? Their question was soon answered.

"That's for appearing in such a cold hellish place and running." he seethed between his teeth. He looked at the scientists who were carefully securing the specimen, "Hurry up! We've already wasted so much time chasing after him! We'll be lucky if we get him secured and prepared for tomorrow!"

As the scientists began loading up the body, Mayuri went back for his lieutenant who was still submerged in the water, barely hanging on to the ice. He dragged his Lieutenant out of the dark waters onto the ice. Her body that had been so warm was as cold as the air he breathed. Some of her limbs had begun to turn violet and dark red. He sat her up in his arms. She coughed up some water and she appeared to have difficulty with breathing. Slowly, the light in those green eyes began to fade into something else, something that is hard to describe into words but can easily be recognized as gone.

Mayuri sighed as her form fell limp in his arms. But, Reader, it was a sigh of you would have when something you've done is a success but you still think that it could've gone better. As such: he did not have to use his Hojiku-Zai once, none of his division members were eaten(injuries were not so bad, all for science, he supposed), the specimen was completely paralyzed and could easily be carted to the Sereitei before they had to purify his spirit, and Nemu's body was at least recovered. He looked between the ice-covered Hollow that they were locking up and Nemu's own brutalized body with half of her ribs missing, a leg twisted like battered metal, and a hole in her stomach from where his kusarigama had pierced her.

As they were placing the Hollow onto the storage cart they had brought, one busty scientist from afar questioned her Captain, "Kurotsuchi-taicho, what shall we do with the Lieutenant?"

There was no mistake about it, she was nothing but a corpse now, flesh formed by him. His hands went around her, his white hands contrasting with the black of her uniform. There were some whispers as he carefully hung her over his shoulder, the cold weather had caused the blood within her body to cease its circulation and thus was it the reason why none of it had poured over the mad scientist's clothes. Her braid swung low to his feet as he walked past most of his group.

One young inexperienced Shinigami asked him as he walked by, "Kurotsuchi-taicho, is she alright?" A few more began to question the same thing.

He turned to them, a finger pointed to the storage cart they had brought with the Hollow placed inside. "Someone open this up! I'm not going to carry dead weight on my shoulder for the whole trip back! I'm not some brutish labourer like those in Zaraki's division!"

And as they threw Nemu's corpse inside, there were more whispers.

It may not seem like romance, but at least he went to her when she was in the water and pulled her out. Plus, I sort of wanted to convey that it didn't really matter what happened to Nemu as long as he had her body, then he could bring her back and not have to go through an entire process of making a new Nemu since all the materials would be there. But still, I hope this shows that he is willing to care about her, just not in front of his subordinates.