Act I Scene II: Do Background Research


Uryuu had remained confined for a day. Really though, it didn't feel like just a day when it was this unpleasant. It's not like he had expected to be rescued quickly or anything, but his patience was wearing thin. He was injured, cold, hungry, tired, thirsty, and just plain fed up with the situation. It wasn't like he was going to ask for these things. The Espada might have taken everything else, but he'd never surrender his Quincy pride. All the same, it was pretty miserable. I mean, he didn't even have a bed.

The brunet figured that as someone who claimed to be as intelligent as his captor did, the self-proclaimed scientist ought to know how to treat his captive. It then occurred to Uryuu that maybe the arrancar didn't really care past the point of keeping him alive. Then again, the Espada had said he wanted Uryuu to heal. Though, he didn't see how the bastard expected him to get well while being treated this badly.

This was hell.


For all his talk, there were some areas of knowledge in which Szayel's genius was lacking. Not that he'd ever admit it, of course. One of these blind spots was the proper care of others. In his opinion, he'd never actually met anyone worth being nice to, of all things. So, it figured that all experiments involving others had ended rather badly for them. It was their fault anyway, Szayel was sure they'd just wanted to defy him by dying before he could use them fully.

As he monitored the Quincy though, it became apparent that even with copious amounts of sleep his condition was worsening, instead of the predicted improvement. When the child had passed out on the second day, the rokureichuu monitoring him had shown a severe upset in his vital signs.

Szayel decided that intervention was prudent if he didn't want to lose the most interesting subject he'd had in ages. It was clear that the first order of business ought to be reducing the Quincy's fever. Some form of nourishment seemed to be necessary as well. According to the data collected by the spirit-recording bugs embedded in the Espada's test subject, the raven haired boy had not had anything to eat or drink for at least a couple of days. In prior experiments (with far less interesting participants), Szayel had gleefully observed the degenerative affect starvation and dehydration had on the body, so he could easily recognize the early symptoms for what they were.

This was definitely an inconvenience, the arrancar scientist mused. He had been hoping to chart the natural recovery patterns of his captive. He supposed he could always do that later, even if the delay displeased him. Szayel pushed his pink bangs out of his face and contemplated his options with a sigh. He theorized that, while sure to be interesting, feeding the Quincy parts of his Fracción was probably not a viable solution. It was unfortunate that no one other than himself had been intelligent enough to develop regenerative abilities.

It seemed the optimal course of action would be to make a quick trip to the human world for some medical supplies and sustenance. Szayel was sure that he could manufacture the necessary means to heal the child, but regardless of the amusement the small challenge would provide, it was not the most efficient method. Stealing from the human world this one time was quicker. He could then analyze the supplies for later recreation.

With his mind made up, the Octava masked his reiatsu, so as not to attract any unwanted attention. He then proceeded to open a Garganta, glancing one last time at the screen showing the shivering Quincy's image, before slipping into Karakura Town.


Cold sapphire eyes dripping hatred watched as the Seele Schneider pierced the skull of Szayelaporro Granz, the Octava Espada. The owner of those eyes was Uryuu Ishida, the Quincy. He had taken his revenge on the sadist with a single shot of his bow. The arrancar had been caught by surprise; the arrow had entered his mouth mid-laugh, finally emerging from the top of his scalp. The self-proclaimed scientist's golden eyes had widened to almost comical proportions as he fell to the floor of his own 'palace' with a satisfying thud. The arrow remained lodged in his cranium.

Uryuu had gotten his revenge, and it was sweeter than he had imagined and it fed his pride as a Quincy. Basking in the glow of his victory, he turned towards his friends. Chad, Rukia, Renji, and even Ichigo were all looking at him with admiration evident in their eyes. But there was something wrong. The Quincy finally managed to put his finger on it: where was Orihime?

The ebony haired victor returned his gaze to his fallen enemy. Wait. That wasn't right at all. The blood gushing from the fatal head wound wasn't mixing with pink, shoulder length hair. The hair becoming stained by the gore was much longer, and colored closer to a shade of auburn.

Realization dawned upon Uryuu with growing horror. He had shot Orihime, and he had been celebrating. He had murdered Orihime, his friend. And he had been happy. What had he done?

He heard laughter. The Octava Espada's insane, cackling laughter. Uryuu looked around frantically for the source. The arrancar was nowhere to be found. It was only the tell-tale burning of his own lungs that led him to the conclusion that he himself was the one laughing.

Uryuu felt sick to his stomach. He was bathing in self-loathing, but he just couldn't. Stop. Laughing.

The laughter swallowed him whole.


The brief foray into the human world had gone by rather painlessly. Once there, finding a large hospital had been almost too easy. In fact, his Garganta had opened directly above Karakura Hospital. This was clearly evidence of his superior intellect. From there, Szayel had located a vacant room with efficacy. Finding a doctor to explain the finer points of human medical care had been slightly more difficult, but nothing was impossible for a genius of his caliber. The doctor had even brought him some human food.

As good manners dictated, someone this helpful should be thanked; so, Szayel let her live. He didn't even partake in any light maiming. Just wiped her memory and left her unconscious. Maybe there was a small amount of dissection involved. However, nothing was fatal. Probably. It would be foolish to pass up an opportunity like that, even if he was polite.

Transporting everything in the hospital room through the Garganta into Hueco Mundo was slightly trickier, but nothing he couldn't accomplish. His Fracción had taken care of the heavy lifting, though he did have to listen to Verona complain the entire time. Sacrifices are sometimes necessary.

Upon returning to his domain, it became evident to Szayel that the expediency of his little trip was greatly beneficial. He had only left the Quincy unattended for a few hours, but his health had undeniably deteriorated further. The boy shown on the monitors seemed to be in the midst of a fever dream. His voice had almost disappeared, but he was screaming with what little he had left. His skin was flushed and clammy, and his pupils were dilated. The rokureichuu confirmed the sorry state of the Espada's test subject.

The arrancar felt that it was truly a pity he had missed witnessing his experiment's suffering firsthand. Luckily, Szayel had recorded everything. It's unfortunate he had no way of knowing precisely what had gone on in the boy's head to cause so much agony.

With a wave of his hand, the pink haired man raised one of the walls of the Quincy's cell. Working quickly, the Octava set up his freshly purloined medical equipment. Szayel placed the archer on the hospital bed and administered the proper medication. He also set up an IV to regulate fluids and nutrition. All in all, the Espada was very much impressed with his own work.

Szayel exited the small room and resealed it by snapping his fingers. While his test subject recovered, he might as well set upon improving the human technology for his own purposes. He was particularly eager to experiment with the scalpels he had taken.


A/N: So, that happened. I'd just like to mention that I've always enjoyed reading reviews, and am the type of person who does reviewers the courtesy of responding to them. Positive feedback is preferred, but I'm fine with practically anything. There is definitely a positive correlation between reviews and updating speed. Please keep that in mind.