Things were quiet in soul society, ghostly quiet, everyone was underground in the tunnels. Of course, the quiet didn't last, not once the senkaimon suddenly opened up and Renji kicked a very pissed off Ichigo out onto the ground.
"You...!Tch...uh...whatever..where the hell is Kurotsuchi?" Ichigo asked suddenly and scratched his orange locks whilst looking around.
"In the tunnels, come on. If you come in contact with the gas it could be bad for you, and I know it'd be bad for me." Abarai said as both flash stepped their way while holding their breath to the underground entrance. Once inside, they were greeted by Hanataro.
"Ah, hey guys" The medic greeted happily but with his constant sort of nervous vibe. "I'm glad you decided to come help Kurosaki-kun.."
Ichigo sort of just side glared at Renji.
"Yeah..no problem." He said as he thought about him not really having the choice in the matter. Thanks to Kisuke. Whom he inwardly cursed.
Without much more conversation Hanataro lead the two down the long dark tunnels below the seireitei. Thankfully the little medic had a torch with him, but Ichigo had mentioned how they didn't need it with Renji's painfully bright red hair.
"There he is..go talk to him." Renji said as they walked into a room which had become accommodated with necessities such as food, water, bedding and medical supplies.
"Ah...Ichigo. Kurotsuchi seems to think you're the only one who can fix this poison in the air." Shunsui said as he chuckled but then leaned in to whisper to Ichigo. "It's just my opinion but I think Kurotsuchi actually caused this leak. He's been acting strangely defensive." He laughed as he offered Ichigo a dish of saki, but the orange headed teen denied it.
Ichigo just sort of brushed off what he said, it wouldn't surprise him in the slightest if Kurotsuchi screwed up in the lab. The damn mad scientist.
"Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to get over here and listen to what I have to tell you?" The alien voice of Kurostuchi called after a moment of silence. He was standing in the corner of the room pouring different serums into different mixes clearly puzzled and frustrated.
"Uh..r..right. So what do you need me to do?" Ichigo questioned as he walked up to the man with the strange hat.
"I need you to first stand still." The lab leader said as he pulled out a slightly intimidating looking syringe. Ichigo's face immediately fell and he took a subconscious step backwards and put up his hands in defense.
"Uh..heh...w...what's that for?" The teen stuttered as the man took a step towards him and tried to grab his arm with his free hand.
"It's for you, this is a vaccine to defend you from the other gas." Mayuri said as he sighed and leaned his head to the side in frustration.
"What do you mean other gas?!" Ichigo flailed and continued to take steps back as Kurotsuchi simultaneously took steps forward. Eventually the substitute shinigami found himself pressed against the wall.
"There is now a gas leak inside my lab, things were fine until somebody deliberately flipped the safety valves to release the bio chambers. I assure you whoever did it will feel my wrath..now hold still." The scientist said as he moved again to inject the boy but Ichigo wasn't about to let that happen and ran out from under the man and took off, only to be captured by Soifon who'd been watching along with the others.
"You'll get that shot and you'll do it now!" She demanded. "Or so help me I'll have you held for treason!" She shouted as she pinned him to the floor and stomped on his head.
"TREASON!?" Ichigo protested in agony at his head being crushed into the cement floor. He squirmed a little but was too afraid to really piss her off. Of all the captains..he had to admit, she was scary.
"Well naturally anyone who has the ability to help...but doesn't wish to, must be in on the crime. Hmhm.." She answered in an evil tone. Ichigo just squirmed.
"Come on I'm not letting that creep stick me with th-uhn! Hey! Dammit!" He squirmed more as he felt the stinging pinch of the injection pierce his leg as he was pinned to the floor.
"There now really I'm not sure why my patients always squirm so much.." Kurotsuchi complained as he walked away syringe in hand. It wasn't long before Ichigo vomited into the water over the edge of the path and felt utterly miserable with a massive gloom cloud over his head.
"T...The..hell did you stick me...with.." Ichigo muttered as he shuttered and tried to clear his head. His vision was becoming splotchy.
"Temporary side effect...give it another ten seconds.." Kuro said as he went to his table of science wares and picked up a small map. Ichigo was amazed to see that the toilet head was right, his intense nausea went way after exactly ten seconds. Hmph, had to give the man credit, he may be a mad man..but he was damn good at it.
"Now listen, I need you to watch closely because I hate repeating myself so try your best to pay attention with that feeble little mind of yours." The captain said without care and pointed down at the map. "This here is my lab, I'm sure you can at least get that far without help."
The substitute shinigami continued to twitch in irritation at the mans utter disrespect and arrogance.
"Once inside, go to the left of the room in the very back, there will be a vault door. Use this key code to get in, its 8773849. Do not forget it. Upon going in there will be a panel of switches and knobs, of course I'm the only one that can use this but you will have to make the machine believe you're me. It's voice activated. After it accepts that you're me, flip the left Q9 switch, it's blue. Do not mistake it for the Q9 that is indigo, nor the Q7 which is Navy. Just the Blue. Now then, once you've done that a piano keyboard will eject itself and you must play the notes of God Save the Queen. If you play them wrong you will not survive the blast that my security panel will release in self destruction.
"WHAT!? I CAN'T REMEMBER ALL THIS! GOD SAVE THE- YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" Ichigo bellowed as he jabbed at the map and then spun around. "FORGET IT! THIS HAS DEATH WRITTEN ALL OVER IT!"
"Stupid human boy, take this." Kurotsuchi said and handed him a key card. "This is a by-pass, I already set it up in case you would end up being too incompetent to follow my instruction." He snapped with annoyance. "You humans never cease to amaze me, how do you actually maintain life with your limited brain function?"
"Don't you have something else to tell me!?" Ichigo snapped having heard enough of the mans degrading.
"Only this, if you don't manage to shut off the gas the whole of soul society will be under plague within twenty four hours."
"No pressure." Shunsui smiled. "Just use that card there and everything will be fine."
With that Ichigo was feeling more than exasperated and made his way away down the tunnel with Hanataro.
"I'm sure captain Kurotsuchi sama is just tired from all his work." The black haired boy from fourth division soothed as he and Kurosaki treaded along. Ichigo watched as every now and then a rat or spider would scurry across the cold, damp floor below him.
"There you go. Good luck." Hanataro said as he smiled and let Ichigo out.
…...
"Tch...damn that guy.." Ichigo complained as he stood before the massive doors of the research and development lab. Slowly he walked in and looked around ever wary of any crazy booby traps that guy might have set up. The room was cold, and he could feel the tingling against his skin from the gas that he was walking through but couldn't see or smell. It sort of creeped him out how it felt like it searched his skin for a way to get through.
As he came to the vault door he sighed and held the card key tight in his hand to be sure he didn't lose it some how. It would be his luck today. With a clammy hand he gripped the door handle and twisted the cold steel knob and walked in. The feel of thickness in the air was more so in here.
"Tch...it WAS him. Damn that guy! Playing it off as a mysterious gas. It's his fault..."
Cautiously the strawberry pressed an activation button on the control panel, and it wasn't a moment later that a voice came on a speaker that said "Voice Authorization Please."
Ichigo inwardly grimaced. 'Do I really have to try to sound like that idiot?'
"Tch...mm..." Ichigo took a deep breath and blushed feeling rather humiliated. 'What am I supposed to say!? I have to make it believe I'm him? What would he say?' After clearing his throat Ichigo took another breath and slammed his hands on the panel.
"Come now I don't have time for this nonsense! It's me Mayuri Kurotsuchi!" Ichigo ranted in his best mad man Kurotsuchi voice. With much anxiety he waited, and after a moment the computer spoke again.
"Welcome back Captain Kurotsuchi." The system said and Ichigo slouched in relief and let out a huge sigh.
...
REVIEW PLEASE! :D