This latest chapter is up due to the fact that I got so many reviews in less than twenty-four hours. I would have waited until at least Saturday to post this, but I thought since everyone reviewed quickly (and this is rather short in content vs. words) so here you go. Enjoy! Everyone's favorite captain makes an appearance! *_*


Ulquiorra didn't mind being in the 12th division research center. He was used to being around strange machinery that looked like it would do more harm than good, and he was used to being around strange mad scientists who spoke of their research as most humans spoke of their firstborn or a favorite pet.

However, he did mind being hooked up to several wires, being naked save for a hospital gown that did little to protect his backside from the stone-cold table, and generally being poked and prodded all over in places no-one had ever poked and prodded before...without losing a few limbs at least.

"Kurosuchi," he droned as the clown-faced man took another vial of blood from Ulquiorra. "Are you finished-"

"Silence, Espada," the other snapped, waving a hand dismissively. "Nemu! Bring the specimen cups! And prepare yourself to service this Espada so he produces what we need."

"...service?" Ulquiorra blinked.

"She will use her womanly wiles to engage you in post-coital arousal and then force you to ejaculate into the cup so we may have all the proper samples from you."

"...I beg your pardon?"

The clown-faced captain turned to give, what Ulquiorra could tell, an incredulous look. "Do you mean to tell me that you Espada never engaged in sexual activity?"

"...if you had Ichimaru Gin giving you lessons on that subject, would you?" Ulquiorra droned. "Nnoitra notwithstanding."

"Ah, it all makes sense now," Kurosuchi beamed. "NEMU!!!"

"Yes, Mayuri-sama," the girl mono-toned, appearing in a flash before Ulquiorra, who gave her a deadpan look.

"Woman, if you so much as-"

"Hold him down Nemu," Kurosuchi ordered.

Ulquiorra's breath left him in a grunt as he was unceremoniously dumped onto the floor, with the woman laying on top of him, her hands easily holding his arms down while her legs clamped along his, keeping them together and against the ground.

...the woman was being troublesome. And she was stronger than she appeared. Perhaps she was the result of one of the scientists' experiments?

"...I protest to this sort of treatment," Ulquiorra droned.

"Nonsense," Kurosuchi huffed, producing some specimen cups from who-knows-where. "My Nemu is the perfected woman- obedient, submissive, and very, very good at drawing out mans weaknesses."

"I'm not a man, Shinigami," the Espada frowned.

"I can see that," Kurosuchi smiled bizarrely, painted face tilted almost completely to the side as he looked at his patient. "But it won't matter. Nemu, proceed-"

"Um, Kurosuchi Taicho?"

Ulquiorra looked up, and blinked at the visitor. The red-hair threw him at first, but he then realized it was not Kurosaki or Inoue. She had a simple pink scarf trailing over her shoulders and over her large bosom, and had the lieutenant's badge of the 10th division tied to her left arm.

"What is it, woman?"

"I've come to retrieve the Espada," she replied coolly, glancing at the floored Ulquiorra who was still pinned underneath the slimmer, quiet woman.

"I am not finished with him Matsumoto," Kurosuchi said, waving a hand. "If you'll come back in another day-"

"Your orders, sir, were to do a preliminary study of one Espada Ulquiorra," the woman interrupted crisply, taking a bold step forward. "Blood tests, heart checkups, and various other SIMPLE things, Kurosuchi Taicho. I do not recall your orders including sperm donation from the Espada."

"Watch your tone woman," Kurosuchi hissed, stepping towards her with a finger pointed at her. "You have no power here, Lieutenant Matsumoto. And you would do well to remember your place."

"As should you, Kurosuchi Taicho," a cold voice intoned.

Ulquiorra noticed that the floor had grown remarkably colder, and that the woman on top of him was retreating from the newcomer, letting him up. He sat, crouched as he watched the proceedings with narrowed eyes.

A boy was standing beside the buxom red-head, arms crossed over his captain's haori, white hair moving in a nonexistent wind as frost was forming outward from his form and simmering reiatsu.

"Hitsuguya Taicho," Kurosuchi beamed, ignoring the sparkling droplets that were converging on his feet. "What brings you here?"

"I'm here to make sure you follow your orders," the boy droned, ignoring Ulquiorra for the moment. "We are taking the Espada with us. Your time with him is up, and you are close to overstepping your boundaries."

Silence echoed in the large room for a moment, and Ulquiorra used this time to get up, and back himself against a handy wall. Not for modesty's sake, but to make sure his backside wasn't exposed should the scientist attack.

"Take him and get out then," Kurosuchi finally snapped. "Nemu! Come!"

Ulquiorra watched the pair leave silently, then turned his attention to the newcomers, silent.

"Get dressed, Espada," the young captain intoned, turning away.

The woman did no such thing, instead cocking her head curiously at Ulquiorra.

"Matsumoto..."

"Yes Taicho!" she chirped, and turned as well.

Ulquiorra dressed swiftly and silently, and used the moment to look over the pair that had turned away from him, frowning.

"Odd," he intoned.

"How so, Espada?" the frosty boy said, turning around to give him a measured glare.

"That you would turn your back on me," Ulquiorra stated, frowning at both the boy and woman. "It denotes that you do not consider me a threat. Why?"

"Oh, it's not that Ulqui-kun!" the woman laughed, smiling. "It's that we were giving you some privacy!"

"..." Ulquiorra stared. "Why?"

"Don't you have any modesty?" the boy asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Modesty?" Ulquiorra said, making a soft 'hmph!' "Modesty is an excuse for humans to retreat from their companions, so as to draw their own thoughts together or to make sure they do not over-expose themselves and present themselves as an easy target. I suppose I do have some modesty, but against the pair of you? I could easily defeat you both with my hands in my pockets."

"Is that a threat?" the boy said, eyes narrowing and voice deepening.

"An observation," Ulquiorra corrected, stepping past them and heading down the hallway. "You came to escort me elsewhere, correct?"

"Yes," the boy captain said coldly, taking the lead. "You have an appointment with the 2nd Division Research Facility."

"More tests?"

"No. Something to....keep an eye on you while you walk around."

"You do not approve," Ulquiorra pointed out.

The boy halted, and turned to look up at the Espada, gaze as firm and as cold as a frozen winter lake. "You are the enemy that has traded sides. History does not speak well of your kind. You are also Hollow. Another strike against you. You obeyed Aizen for some measured amount of time, and kidnapped a comrade. Some other Captains might be willing to forget this and move on as if nothing happened, but I will not forget what you've done. If it was up to me, you would either be dead or you would still be in Kurosuchi's lab, going through only what that sick twisted man would call 'science'."

He turned, and started walking again. "I will be watching you, Espada. If you attempt to harm anyone, or betray us, my blade will end your life."

"I understand completely," Ulquiorra murmured, following the small captain out.

He paused, then looked at the woman trotting beside him, eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"'Ulqui-kun'?" he asked in a deadpan.

She giggled, and offered him a wink.

"Women," he muttered to himself.

"Tell me about it," the captain muttered back.

The former Espada supposed he could have had to deal with worse things than what he wore now, he thought absently as he followed the second division's captain to their next stop.

He wore his normal clothing (probably to reinforce that he was not one of them), but he had a new addition to his outfit; a simple, thin black choker-like collar that was latched firmly around his neck.

"This will help us keep a close eye on you," the woman had stated stoically once it had been attached. "It not only monitors your position to us, but also your power influx, your bodily responses, and the nearby power outsources within a certain area of your body. It also serves as a...correcting device. If you do something we don't like, you'll regret it."

Ulquiorra had nothing to say to this.

"In other words," she smirked coldly. "We'll know where you are, if you're alive, who you're with, and if we don't like it, we'll zap you. Understand?"

Ulquiorra nodded.

And now she was leading him elsewhere.

He allowed his mind to wander as they walked, ignoring the silent guards that followed in their wake. If he wanted to, he could easily dispense of them. They were trash. He didn't understand why their captain kept them around.

Cannon fodder, Ulquiorra surmised as he was once again walking through the doors of the 6th division.

"You will be under Kuchiki's division for the time being," Fon stated, halting outside the Captain's Office Door. "Treat him as you would your superior. And remember, even if you don't see us, Espada, we'll be watching."

And with a flicker, she vanished.

Ulquiorra closed his eyes, sighed, and knocked on the door, slipping his free hand into his pocket.

"Enter."

Ulquiorra did so, and was greeted by a very tidy office with the 6th division captain sitting behind his desk, brush in hand as he signed his name to some forms.

Icy would have been a good word to describe the atmosphere as the Espada waited silently in the doorway for instructions, both hands in his pockets now.

Slate gray eyes glanced up at him, taking him in.

"I see Fon took care of your tracking problem," he rumbled softly. "I am pleased that she chose such an instrument to keep an eye on you."

Ulquiorra didn't respond.

"How is your neck, Espada?"

"Healed, Kuchiki Taicho," Ulquiorra responded in a drone. Not even a light scar remained.

But that didn't mean he would forget it anytime soon.

"I am placing you under Abarai fuk-taicho's tender care," the man droned. "He has...a gift for handling others."

A gift? Ulquiorra thought scornfully. The man didn't know how to shut up.

"He is out in the yard training some of our new recruits. See to it that you are there to meet him when he is finished."

It was clearly a dismissal, but Ulquiorra lingered.

"What are my duties, Kuchiki Taicho?"

The eyes glanced back up at him, and seemed to flash slightly.

"That hasn't been decided yet, Espada. Several of my fellow captains suggested that you offer your training services, but it hasn't been discussed yet."

Ulquiorra nodded, and turned to leave.

"Espada," the man called out.

He turned back around.

Kuchiki stood from his desk, and Ulquiorra felt the man's reiatsu flare, and burn slowly against him. A faint scent of sakuras carried on the draft, and Kuchiki's dark hair whipped to and fro under the onslaught of his own reaitsu.

"Remember Espada. You are to be under the care of my fuk-taicho. If you harm him, or cause unnecessary slander on his name due to any activities you might be planning, I will hunt you down and kill you myself, as slowly as is possible and inflicting as much pain as possible before you die in the most humiliating way I can fathom. Do you understand?"

Ulquiorra paused, taking in the man's fluttering scarf, cool eyes, and firm stance. The smell of sakura pressed down harder on him.

"Yes, Kuchiki Taicho."

"Good. You are dismissed, Espada."

And Ulquiorra walked out without another word, leaving behind the strong presence and inhaling sakura-scented free air.