Disclaimer: Bleach is not mine, the characters, names and related material all belong to Tite Kubo.
Rated M: disturbing elements, violence, language, adult content, Newtonian and relativistic physics, seasoned with lemons and served in space.
Author's Note: minor edits were made to the Ichigo/Uryu/Kurotsuchi scene to supply additional characterization and to clarify some dialog.
Chapter 11
Uryu and Ichigo found themselves ushered into a small, dark entranceway. The girl slipped back inside, padding silently past them as they unclasped their cloaks and shook off the cold. Uryu frowned as he watched the girl, the thin material of her dress barely covering her. "You must be freezing," he said as he pulled the pale cloak from his shoulders.
She stopped and regarded him, her brilliant emerald eyes catching the meager light. Her lips parted to speak but she froze as Uryu swept the cloak around her, draping her in long warm folds of thermal cloth. Blinking in surprise, she quickly found her voice and said, "I assure you, that is not necessary." If a voice could be described as monotone and melodious simultaneously, it would be hers.
Despite her words, Ichigo could tell she was appreciative, even relieved. She also made no move to immediately return the cloak.
"Nemu!" called a harsh voice from further back in the building, "Who was it? You know I hate interruptions!" Not bothering to wait for an answer, the owner of the voice barged through a set of large metal doors and swept angrily into the room, freezing in place as he took in Ichigo and Uryu's appearances.
Beneath the heavy robes and mantle he wore Ichigo could tell he was thin, almost skeletal. Bare, paper-white arms ended in bony hands and his long fingers seemed to continuously flex and clench. Lank, disheveled indigo hair hung limply around his face as deep shadows pooled beneath his cheekbones and eyebrows even in the dim light. His cracked lips stretched into a sinister grin and Ichigo expected to see blackened, rotted teeth. However, as his lips stretched further he could see they were perfectly white and straight. This guys has been aug'ed, Ichigo thought, significantly aug'ed.
"They are customers, sir," Nemu said evenly.
"Of course they are, I can see perfectly fine you brainless tart," he spewed at her. "And what the hell are you wearing? Take that thing off this instant."
"That won't be necessary," Uryu said, parroting her earlier words and holding a hand out to stay her.
Ichigo could see Uryu staring daggers at the man, clearly affronted. For his part, the man seemed not to notice Uryu's anger as he pivoted his head back at them, his smile stretching into a disturbing caricature of geniality.
"Interesting," he said to himself. With a click one of his eyes rolled backwards in his head and another, larger pupil rolled up into place. "Neural link," he muttered as his eye moved over Ichigo, eerily independent of the other, "Nothing else." He turned to Uryu, his hairless brows twisting marginally in surprise. "Nothing, nothing at all, how fortuitous. Yes, yes I believe I can help you both a great deal."
Ichigo put a hand on Uryu's shoulder, commanding his attention. "Relax, we're here for business, not philosophical posturing," he said quietly to Uryu. He watched him marshal his emotions and twist his lips into a thin line, barely disguising his disgust with the proprietor of the establishment and his line of work.
"Nemu! Don't just stand there, open up the showroom!" he commanded before turning back to them and wringing his hands, his long fingers moving and flexing far beyond the range of normal.
"Of course, sir," she said as she glided out of the entranceway, depositing Uryu's cloak back over his arm as she passed. Upon entering the large room, a number of lights blinked into existence, throwing the showroom into stark contrast.
"As you can see, I offer a wide range of products and services," he said to them, his voice resuming a distant, analytical tone. "Many of which are my own personal design, rigorously tested of course, and unavailable anywhere else."
Like some macabre cross between a machine shop and a surgical operating theater, the large showroom floor was densely populated with displays showcasing every manner of prosthetic, implant, augmentation and bio-synthetic device Ichigo could imagine, and some he could never even dream of. He gulped as Nemu moved around the displays, activating holographic mode on a number of them, the harsh light cutting through the sheer material of her black dress and leaving very little to the imagination.
"Yes, impressive isn't it?" he asked, oil practically dripping from his voice, "The range of expandability of the human body is truly amazing." He made a small motion with one hand and the display nearest them shimmered, resolving into a rough approximation of the human body. He made another motion and overlayed the image with dozens of options, each pointing at various body parts, contextual and visual information filling the display area. "Now, what can I interest you in? Arms? Legs? Spine? Perhaps partial reconstruction?"
"I think I'm going to be sick Kurosaki," Uryu said.
"Keep it together man," he muttered. "We're not here for prosthetics," Ichigo said, attempting to get the doctor's attention.
"Augmentation then? Excellent, I do so thoroughly enjoy these new advancements." The display shimmered and returned with an enormous list of titles and effects. "So simple to install and yet they have such remarkable effects. Which market are you gentlemen interested in? Optical processing? Biologic override? Self-defense?" He eyed them speculatively, "Physical enhancement?"
"Uh," Ichigo stammered.
"Nemu!" he shouted, "Come here!"
Ichigo found himself staring at the ground as she walked across the large showroom floor, embarrassed for her. The dress fell only to the tops of her smooth, flawless thighs, swishing gently back and forth to the sway of her hips. Ichigo realized with sudden clarity that such unearthly grace, such finely measured proportions and such carefully sculpted features, taken as a whole, we're surely artificial. However, it did nothing to lessen their impact and Ichigo felt safer staring at the ground than at her directly. At the main display she stopped walking and stood with her hands clasped behind her back, the pose putting her body proudly on display but her eyes remained downcast and lifeless. "Yes, Doctor Kurotsuchi?"
"Nemu here has a number of augmentations and bio-synth replacements," he explained, "Don't you, Nemu?"
"Yes... Doctor Kurotsuchi."
"These are some of my own special designs," he said, eyes glinting with excitement or malice, Ichigo couldn't tell. "Show them, my dear," he purred. He produced a large round fruit from a pocket and tossed it to her.
Watching the ripe fruit sail through air and land in the girl's dainty hands forced Ichigo to realize how hungry he was getting, he hadn't had anything to eat since lunch with Rukia on the Red Princess. He pulled his eyes up to her face, no easy task, where he noticed a well concealed look of trepidation hiding at the edges of her eyes. She shifted the fruit to one hand and held the other up in front of her, her fingertips pressed tightly together. Her eyes flicked to Kurotsuchi's, Ichigo catching his narrow dangerously, before she silently bit her lower lip and forced her fingers apart. The room was filled with the sound of loud, buzzing cracks as arcs of electricity climbed up Nemu's fingers as if they were Jacob's ladders. A few seconds later the sound and light died away as she shut off the effect, leaving only the sharp tang of ozone in the air, before putting the large fruit into that hand and holding it aloft with her fingertips. She grimaced briefly as she tensed her fingers, gently squeezing the fruit. There was a wet, muffled zap followed by tendrils of thick, acrid smoke rising from the points where her fingers touched its skin.
"Adjustable up to nine hundred thousand volts with an unlocked amperage control module," he told them slyly, "Depending on battery option of course." He took the fruit and held it up, holes seared through the flesh clear to the other side. "Nemu, the other hand."
She hesitated, lightly touching the red choker at her neck, real anxiety beginning to show on her face. "Sir, I..."
"Now!" he snarled.
"No, that's not..." Ichigo began, but stopped as Nemu dropped her first hand, black scorch marks and red, angry blisters appearing on her fingers. She raised her other hand and tensed her shoulders. She turned her hand slightly and Ichigo watched in frozen horror as she closed her watery emerald eyes, her pale pink fingernails catching the light. She whimpered as they lifted from their beds with a sticky, peeling sound. Before Ichigo could protest, Kurotsuchi tossed the ruined fruit into the air. At the top of its arch Nemu flicked her arm at it. The air between her and the fruit sparkled for an instant, thin lines quickly criss-crossing its skin. She gave a sharp tug to her fingers as the fruit began to fall and it seemingly sliced itself apart, splattering her with bright red juice. She stifled another tiny cry, her fingers shaking as long, thin strands of cabling rushed back up beneath her fingernails.
"Amazing aren't they?" he said, "So much more personal and elegant than a crude firearm. And to think they are only the begi-"
"That is enough!" Ichigo said, shaking with anger at what the poor girl was forced to endure, livid as he saw beads of blood dripping from the fingertips of the hand she cradled to her chest. "We didn't come here for bio-mods!"
"If you came here for Nemu, she isn't available for another three hours. For the two of you it would naturally be twice her standard hourly rate."
"I am going to kill this man, Kurosaki," Uryu said.
"We came here for these," Ichigo said angrily, slapping a hand against the hardwire pad of the main display. The screen went black and the long list of components Urahara had provided shimmered into view.
Kurotsuchi leaned over impossibly far and craned his neck at the list. "Engine parts?" He examined the list more thoroughly before turning back to Ichigo, his grin vanished as his eyes narrowed. "Who sent you here?" he demanded.
"It's not important," Ichigo immediately replied. "We just want the parts and then we'll be on our way."
Kurotsuchi stared unblinkingly at Ichigo for a long moment before answering. "No."
Ichigo narrowed his eyes, his patience all but exhausted. "No?"
"You have wasted my time, demanded parts for a very specific type of engine and refused to answer my only question," he said evenly. "You'll get nothing."
"Let's go, Kurosaki. This is a waste of time, he doesn't have what we need," Uryu said from beside Nemu. He had offered his cloak again to her and was now assisting her in cleaning the red juice from her face.
Incensed, Kurotsuchi wheeled on him. "I most certainly do, and I can assure you that I am the only one out here who does," he spat.
"We're not here to satisfy your requests," Uryu said, his eyes flashing. He drew himself up and squared his shoulders at Kurotsuchi.
"Yes," he hissed, "And what exactly are you here for, Bowman? Oh I know exactly who you are and I know exactly what an infantile, narrow-minded opinion you have of this." He wrapped a hand around Nemu's neck and dragged her over. "The advancement of the human race, standing before you, and you have audacity to turn up your nose? You're nothing but a pitiful luddite!" A savage gleam came to his eye, "Which makes you an excellent case study." He flicked his index finger into the air, a wicked scalpel blade slicing up through the skin. "Finally, I'll have a baseline for comparison!"
"You'll find that easier said than done," Uryu promised him. "Ichigo, I know we came here with a purpose, but I cannot simply abandon my principles for your convenience in the face of such depravity."
"Don't worry, I wouldn't ask you to," Ichigo said as he stepped up shoulder to shoulder with Uryu. He kept his eyes on the doctor but saw Uryu's momentary look of surprise, followed swiftly by a grim nod, in his periphery.
Kurotsuchi grinned wider, scalpel blades extending from the other four fingers on that hand. "Oh, the things I could learn from you two. Nemu, prepare the lab to receive new patients."
"You had to pick a fight with a fucking mad man? We haven't even been on this moon a whole goddamn day and we're starting a war with the locals," Ichigo said under his breath.
Uryu rubbed his fingers together, wondering how fast the doctor could be and if he'd have time to reach a weapon. Drool was beginning to gather at the edges of Kurotsuchi's mouth and his voluminous robes seemed to twist and writhe. Uryu was suddenly very sure he did not want to know what kind of abomination the doctor had obviously transformed himself into, but he had a feeling he was about to find out regardless.
"Please, answer him," whispered a voice behind them. "It would be better if you just did as he requested." Nemu had silently slipped around behind them, pressing herself ever so slightly to their backs, her head tipped up to whisper in both of their ears at once.
Ichigo glanced back but instantly wished he hadn't, the curves of her neck and shoulder down to the valley between her breasts could make a lesser man crumble. "Fine," Ichigo sighed at Kurotsuchi. "Kisuke Urahara sent us, satisfied?"
His entire demeanor changed. Eager bloodthirst turned to disbelief, quickly replaced by hysterical elation teetering somewhere on the edge of madness. "Kisuke Urahara sent you to me?" he said, almost bubbling with excitement. "Ah, of course he would send you to me," he said as his gaze settled on Ichigo. "The Captain always knew how to recognize talent, always knew the best man for a job. I'll play Urahara's little game, but he should know better than to let his experiments go walking around free."
"Experiments, what are you talking about?" Ichigo asked, thrown off by his sudden change.
Kurotsuchi tsked, clicking his tongue. "Do not concern yourself with that." The blades on his fingertips slid away as he walked quickly over to the large display listing the parts they needed for the ship. "Nemu, get them whatever they want, strip the Jizo if you must," he said unconcernedly, "Get moving, idiot girl!" He bent down and peered at the hardwire pad before muttering, "Yes... yes I think we have everything we need for this project."
Ichigo couldn't help his recoil of disgust as Kurotsuchi wetly licked the hardwire pad, smacking his lips and contemplating the taste. "Now I'm gonna be sick," he muttered at Uryu.
"Tell Captain Urahara it is my very great pleasure to do as he requests, his recognition of my superiority in this field is long overdue," and with that, he quickly left the room. "Nemu! I'll be in my laboratory, do not disturb me!"
Feeling as if he'd been left in the dark, Ichigo stared after Kurotsuchi as the large metal doors swung shut. "What the fuck just happened?"
"Wait," Uryu said as Nemu began heading towards another door. "You knew that he would act that way if we mentioned Urahara. Ichigo has a point, crude as it might be."
Nemu turned back towards them, Uryu's cloak casually open down her front but her emerald eyes once again downcast. "I will go collect the items you requested," she said before her eyes glanced up to Uryu's. "I am glad that you did not become Doctor Kurotsuchi's lab subjects. Please wait here."
"Keep the cloak," Uryu called to her as she slipped from the room. "I've, uh... got a spare," he finished lamely.
"I still don't know what just happened," Ichigo said, scowling at the door Kurotsuchi left through.
"Well, it can't be too complicated," Uryu said, pushing his glasses up his nose. "It's obvious Kurotsuchi knows Urahara, they possibly even had some type of professional relationship based on the fact he called him 'Captain' and that he said Urahara could always recognize his... talent."
"He acted like just being sent here by Urahara meant something important," Ichigo said, unable to keep from examining several of the displays. "He said his recognition was overdue, and that it was obvious to him why he had sent us here. Some type of scientific request, he said."
"Maybe it was. He does seem to be a," Uryu swallowed dryly, "Bio-modification expert, and of the two of us, you're the only one with anything installed. Is there anything strange about your neural link that would prompt Urahara to send us here?"
Ichigo froze, comprehension dawning on his face. He looked back at the large metal doors the doctor exited through, realizing that he had unintentionally supplied a DNA sample as well as link interface signature when he had touched the display. Did Urahara really send us here on purpose, just so Kurotsuchi could examine my neural link, he thought, how could he even know? "Could always recognize talent, best man for the job," Ichigo muttered to himself, mulling over the possible interpretations.
"I don't think he's still a man," Uryu said, also looking at the large metal doors.
Ichigo chuckled to cover his growing unease, running a hand through his spiky hair. The main display near them went blank, changing into a grainy video feed. Nemu moved into frame, her upper torso filling the display screen as her brilliant emerald eyes shined down on them.
"Several of the components required are too large to be feasibly transported on foot," she said. "Your order will be delivered to the Longbow instead. I trust this will be acceptable."
Realizing they had been subtly told to leave, the two of them wasted no time heading back out into the dim gray light of Junrinan Two, making their way back to the pavilion they had last seen Rukia and Yoruichi. Ichigo was about to recommend getting something to eat to quell his angry stomach when an aggressively styled all-terrain vehicle came rumbling to a stop, mud caking its large tires and spattering an identification plate that read 'B0NN1E'.
"Is that a Warthog?" Ichigo asked. "I didn't know they still made those."
Yoruichi stood up through the roof and leaned over provocatively. "Hey guys," she mock purred, "Get lucky?"
Ichigo watched Rukia lean from the driver's seat, a soft smile at the corners of her lips. "Hey Rukia," he said. "Nice wheels."
"Hey Ichigo," she replied, patting the door of the heavy vehicle. "Loaner from an old friend. You want to get something to eat?"
Ichigo groaned as he climbed up into the rear seats, his mouth beginning to water. "I could kiss you."
"Well then, I'll take that as a 'yes'," Rukia said, facing forward and putting the vehicle in gear, thankful that the dim light inside the cab hid her slightly pink cheeks.
The light was just beginning to fade as they stepped out of the small restaurant, the iron gray of the clouds changing to dark and ominous blue-black, heavy with rain and roiling at the far end of the horizon. Yoruichi had returned to Kukaku's and Uryu had gone back to his ship to await the engine component delivery, leaving Ichigo and Rukia alone at the restaurant. Ichigo was initially reminded of a similar situation not long ago, stuck at a cafe table with his ex-girlfriend. However, as the two of them sat there chatting quietly over dinner and coffee, the day fading around them, that feeling of awkwardness never seemed to take hold.
"I still can't believe the two of you were ready to take on a guy brimming with augs, what were you thinking?" she said as they stepped down to the walkway, laughing lightly as he recounted their experience.
"I don't think we were," Ichigo admitted.
"Do you even have a weapon?" Rukia asked, reaching over and pulling open his heavy brown cloak, checking for shoulder or hip holsters. She watched him smile ruefully and shake his head. "What were you going to do?" she asked.
"I'm sure I would have thought of something," he replied with a shrug. He could tell she didn't know if he was joking or serious. Truthfully, neither did he.
"Dropped into 'save the girl' mode?" Rukia teased, her blue-violet eyes sparkling in the gathering twilight.
Ichigo scoffed but didn't refute her. She, better than anyone, knew it was hard to make a life out here. And even then, sometimes the life you manage to make still sucks. "Uryu's really the one who looked the gallant hero," Ichigo said. He saw her prompting glance before continuing, "Gave his cloak to the girl, was willing to fight the monster."
"Not you though?" she asked, slightly perplexed.
"Oh, I would have, trust me this guy has it coming, but I can't give monologues nearly as well as Ishida can."
"You're going to need a big shiny sword if you're going to fight monsters," she laughed. "What about the girl?" Remembering his description of her, she continued in a carefully neutral tone, "Wasn't your type?"
Ichigo thought back to the carefully composed blank look on Nemu's face, her intense emerald eyes perpetually downcast in resignation, the wordless obedience with which she carried out Kurotsuchi's orders. He looked back at Rukia, smart, witty, and fearless. "No, my type is a little different."
"Oh," Rukia replied, deflating slightly. Petite and slender with dark hair and pale skin, Rukia couldn't help but draw comparisons. "A girl that modified, I suppose Uryu didn't rescue her either. Your story needs a better ending."
Ichigo screwed up his eyebrows as he considered it. "You know, he couldn't really keep his eyes off her, and she did mention she was happy he didn't die, or get experimented on. She kept his cloak too."
"Alright, it's getting better," she said, thankful to be able to lighten the mood.
"Think so? That's probably why he's waiting for her at the ship, too out of practice to make a first move, being stuck on it alone for so long and all." Ichigo was still pretty sure they were talking about Uryu, but this was hitting a little close to home.
"I'm happy you didn't die, or get experimented on too," Rukia said. She realized too late that in the context of their conversation what she had said could be interpreted as... ah screw it. She was feeling much too relieved and comfortable to bring herself to care if Ichigo interpreted it in any particular way. Away from the omnipresent stress of living in space, the most inhospitable place to live imaginable, she couldn't help but let her guard down a little.
Ichigo's brain froze a second. He glanced down to her walking at his side but her hood and air filter were pulled up, making it impossible to read anything but her eyes. Their pleasant dinner and walk making him a bit more secure, he took a slight gamble. "Maybe I should offer you my cloak?"
"If you did, you'd freeze to death," she replied tersely. It took a second for her to realize her clinical answer may not have been what he was aiming for. She rolled her eyes at herself, she was clearly out of practice at flirting.
"But that would mean you would take it, if I offered," Ichigo said, finding a kink in her answer. "How's the story now?"
Rukia's heart thudded heavily as she cleared her throat. "I'm liking it more and more," she said, a smile slipping onto her face. The two walked on in the deepening gloom, wandering vaguely back towards the ship. The streets were rapidly becoming deserted as planetset would bring on more severe weather, storm shutters and massive, heavy doors swinging closed across the settlement.
They turned onto a high walkway leading back to spaceport, the sky open before them in a sweeping panorama. "I haven't been planetside in, I can't remember. Look," she said pointing to the sky. Junrinan Two was slowly turning away from the bright face of its parent gas planet, the main source of light during the day, but across the sky from planetset the far away twin suns were rising, their faint light still enough to set the clouds aglow in reds, oranges and violets. "That's not something you can find in space." She pushed the cowl of her cloak back and shook out her short midnight hair, letting it dance about her shoulders before tipping her head back to feel the light, cold drizzle against her skin. "There's no rain in space either."
He pushed the cowl of his cloak back as well, smiling up at the darkening clouds and feeling the chilly rain patter against his face. He looked back down to her, tiny beads of rainwater caught the fire from the red-tinged horizon before sliding down the warm skin of her cheek, over her chin and down her neck. The sparks in those raindrops paled in comparison when she opened her eyes again, their blue-violet seeming to catch the colors of the coming storms at the horizon rather than the fiery light of the rising suns.
"You can find all kinds of beautiful things in space," Ichigo said quietly, caught in the limitless depths of those eyes.
Rukia felt her heart thud heavily again. "You'll have to show me some time," she replied. She looked up to catch him staring down at her, the hard lines of his face softening gently into a shy smile. It vanished in a moment, as if his mouth wasn't used to contorting that way, but remained in his eyes. The momentary spell was broken when Ichigo turned his head marginally and looked away, his brows knit back into hard angles.
In a single motion, Ichigo guided them from the wide, main walkway onto a sheltered sidewalk, two buildings rising up on either side. Engulfed in the sudden shadows, Ichigo quickly stepped up to Rukia, her shoulders leaning lightly against the wall as his hands slipped beneath the folds of her cloak and slid around her back, pulling her body closer. His chin at the side of her head dipped lower and grazed across her earlobe, his lips buried deep in her glossy midnight hair.
Heart pounding, her hands nimbly slipped inside his own cloak but rather than push him away, they treacherously fisted into the material of his jacket, locking him in place. "Ichigo!" she gasped, her eyes widening as she felt a cool draft of air up her spine, his hand diving up the back of her jacket to touch the bare skin between her pressure shirt and the waistline of her pants. She felt a tightening sensation across her body that had nothing to do with the sharp chill of the air as he smoothed his hand against the small of her back. He whispered something into her hair, his warm breath playfully caressing the skin at the base of her hair, distracting her enough that it took a second for her to register what he'd said.
"We're being followed."