Act II Scene V: Measuring Tapes

Uryuu spent the night inside the bathroom. He thought it was the night, anyway. Since he'd been trapped in Las Noches he hadn't had an exact way to measure the passage of time. It was Michiru-chan who had roused him. "Granz-san said to get you," she said, flicking her eyes around nervously.

Groaning, Uryuu stretched out his sore limbs. He didn't recommend sleeping on cramped bathroom floors. His body was aching, and he really didn't feel up to dealing with the Octava. Especially not after their last conversation. They'd never gotten along exactly, but the Espada had always unexpectedly treated Uryuu better. Yesterday had been a reminder that the scientist wasn't invested in anyone past the level of interest they held.

The Quincy pulled himself from his thoughts and noticed Michiru-chan looking at him expectantly. "Did you say something?" Uryuu was slightly annoyed that he seemed to be developing a habit of spacing out whenever Szayelaporro was concerned.

His irritation must have shown on his face, as Michiru-chan looked crestfallen. "I'm sorry Ishida-kun. I just asked if you were alright. I didn't mean to bother you." Uryuu's guilt was growing with every second he spent around her.

"I'm fine," he said. "Don't apologize, this isn't your fault." Deigning not to look at the source of his compunction, Uryuu stood and exited the restroom. He could sense Michiru-chan trailing behind him. To his surprise, he couldn't see the arrancar upon entering the room.

Mindful of Michiru-chan's presence, Uryuu sat down on the floor and waited for the scientist to make himself known. As if on cue, the Octava began speaking, opting not to make use of an illusory counterpart. "So, I've been thinking over your little proposition, Ishida-chan." The scientist paused, letting the statement hang in the air.

Uryuu debated whether or not to take the bait. Finally, curiosity won out. Before he could ask, Michiru-chan spoke up. "What do you mean proposition?" Uryuu winced, he was fully ready for the researcher to coldly tell her that he was planning on killing her.

The Espada's tone when he answered was sickeningly sweet. "Well, Ogawa-chan, your knight in shining armor over there is terribly concerned for your well-being. Don't be deceived by his cold exterior, Ishida-chan's noble heart burns passionately with the desire to assist fair maidens in distress." Michiru-chan was looking at Uryuu adoringly. What was the Octava thinking? Hadn't the man claimed jealousy previously? Now the scientist was practically forcing Uryuu and Michiru-chan together.

Szayelaporro continued. "Darling girl, last night your savior was begging me to allow you the privacy he believes a lady like yourself deserves. By proposition, I was merely referring to Ishida-chan's consideration regarding your degree of comfort. I am quite pleased to announce that I have come to my conclusion on the matter."

Michiru-chan was looking at Uryuu with stars in her eyes. "Is that really true, Ishida-kun?" The question was so hopeful, and he really didn't want to tell her that his true reasons were much more selfish.

Uryuu opted to go the safe route. "I did ask him to let you have your own room." That much wasn't a lie. Knowing the Octava's dislike for being ignored, Uryuu redirected his attention upward. "Well, what's your decision then?"

"Such an impatient child," chided the scientist. "I believe that making new living arrangements at this stage would be a waste of my precious time and effort, not to mention my stunning genius. I doubt that such a place would be required for an extended length of time, anyway." Uryuu knew what that implied, and he was not happy. The Octava went on. "But, I am nothing if not gracious, and it would be horribly uncouth of me to mistreat a lady. For the time being, I will allow her to reside in my own personal chambers. I presume you both find this solution to be satisfactory?"

The Quincy was aghast when Michiru-chan nodded as if that made perfect sense and there wasn't a single problem. She was even blushing. Uryuu couldn't believe this was happening. Could it be that Szayelaporro found his classmate more interesting than he let on? Regardless, the boy was sure things would go badly for Michiru-chan either way.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Uryuu started. "If you are going to insist on not giving Michiru-chan her own room, don't make her stay with you. I'll do it." As far as Uryuu could tell, it would be best for her if the scientist's attention stayed focused on him. It wasn't like he wanted Szayelaporro to concentrate on him.

"Is that jealousy, I hear?" The Octava's words were a mockery of Uryuu's, parroted back condescendingly. The scientist's voice dipped suggestively. "Ishida-chan knows just how to please me. If my favorite puppet is so very desperate to sleep with me, I simply can't refuse." Uryuu had the urge to cover Michiru-chan's ears. A nice girl shouldn't have to listen to words slathered in that much corruption. Glancing over, he saw her flushing and decidedly not mirroring his own revulsion.

The man sighed forlornly. "But I was looking forward to entertaining such a charming young woman. I suppose you can't have your cake-" The wall slid open and the arrancar stepped through, finishing his sentence, "-and eat it too." The pink-haired scientist crossed his arms with a smug smirk. "Long time no see, azúcar."

Uryuu's azure eyes widened. He hadn't physically been in the same room as Szayelaporro since their initial battle that had sparked all of this. He hadn't been prepared and was slightly overwhelmed. The boy had forgotten how much presence the pink-haired man had. That was one thing the illusion hadn't managed to carry over. "Why are you here?" Uryuu wasn't sure what else to say.

The Espada snickered. "Has your mind short-circuited from being in such close proximity to mine? I've come to collect my new roommate. Buen provecho." The arrancar's tongue flicked out and he licked his lips deliberately slowly, Uryuu tracing the moment with his eyes. The scientist caught him staring and grinned widely, pointed teeth showing. "I believe you demanded I take you, Ishida-chan, so I'd appreciate it if you came over to me."

The boy rose tentatively and slowly walked towards the beckoning researcher. He looked backwards and glimpsed Michiru-chan observing curiously. Uryuu really didn't want to do this, but he had to protect the girl. Even if the idea of staying with Szayelaporro sent a shiver of trepidation down his spine. It wasn't like that feeling could be anticipation or anything.

As the Octava watched Uryuu's progress he simpered. "Now there's a good boy. Looks like Ogawa-chan's sweetness is rubbing off on you." The scientist frowned when the Quincy stopped a few feet away. "Come now, don't be shy. I won't bite. Well, that's not entirely accurate, but I wouldn't be proper in front of the children." He winked at Michiru-chan as he said this.

Uryuu glowered at the scientist. "Have you no shame?" Despite his disaproval, he stepped forward obediently. As he drew nearer, the arrancar dug around inside his white hakama. Triumphantly, the man pulled out a pair of handcuffs and a strip of purple cloth. Uryuu was incredulous. "You must be joking."

A smile curled its way across Szayelaporro's lips. "I think you're the one without any shame, Ishida-chan. As I recall, weren't you the one so flagrantly-" He cut himself off. Uryuu counted himself lucky as he was pretty sure what the scientist was referring to. "Well, it would be classless to describe that sort of thing in explicit detail while a lady is present. Oh no, Ishida-chan. I am perfectly serious. What if you attacked me? You might do horrible things to me unless I put in precautionary measures. Please turn around before something regrettable happens."

Following directions, Uryuu turned until he faced away from the arrancar. His eyes connected with Michiru-chan's and he looked away quickly. He felt the Octava begin to remove his glasses, and his eyesight blurred. Violet fabric filled his field of vision, and he felt the surprisingly smooth material settle against his face, bringing darkness. Deft fingers tied the blindfold securely at the back of his head. His forearms were grabbed by thin hands and brought behind his back. Uryuu felt the cold metal encircle his wrists with an audible click.

The boy felt Szayelaporro place a firm hand on his lower back. Unconsciously, Uryuu leaned slightly into the touch. Using the light pressure, the scientist guided him around and out of the small room if the change in temperature was anything to go by, the air was much cooler. Odd, the boy hadn't heard any doors open. A large part of him was curious what the Octava's lab actually looked like, specifically if it had the same appearance as the one from his fictitious escape. Walking blind, especially with someone untrustworthy doing the leading, was very unnerving. Uryuu hoped it would be over soon.

Szayel laughed internally, thrilled at his own genius. This plan of his was going perfectly, and it killed two birds with one stone. Not only did he not have to worry about sharing his Ishida-chan with that filthy cocotte, he could still monitor their relationship in a controlled manner. Such a brilliant solution was only expected of someone with such an expansive intellect. The cherry on top was that his subject had offered himself up willingly.

Speaking of which, his Quincy looked absolutely scrumptious while shackled and blindfolded. "You know," he purred seductively in his specimen's ear, "I didn't think my first time seeing you in bondage would be like this. However, I still think my Ishida-chan looks delectable."

To Szayel's utter satisfaction, the boy shivered before hissing, "shut up." A noticeable flush rose to Ishida-chan's cheeks. "How much longer is this going to take?" Szayel dropped his guiding hand slightly lower until it barely touched his Quincy's ass. The boy yelped and stumbled, whipping his head around even though he couldn't see. "What the hell?" The Octava laughed at his subject's exclamation and returned his hand to its original position.

"Patience, muñeco. I know you're eager to see my bed, but it'll just be a moment." Truthfully, they had already reached Szayel's, admittedly rarely used, bedroom. He had been about to inform the boy when his Ishida-chan had asked the question. It was quite amusing to take advantage of the his specimen's unseeing state. "Here we are. How opposed are you to leaving the handcuffs on?"

"Just take them off already." The boy was clearly fed up, and Szayel was quite enjoying it. With a theatrical sigh, the scientist removed his Quincy's blindfold with a flourish and replaced the boy's glasses. Ishida-kun blinked a few times before rolling his eyes and commenting, "why am I not surprised that one of your entire walls is a mirror."

"Is that a problem," Szayel said haughtily. He unlocked his subject's handcuffs and the boy rubbed his wrists. The scientist watched as his specimen walked away, drinking in his surroundings. He turned to face Szayel. "I'll see you in a little while, Ishida-chan. Make yourself at home." The Octava door behind him, locking it on the way out. He'd give his experiment some time to adjust to his new surroundings. The Espada needed to check the footage of his labyrinth. There had been a large influx of shinigami scum recently, and Hueco Mundo had been strangely absent of both Lord Aizen and his underlings. Szayel had gotten so wrapped up in his Quincy that he'd completely ignored his Espada duties. Nobody had hunted him down, though. How odd.

Uryuu was exploring the Octava's bedroom. It was clear that the scientist didn't spend much time there, as it was rather empty. The whole room was spotless, and Uryuu was pleased to note that there were actual doors. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed doors. There were three in total, one on on each wall, excepting the mirrored wall. The one the arrancar had left through was opposite the mirror, and it was locked. The rightmost door led to a bathroom with a positively enormous shower. Upon opening the left door, Uryuu discovered an egregiously large closet. He didn't think anyone needed a closet that large, especially when most of the clothes looked exactly the same.

The Quincy also discovered that Szayelaporro had some sort of odd obsession with the color purple. The doors and floor were purple, with everything else being white. There was a single bed with exactly three pillows and three vertical black stripes running across the sheets in the exact center of the room. An empty shelf served as the headboard. All in all, the room wasn't normal, but it had much less of the sadistic, perverted, psychotic murderer vibe than he had been expecting.

With nothing else to distract him, Uryuu gingerly sat down on the bed. What was he going to do? No matter how he looked at it, this was a bad situation. Realistically, he had probably only managed to delay Michiru-chan's death. For the time being, he was going to literally be sleeping in the Octava's bed, which was an issue all on its own. He doubted he'd be able to hurt or kill the arrancar, and even if he did somehow manage to do so, he and Michiru-chan would still be locked in and probably die slowly and painfully.

Unbidden, Uryuu's thoughts returned to the bed that he was perched upon. He wasn't sure that he would be able to sleep, especially if Szayelaporro was present. He couldn't even imagine sleeping next to the man. For all of the scientist's lewd talk, Uryuu was almost certain the arrancar wasn't interested in him that way. On the other hand, the dreams that the blue-eyed boy devoted a lot of effort to ignoring and suppressing might be a problem. They were already shameful, and he didn't need the added embarrassment of having the Octava there in bed with him. They might even be spurred on by the man's presence. And seretei forbid Uryuu to be the one that did the molesting while asleep. He was completely and utterly fucked.

Translations:

Buen provecho - literal Spanish for good benefit, said before a meal sort of like 'thank you for the meal'

azúcar - sugar, Spanish pet name

muñeco - Spanish pet name

A/N: Dedicated to RoseGlaceon and the wonderfully loyal Booktiger22 and Himorin. Jury's still out on Michiru-chan, but it's leaning towards certain death. Having said that, how gory do we want it? Personally, I'd love to paint the walls with blood. Poor Uryuu. Also, I'll get around to proofreading these at some point. Oh, well. I tried.

Booktiger22: You aren't a bad person, and I agree that Szayel would be more in character that way. I'm grateful for any suggestions, and your comments always make me smile. I try to be original, so I'm glad you find my writing new and exciting.

Himorin: Love your bloodlust, darling. And I've been quoting it that way for years, my bad. The title of your oneshot is 'On the Topography of Pluto" and it will be up soon after some ironing. While I was reading it, I realized how utterly pretentious my writing style is, so my apologies. Your comment made me laugh. There relationship would go a lot smoother if he gave up his Pride, but I think that might be just a teeny tiny bit out of character, you know? Like if, heaven forbid, Szayel played nice all the time.