Starrk didn't like any of this.
Ulquiorra had known he wouldn't, which was why he'd gone about it in such an underhanded manner. Starrk had been told that Szayel needed him for a project and he should take Lilinette with him, as well. The Primera had been less than thrilled but he'd dutifully gone, wasting time along the way. Just as Ulquiorra knew he would… he'd given the Quatro all the time he needed. By the time Starrk had reached Szayel and found that the rather confused scientist had absolutely no need of him, it had been too late. A quick sonido back to his quarters had revealed something strange, to say the least.
"WHAT is this?" Starrk asked, appalled. There was an unconscious man chained to his wall. His head was down, his chin on his chest and his long white hair was shading his face. Ulquiorra just met his glare with an emotionless stare.
"You are responsible for this prisoner. Take care of him until Aizen-sama calls for him." He said before vanishing in sonido.
"Wait – damn." He was already gone. Lilinette and Starrk shared a glance before looking at the man in front of them. He didn't stir.
"That looks super uncomfortable." Lilinette finally broke the silence and Starrk nodded. The way the man's arms were fixed above him definitely did not look like a good way to exist. "Can we get him down?"
"Um…" Starrk lifted the man's chin and relaxed slightly as he saw there was a powerful retaining collar on him. "He must be a taichou. Hmm." Curious now, he examined the stranger. He had very fine features. The color of his eyes was unknown, as they were closed at the moment. "The chains…" Examining them, Starrk found they were heavily impregnated with the hogyoku's power. Not even his strength would be breaking them. There was a lock, but he hadn't been given the key. "Hm. Interesting." Aizen definitely didn't want this prisoner getting away. "I wonder why they put him with me?" This place did have dungeons. Maybe they thought someone would be coming for him and thought that putting him in the Primera's lair would make things even more difficult for rescuers. That was a pretty good bet, Starrk rarely ever stirred out of his wing.
"…Well, he's awfully boring." Lilinette said after a few more moments of examination. "Get me when he does something interesting. I'm going to go play." She skipped out and Starrk shrugged before going to fetch a cushion. This wasn't his usual sleeping place but it probably behooved him to be here when the man woke up. Not that it would do him much good, really.
Juushiro woke up to pain all through his back, shoulders and arms.
Trying to understand what was happening, he lifted his head and blinked. As he did he realized his hands were held above him and all his weight was on his arms. Wincing in pain, he quickly got his legs under him and took a kneeling position. That was practically the only position he could take, with his hands like this. As he did, he remembered what happened.
"Oh kami." He whispered. He'd been captured. Looking around, he expected to find himself in some kind of dungeon or torture chamber. Instead, he seemed to be in a rather boring room with white walls. It was empty of furnishings except for something rather peculiar.
That was a cushion, occupied by a man. A tall, lean looking man, wearing a white and black outfit that matched the uniforms of the ones who had taken him. He had a small, spade beard that reminded him of Shunsui as a youngster. It was impossible to say what color his eyes were… even if he hadn't been sleeping, there was a cushion over his upper face… but Juushiro could see dark chestnut hair, spilling over that cushion. Looking down, his gaze paused on the hollow hole and mask fragment. Not a surprise, but still unwelcome. Taking a deep breath, he decided he needed to get the man's attention.
"Ah… hello?" The soft snoring continued. "Hello?" Juushiro sighed to himself as the stranger remained oblivious. If he was anything like Shunsui he might need a poke, but that was not something he could do. "Hello!" He said it as loudly as he could without shouting. Still nothing.
Then, the door to the room opened and a little girl walked in. Juushiro stared at her, taken aback. He hadn't been aware that child arrancar existed. He smiled at her but she wasn't looking at him. Her attention was fixed on the somnolent form in front of him. She walked over to the man, just examining him for a moment before kneeling beside him and lifting a hand. Juushiro opened his mouth to say something – he wasn't sure what – when she abruptly jammed her hand down his throat.
"Auuuugh!" That shocked the man into wakefulness and made Juushiro stare, eyes wide in surprise at the incredibly rude awakening. "Gonna puke, gonna puke!" He gasped, gripping his throat as the little girl laughed wickedly.
"Yeah, yeah, we know! Come on Starrk, the shinigami is awake!" She said and that seemed to pull the bigger arrancar away from his pain. He looked up, wiping away a bit of spit as he did. Juushiro saw that his eyes were a soft grey.
"Ah, he is? He is." The arrancar flopped back onto his cushion, waving a hand. "Hi." He dropped his head then, seemingly in danger of falling asleep again. A hard fist to the head fixed that and he yelped in pain before sitting up. "Lilinette!"
"Come ON Starrk! Stop being a lazy bum! You have to be curious about him! I know I am!" She said and Juushiro blinked. Hadn't the arrancar been given any information? That made him wonder what position they held in Aizen's forces. Perhaps they were nothing but a pair of adjuchas-level menos, glorified jailers. With the retaining collar he was wearing, he honestly couldn't tell. Starrk sat up, rubbing his head with a sigh.
"Okay, okay, I'm up. So who are you?" He asked and Juushiro smiled at him. Not that he thought it would help, exactly, but it might be good to build a rapport with his captors.
"I'm Ukitake Juushiro." He said and Starrk tilted his head, still curious. "Taichou of the thirteenth. And you?"
"Coyote Starrk. This is Lilinette Gingerbuck." He gestured to the girl, who waved at him with a grin. Juushiro's smile at her was more genuine. He liked children, he always had. Although Starrk had failed to give him any rank, he noticed. "So… Ukitake… did you piss someone off? You're in a rather bad spot." He said, waving at the chains. Juushiro sighed softly.
"Well, I did kill several arrancar." He admitted. "One of them was quite powerful." That had no doubt irritated their leader. Starrk considered it a moment before shrugging.
"Well, we were attacking you. Can't see how I can complain…" He yawned before frowning. "Are you hungry?" He asked and Juushiro blinked as he realized he wasn't just hungry… he was starving. As if on command, his stomach growled. "Yes. Lilinette, go get him some food. And get the key to those chains off Ulquiorra." He ordered and the little girl nodded.
"Sure thing!" She left in a burst of sonido and the lazy arrancar yawned before slumping down on his cushions. He began to doze again, but lightly. Juushiro just watched, hoping they would get the key to his chains. Escape would still be unlikely but then at least he would be a bit more comfortable.
The little girl came back with a plate of sushi, complete with ginger, soy sauce and wasabi. His stomach growled again at the sight and the man on the cushions lifted his head. But then the little girl spoke with a frown.
"Yeah, Ulqui-jackass wouldn't give me the key. He says to leave the shinigami chained up." She said and Starrk frowned at her, running a hand through his hair.
"How does that idiot expect him to eat like that? Does he want us to feed him by hand?" He asked and Lilinette grimaced.
"Yeah, I asked him that. He said we shouldn't feed him at all." She said, her tone disgusted and Starrk's hand froze. Then he lowered it and Juushiro was glad to see an outraged expression on the arrancar's face.
"He expects us to just watch as he starves?! That is NOT in any way acceptable. And shinigami make waste! How the hell is he supposed to piss like that?" He asked and Juushiro blinked, then winced. Those words had just reminded him that his bladder was a bit full. Lilinette just sighed and rolled her eye. "Go tell him – no, I'll do it. Can you feed those to him while I'm gone?"
"Um… sure I guess." The little girl looked at the sushi tray dubiously before shrugging. Starrk quickly vanished and Juushiro contemplated refusing for a moment. Being hand fed was a bit degrading. But he was very hungry and it wasn't like they even wanted to do it. "So do you like this green stuff or this brown stuff?"
"A tiny bit of the green, please." He said politely. She sniffed it before wrinkling her nose. "Not too much, it's very hot."
"Smells whiffy. I don't know food like this, it's not what I ate when I was alive." She commented before using a chopstick to smear a bit of the wasabi on a roll. Then she picked it up with the chopsticks, offering it to him. It was a bit large but he managed to take it whole. "Wish I had a knife to cut these up with. Sorry."
"Mph." He had to concentrate on chewing and swallowing before he could respond. It really was a bit of a mouthful. "It's fine. You handle the chopsticks well." From what she'd said, they couldn't be her usual tools. She shrugged.
"Aizen an' the freaks don't believe in knives and forks. And I like to eat stuff sometimes so I'm getting good with these things. Starrk can't be bothered." She said before picking up a bit of nigiri. "More green stuff?"
"Please." They were half-done the tray by the time Starrk came back. He had no key, but he did have information.
"Ulquiorra is a pest… apparently, he didn't think you needed more information. Basically, they're setting up a special field around my wing so the shinigami won't be able to leave it, when they're done." Starrk explained as Lilinette looked at him curiously. "It's going to take at least a day. We'll get the key when they're finished and satisfied it works. It's going to be tied to his retaining collar."
"Oh, so we won't have to watch him? I'd wondered about that. I mean, everyone knows you'd just fall asleep and let him escape. Not that there's much to escape too…" She rolled her single eye and Juushiro winced at the thought. How could he get out of Hueco Mundo? Although he could have caught an arrancar and threatened them into making a garganta, he supposed. If he had his sword or reiatsu. Starrk nodded, slumping back on his cushion.
"But for the day until we can get those chains off, we have to 'tend to his physical needs'." Starrk said with a high degree of sarcasm and Lilinette groaned. "Ulquiorra had the idea that if we didn't feed him he wouldn't make waste. I explained to him that it doesn't really work that way."
"Fuck! He's so smart yet so dumb. Guess that's what happens when you can't remember a thing. Not that we can remember much but we know potty breaks don't work like that. So we just have to deal with it?" She groused and Starrk nodded morosely before shooting him a glance. Juushiro was trying to look stoic, but it was hard. These arrancar would have to… what? Hold a chamber pot? This was disgusting and degrading!
"Well, anyway… do you need something to drink?" Starrk asked and Juushiro nodded with an internal sigh. "I'll get that." The arrancar left the room and Lilinette offered him another piece of sushi. Soon Starrk was back with a glass of water and he drank gratefully. It was a bit difficult with the arrancar holding it to his lips, but they managed.
"Thank you for this. I can see it's an imposition." He apologized but the tall man waved it away with a small smile.
"You are not the one imposing. That's Ulquiorra." Starrk sounded a touch annoyed at him. Juushiro wondered who Ulquiorra was, although he guessed it was the pale arrancar with the green eyes who had helped capture him. "Hmm, let's see if we can use some cushions to make this more comfortable…"
It took a while, but Lilinette and Starrk both managed to arrange cushions beneath him so he could lower his arms a bit and rest more comfortably. Juushiro's knees were very happy at the change in position – kneeling had been hard on them – and he was very grateful for their efforts. Although there was one burning question on his mind.
"Starrk-san, if you don't mind me asking, what position do you hold in Aizen's forces?" He asked and Starrk hesitated a moment.
"…The Novena." He said and Juushiro noted that he was a terrible liar. And Lilinette was worse. She couldn't keep the incredulous look of her face.
"I see." Mentally he decided he was dealing with at least the fifth in Aizen's forces. Possibly higher. "I'm surprised that I would be put with someone that weak." He said evenly and the man's shoulders hunched a bit. "Perhaps you should try again?"
"Oi! Starrk's the damned PRIMERA! He's the first an' the most powerful!" Lilinette burst out as Starrk put his head in his hand. "So you better be respectful shinigami!" Juushiro swallowed hard at that. The Primera? From what he understood that was the highest possible rank.
"Lilinette." Starrk said half-heartedly before looking up. "He's been perfectly respectful the whole time, be nice." He said and she huffed at him. "Yes, I'm the Primera. I'm sorry if that distresses you." He said quietly and Juushiro met his eyes. He saw a surprising amount of kindness there. Shocking really, from any hollow.
"They're probably expecting someone to mount a rescue so they stuck you in a bear trap – OW! Starrk! What the hell?!" A scuffle broke out then and Juushiro couldn't help but smile, particularly when the bigger arrancar was soon overpowered and soundly beaten by the little girl. He was sure Starrk wasn't trying at all and it was honestly rather adorable. Although… bear trap… that made him lose his smile. Although these two didn't seem very frightening…
The rest of the day was spent chatting with the arrancar and just enduring as best he could. Starrk helping him with… necessities… was as humiliating and embarrassing as he'd expected. Starrk handled it with surprising calm, just gazing away with a zen like air as he relieved himself and fixing his clothing without comment. The Espada also fetched him supper, while his little friend dozed on the cushions. The food this time was yakitori chicken with various dips. That had the advantage that it was really very easy to feed to him.
Sleeping was almost impossible, despite the arrancar's attempts to make him comfortable. The next day, though, they got the key to his shackles. Juushiro groaned in relief as he was finally able to lower his arms and move from the spot. The first thing he wanted, though…
"Ah, where's the bathroom?" Starrk yawned and showed him the way. Briefly, Juushiro wondered why there was a bathroom when arrancar didn't need to use it. Then he decided they likely showered. Which reminded him… looking inside the shower he found several shampoo bottles and helped himself shamelessly. After tending to his needs and taking a very hot shower, he felt almost normal again.
The next need that he had to tend to was a rather urgent one, and that was for sleep. Juushiro felt like he might fall over at any moment. Going back into the room he saw that Starrk had joined Lilinette on her cushion. Smiling at them both, he grabbed the pillows and cushions they had brought in for him and quickly settled in.
He would think about escape later, when he could actually think straight. For now, he needed to rest.
Juushiro woke up from his nap to find that Starrk and Lilinette were gone. They weren't far away, though.
"Got a two?" Lilinette asked and Starrk shook his head. They were sitting on the balcony, enjoying the sun and the breeze as they played cards. Delicate, filmy curtains stirred in the wind and Juushiro gently pushed them aside as he stepped onto the balcony.
"Go fish." He said and she took a card from the deck. "Do you have a ten?"
"Yeah…" She grudgingly handed over the card as Juushiro watched. Then Starrk glanced over and smiled.
"Ah, you're awake." He set down his cards. "You slept quite a while." He ignored Lilinette's snort. "Do you need any food? Lilinette can fetch some."
"Oi! Why do I always fetch?" She protested and he gave her an amused look.
"Because you're the fraccion and you like to run around. I like to sleep. Remember?" He said and yelped as she suddenly kicked him in the stomach. "Ow! Lilinette." He protested mildly as Juushiro blinked. They seemed to have a very physical relationship. Although he'd already observed that, really.
"I wouldn't mind some breakfast, if you could, Lilinette-san." He said and she nodded, mollified.
"Okay. Hey, you take my place, I'm losing anyhow." She said before giving him the cards. He looked at them in dismay as she darted out of the room. Starrk smiled at him, amused.
"You don't know how to play go fish?" He asked and Juushiro shook his head, sitting down across from him. "I'll show you. It's not hard." It really wasn't and soon they were playing. Lilinette was right about her hand, though, and by the time the food arrived Juushiro had been defeated. The food this time was very simple, an omelet filled with mushrooms, onions and bacon.
"So I can move around but I can't leave your wing?" Juushiro asked as he sampled the food. He would have to test that, of course, but he was sure their measures to contain him would work. Starrk nodded, yawning.
"You can explore if you want. Or Lilinette can show you around. Either way." He waved with one hand before shuffling over to a cushion and slumping over. "I need a nap."
"Lazy bastard!" Lilinette said but Starrk was already dozing off. "Hmph. I guess he has kind of done a lot lately. Follow me, Shiro-chan." He couldn't help but smile at that term for himself. As he did, though, his mind churned with doubts and worries. Would anyone come to rescue him? He wasn't sure if he hoped for it or not.
As much as he wanted out of here, he didn't want to endanger his friends.
Author's Note: So sick. Going to die.