Chapter 36:
Linnette waited anxiously by Hanataro's side in the sickbay. It had been hours since everyone was evacuated from the sewer and brought back into sunlight. After the battle had ended, Soul Reapers were scrambling around trying to make sense of the situation and gather up as many Hollow Reapers as possible for treatment. Unohana saw to Byakuya first to put Rukia's fears to rest. There was nothing she could do for him there so she asked to have him and all the Hollow Reapers brought to the sickbay. Any able bodied Soul Reaper was expected to help. Victor and Cedric set off to find the other survivors with the help of Ikkaku while all that was taking place.
It took several hours but so far more than half of the infected Soul Reapers were piled into the sickbay for treatment. It was there that they discovered two things. One: they didn't have enough beds for everyone. And two: there was nothing Unohana could do for them. Her best advice was to leave them as they were but simply make them as comfortable as possible and wait. She didn't want to give them anything out of fear that it would interfere with their healing process. After all, she had never come across anything like this. So far, the Hollow Reapers were changing back on their own. The only thing she could do was monitor their progress. So far, she noticed a decreased heart rate, which was good considering that their heart rates as Hollow Reapers were off the charts. Their heartbeats were slowly falling back into a steady rhythm. Their hostility had also decreased. For the most part, all the Hollow Reapers had entered a comatose state, nearly all of whom seemed to be in a coma, showing little to no response to anything whatsoever.
Linnette waited by Hanataro's side ever since Ukitake had been taken into another room and locked away with other Soul Reapers working hard to see that his condition improved. There were no more beds. Any Hollow Reaper they found now were put outside onto a tarp and members from Squad 4 would see to them when they could. Everyone was shorthanded. Hanataro was lucky enough to have been found quickly and placed inside the sickbay. Unfortunately, they had run out of beds at that time and he was left to rest on an operating table instead.
The hours ticked by slowly. Linnette waited. Then Hanataro began to show signs of improvement. His eyes opened. Linnette stood up and leaned over him. "Hanataro?"
He blinked staring straight ahead. Then his eyes closed again.
They didn't open again for another hour. She touched his hand and called his name. He turned his head, looked at her and blinked weakly. Then his eyes closed again. She sat back down with a sigh. She didn't know if these were just twitches or if he was too weak to stay conscious for long.
When his eyes opened again, he made a small noise like a soft whine.
"Hanataro?"
He turned her way weakly. He stared at her. Then his mouth began to move. "…Lin… N… Linn… ette..?"
"Yes," she answered happily. "Yes, yes! It's me! You're ok!"
He blinked and looked at the ceiling. "… Where..?"
"You're in the sickbay. Unohana found you and brought you in here. She took care of you."
He stared straight ahead. "… I… Where…" His eyes closed again and he lay quietly on the table.
"Hanataro?" Linnette's smile went away. He was gone again. Sighing, she sat back down and waited.
Victor watched her from the doorway. Cedric was helping the other Soul Reapers outside. Everyone needed help. Victor only came inside to check on her. Seeing how worried she was made him want to do something to help her, but he knew that he couldn't. She wouldn't relax until she saw that Hanataro was safe. She was worried about him. She wanted to see Ukitake, too, but no one was allowed in that room. Unohana hadn't left for over an hour since the last time she had been in there with her handpicked team of nurses. He wondered if Ukitake was stabilizing yet.
Victor looked down the hall to another room. He could see Rukia's shadow cast on the wall as she watched over Ichigo's unmoving body. They found him beside Veneno after all the Hollow Reapers had collapsed. He was just shy of critical. His wounds were terrible and very painful. Unohana treated him as soon as she could and advised that he rest. When he woke up, they were told to keep him in that bed until she said otherwise.
When Rukia wasn't watching her brother, she was watching him. Byakuya was in the same condition Hanataro was. Aside from a few twitches, he didn't move. His eyes opened only once and then closed again. No one knew if he had woken up or if that, too, was a twitch. So far, none of the Hollow Reapers were awake longer than a few short seconds. She knew there was time until Byakuya recovered enough to awaken and speak with her. Until then, she would be at Ichigo's side.
She watched over him while he slept. His Zanpakuto rested beside the bed quietly as if it, too, was watching over him. She moved forward to adjust the covers. As she pulled them up to his chin, he jolted awake and grabbed her arm on reflex. "Ichigo!"
He bolted upright then grabbed his ribs and fell back onto the bed with a loud moan.
"Easy, easy!" She stood up and put her hands on his shoulders, keeping him pinned. "You can't move just yet. Lay down and keep still."
He blinked, looking around. It was a moment before he realized where he was. "I'm… in the sickbay?"
"Yes." She sat back down with a smile. "Unohana treated you. She said your body was under a lot of pressure. She fixed you up, though. She says you'll live. But you can't leave the bed. Her orders."
Ichigo ran a hand over his ear. Healed. No one would ever know that he was missing an earlobe at one time. He moved his leg. Then the other one. So far so good. He lifted up the covers to take a look. He was covered in bandages. His leg was in a small cast. Unohana must have finished healing him but needed him to be in some sort of brace for a while. He lowered the covers and leaned back into the pillow with a sigh.
Then he remembered something. "What about Veneno?"
Rukia smiled at him. "You won."
He waited. He needed to hear it.
"He's dead."
He wasn't happy to hear it. He wasn't even proud. He didn't want to hear it. It made his wounds ache. He frowned into the covers and turned his head to the side. He regretted it. He really did.
"What's wrong?"
He didn't look at her.
"Ichigo?" She moved closer. "What's the matter? You won. Because of you, everyone's returning to normal. The Hollow Reapers are changing back. Isn't it great news?"
He was looking at the room he was in. He looked at the window. At the glass of water on the table. Though the mattress throne was taken down and the beds were returned to the way they were before, he recognized this as the room where he first met Veneno. Just like Rukia, Veneno was at his side, talking with him when he woke up. It was nostalgic and sad at the same time. It made him sick.
"What's the matter, Ichigo?"
Finally he gave her the answer she as waiting for. "I didn't want to kill him."
She sat by his side, saying nothing.
"I regret it."
Sighing, she sat back and answered him matter-of-factly. "I'd call you an idiot if you didn't." She played with the corner of his sheets. "You're not heartless, Ichigo. It's a good thing that you feel regret. You're not that kind of person." She folded the corner back down. "But it had to be done. Everyone's safe now. Besides… I think it's best that it was you. I think it would be wrong if it was anyone else. I don't know how to say it, but… It had to be you." Somehow he understood.
Still, it gave him little comfort. He remembered the look on Veneno's face. He remembered what he had told him before he stopped breathing. "I want to live."
"Hm?" She looked at him curiously.
"That's what his last words to me were. He said 'I want to live. Why aren't I allowed that?'. That's what he said. And then he died."
Rukia turned away, hanging her head. "It's heartbreaking, isn't it?" For a while, she said nothing. "He just wanted to live his life the way he wanted and no one seemed to ever allow him that. If it's not the Soul Reapers, it's something else. When all those Hollow Reapers turned on him, I guess that was the end of it."
Ichigo looked at her. "How do you know about that?"
"I was there when Linnette sung her song. She made them attack the clones."
"Oh." Ichigo thought she was talking about the incident in the street. She meant something else. "I see." Then he remembered something else. "How's Byakuya doing, by the way?"
She gave a halfhearted shrug. "He hasn't woken up yet. He's still in his room."
"I'm surprised you're not there with him."
She gave him a playful slap on his shoulder and laughed when he winced. "I wanted to make sure you were ok first, you idiot."
"Now that you know that I am, are you going to see him?"
"Of course. Now that I know you're not dying or anything." She hopped off the bed and pushed her chair off to the side. She turned around. "I'm… glad you're ok."
He smiled.
She turned away, facing the door. "We'll talk later. Get some more rest."
"Yes, ma'am." He chuckled, forgetting all about his troubles for the moment. He could hear her rolling her eyes at his remark and left the room.
Victor watched her from where he was and noticed the smile she was trying to hide as she left. "Well." He smiled a knowing smile. Then he felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned. "Yes?"
Nemu was standing behind him. "The captain would like a word with you if you don't mind."
"Mayuri? That captain?"
"Yes." She bowed her head. "He requested a private meeting with you. Please come this way."
He looked back into the room where Linnette was sitting none the wiser. "I suppose I have a few minutes. Alright." He followed her down the hall and past other Soul Reapers scurrying to the rooms filled with Hollow Reapers.
Ichigo lay back on the bed with a sigh and closed his eyes again.
He found himself in a all too familiar place. The sky around him was packed with grey clouds. It wasn't raining but it felt damp. He looked forward. A white lump on the ground was waiting for him. He approached his Hollow. "Hey, there."
His Hollow was laying curled up on the ground, using his arm as a pillow. He lifted his head and squinted at him. "Hey…" He let his head back down and buried his nose in his elbow.
Ichigo titled his head to one side. "Were you just… sleeping?"
"Trying to."
"I didn't know you slept."
"You don't know a lot of things, Your Majesty."
Ichigo chuckled teasingly. "Don't tell me that fight wore you out."
His Hollow groaned loudly, letting Ichigo know that he was annoyed. "I told you I had never done anything like that before. It took a toll on both of us. I know you're feeling it, too. Otherwise you wouldn't be here right now."
Ichigo had to admit that his whole body was aching and felt heavy. He walked over to sit beside his other self. He didn't react. Ichigo looked his Hollow over with a grin. Who knew he could look so innocent and calm? He poked his Hollow's shoulder.
"What?" he whined, irritated.
"Nothing."
"Ass…" He buried his face in his arms, snuggling into a tight ball. "Let me rest, ok? I'll kill you later."
"Aw, not now?" Ichigo teased him again.
"I'm not in the mood. Leave me alone."
Ichigo sighed and leaned back, looking at the sky. He listened to his Hollow's breathing for a while then felt a pain in his heart. "I… I'm not feeling my best. Something's bothering me."
"I could tell. Have you seen the sky?"
He nodded. "I just… I regret killing Veneno. I didn't want to. But at the same time, I knew I had to. I don't know what to think. I mean, he was the enemy, but he wasn't. I don't know what to think."
"You think too much," his Hollow said. He lifted his head just enough so that Ichigo could hear him more clearly. "Look, he was a pain in the ass. He never listened. He was doing all that crap to your pals and he hit Linnette. He was going to turn us into one of those freaks and possibly kill us when he got bored. You want that? And you heard him. The only way to cure everyone was to kill him."
"I know, I know…"
"The guy probably wanted to die. Otherwise he wouldn't have said anything."
"Then why would he say that he wanted to live?"
"Dunno. Changed his mind? Or maybe he just wanted to die in order to end this life. He wanted to live another. You know?"
Ichigo nodded again. "Yeah." He wanted to live his own life. He wanted to get away from Soul Reapers and end his suffering. He must have felt so trapped. "Still…"
"Still you keep talking. Shut up, would you?" He hid his face in his arm again and lay still.
Ichigo yawned, the damp air getting to him. Or was it something else? He laid down beside his Hollow, looking up at the building over them. "Hey."
"Hm?"
"Thanks for your help."
"It wasn't for you. You would have died if not for me, sure. But I did it for her." It was for Linnette.
"Whatever. I still want to say thanks for helping." He didn't take over. He helped him. He was thankful for that.
"Nn." It was just a grunt to let Ichigo know that he heard him.
Ichigo looked at his Hollow again. He wasn't moving. "Hey."
He didn't answer.
Ichigo propped himself up on one arm to peer over at him. His Hollow had fallen asleep. Ichigo laid back down and looked back at the building reflecting their images above them. He decided to put the situation out of his mind for now and forget Veneno. Ichigo shut his eyes to get some rest.
In no time, they were both out cold, never noticing Zangetsu watching over them. He smiled at the two of them sleeping side by side. "Who knew they could get this close to each other and not fight?"
The two sprawled out, their limbs stretched out over one another. Ichigo's leg draped over his Hollow's side while he used Ichigo's arm as a pillow, his forehead pressed into Ichigo's cheek. Ichigo's body was so warm. He made a good pillow. Ichigo didn't notice the position they were in at all. It was a comforting feeling having something to hold on to. His Hollow made a good teddy bear. His Hollow breathed in his scent. Ichigo smelled different from anything else in this world despite it being his own. He smelled kind of nice. He relaxed fully and lay still on Ichigo's chest. It was good to relax once in a while. Not a care or worry in the world.
Zangetsu smiled again and sat down, watching them. Who knew when he would ever see such a sight again? For now, he would enjoy it.
An hour since the last time his eyes opened, Hanataro opened them again and looked up at the ceiling, blinking slowly. He lifted his arm and gave his eyes a rub. He looked from side to side, more fully awake and with it than any of the other times he had woken up. "Why am I here? What happened?"
Linnette stood up and went to his side. "Hanataro, are you ok?"
He looked at her. "Uh… yeah. I think so." He looked down at his hands and moved them slowly, testing them. "I seem to be fine. Did something-?" He was cut short when Linnette threw herself on top of him and held him tightly. "Wha..?"
"I'm so glad you're ok!" She pressed her face into his small chest. "I was so worried. I wanted you to be ok."
He didn't know how to react. He raised his hand and placed it on her back. "What's going on around here? Did something happen?"
She pulled away. Looking at him seriously, she asked, "You mean you don't remember anything?"
"Anything? Like wha..?" He trailed off, clips of his memory flashing into his mind. "The sewer… The street…" He lifted his eyes and saw the concerned look on her face. It was the same as before. "I remember… I remember seeing you in the street. You were talking to me."
"You remember that?"
He paused, unsure whether he should shake his head or not. "I… I don't know. I sort of do, but… it's really fuzzy." He couldn't tell if it was a dream or if it really happened.
Someone entered the room with a wash bin and a cloth. She looked his way and blinked in surprise. Then she smiled. "Well, morning, sleepyhead. You were out for a while."
"Lieutenant…" He looked at Isane, having not seen her look so cheerful for a while.
She smiled at him again, setting the bin on the table against the wall. "I'm glad to see you're alright."
He started to sit up but he ended up falling back down. His body felt so heavy. She rushed forward and put her hands on his shoulders, pushing him back.
"Oh, no, no. You mustn't get up yet. You still need to rest. You haven't recovered yet."
Hanataro looked down looking very worried. "I can't… I can't move my legs." As much as he tried, he just couldn't do it. No matter what, they didn't move an inch.
"Don't worry. It's just a side effect."
"Side effect?"
She nodded, taking her hands off his shoulders. "Yes. Most of the Hollow Reapers… Or, rather, Soul Reapers recovering are experiencing this. Most of them cannot move their bodies."
"Most?"
"Some are having an easier time than others. It depends on how long they've been Hollow Reapers."
"How's Ukitake?" Linnette asked, unable to stop herself.
Isane smiled at her sweetly. "Oh, he's doing much better. He was wake and talking a few minutes ago."
Linnette's smile spread from ear to ear, looking overjoyed at the news. "Can I see him?"
"Oh, he's resting again at the moment. It'll have to wait. Maybe later on. He needs to rest. But Captain Unohana is taking good care of him so you don't need to worry."
Linnette sat back down in her chair. She wanted to see him. As long as Unohana was seeing to him, she knew he would be ok. According to Isane, he was talking before. That was wonderful news. She forced herself to smile, pretending that it didn't bother her having to wait. "That's fine. Hey, Hanataro, did you hear that? Ukitake's going to be just…"
Hanataro's eyes were closed again.
"Hanataro?"
Isane held up her hand to silence Linnette. "It's best if he rests. But this is great progress."
It was. Before Hanataro wasn't this coherent. He was improving. Everyone was.
It took several hours, but at last, Byakuya awoke. Rukia, who had been waiting by his side waiting for any change, jumped, leaning on the edge of her seat.
"Brother?" He closed his eyes then opened them again. "Brother?"
He turned his head. Their eyes found each other. He blinked.
She waited. Before when she had called to him the last time his eyes opened, he wasn't able to speak. Not only that, but he didn't respond when she called him 'brother'. He only turned her way when she called to him by name. She wondered if he would recognize her this time.
"Rukia?"
That was the first time she had heard him speak her name in several long, unending days. And this was the first time he had spoken to her without malice in his voice. Her brother was back. She nodded her head and took his hand in hers, moving closer. "Yes. Yes, brother, it's me. It's Rukia." She held back her tears. She was ecstatic to see him here with her again.
He shifted to get a better look at her. Then he looked at the room. He knew where he was at once. "Why am I in the sickbay?" He was one of the first people infected by the virus. He had no knowledge of the Hollow Reapers or of Veneno. As far as he knew, he was working in his office and going about his normal day. "Did something happen?"
"Do you remember anything, brother?"
He shook his head. "No." He tried to think of all the logical things that could have happened to him that would result in him being brought here. "Was there an attack or something? Was I injured?"
"Well…" How was she supposed to answer that? "Not exactly."
"Was I ill?"
"That's closer to it."
He turned his head to look at her again. "What happened, then?"
She explained it to him as briefly as she could. "An Arrancar named Veneno was loose in the Soul Society and started to spread a virus around that would slowly turn people into Hollows. You were infected without knowing. No one knew of this. But within a few days, nearly everyone was infected."
He listened to her calmly. Sometimes she wondered if he fully grasped what she was telling him. Then he said, "Judging from the fact that I'm here and you're not leads me to believe that you managed to escape."
She nodded. "Yes. I was never infected. However, you and Renji and many people from Squad 6 were. So was my Captain and almost everyone else. While infected, they would behave like Hollows by attacking Soul Reapers. They could not be reasoned with."
Byakuya looked down for a moment then looked back up at her. "Did… I attack you?"
"Huh?" She was surprised. Not by his question but by the amount of concern in his voice. Still holding his hand, she could feel his palm quiver against her fingers. Was he shaking?
"Did I hurt you?"
She answered him carefully. "No. You did not hurt me."
"But I attacked you?"
She hesitated. "Y…Yes. You tried to. But you were not in control of your actions. Renji did the same thing. But you didn't hurt me. You attacked Ichigo as well."
"I'm not concerned about him."
Before she could figure out if she should be flattered by his answer, she noticed him weakening. The strength was leaving his hand and his eyes began to droop.
"What..?" He forced his eyes to remain open. "What did Unohana give me? I feel strange."
"She didn't give you anything," she told him. "She wasn't sure if it would interfere with your recovery or not."
He looked down at his white sheets. "I can't move my legs. And my head's getting foggy."
"She said that's to be expected. While in the Hollow Reaper state, no one ate or slept. She feels that this is your body recovering from all that. The virus attacked the brain first and then spread to the rest of the body. She said that sleeping was a sign that you're body's making up for lost rest and that you're brain is recovering as well. The brain can't repair itself while in an awaking state. She advises everyone to rest and not to fight it. It's natural."
Byakuya's eyes began to droop again. "Understandable. I…" His grip went slack. "I don't think I could fight this anyway."
He was drained. It happened so quickly. He was full of energy a moment ago. Now he was spent. She watched as his eyes began to close.
"I'm glad I didn't hurt you."
"Hm?" By the time those words left his mouth, he was gone again. She knew she heard him right so there was no point in asking him to repeat it. She smiled to herself and lay his hand down beside him under the sheets. He was thankful that he didn't hurt her. He cared about her wellbeing.
That was the best thing she could ever hope for. He cared.
Come late afternoon, most of the Soul Reapers had woken up and were able to speak coherently to those around them. Though Hanataro was advised to rest, he was determined help the rest of his shorthanded Squad with the recovering former Hollow Reapers. He showed a lot of improvement, however, every now and then he would suffer from fainting spells brought on by his unstable energy. He would have bursts of energy and then suffer a debilitating crash minutes later and would have to rest for a while until he recovered.
Most of the Soul Reapers were in the same position. It seemed that those who were not Hollow Reapers for very long had not only recovered the most in a short amount of time but didn't suffer from these bouts of energy drains. Rin, having not been a Hollow Reaper for longer than a couple of hours was one of the first people to make a full recovery. The moment he was awake, he asked after his other Squad members. No one could say anything for certain and everyone he spoke with asked him to get some more rest.
"But what about Akon? Is he alright?"
"He's resting, like you should be. Please, lay down."
Frowning, Rin rolled onto his shoulder and shut his eyes. He wanted to know if he was ok. The man tried to protect him, after all. The least he could do was say thank you.
Down the hall from his room, that very Soul Reaper had suddenly woken up and took a long look around the room. "Why am I in the sickbay?"
A nurse turned around. "Are you alright, Akon?"
He turned his head. "Huh?" He started to sit up but didn't have the strength. "What am I doing in here? We were sealed off and…" He started to put things together in his mind. "I take it that everything's been settled."
She moved closer. "What was that?"
"What I mean is, since we were all under lockdown and everyone was running around like crazy, that a cure has been found." He looked down at his arm. There was no cut. He was healed. "I know I got infected. The fact that I'm here now must mean that I'm cured. Am I right?"
The nurse nodded. "Yes. You're doing fine."
Another person from Squad 4 entered the room, this one male, and looked at Akon with a grin. "So.. You're awake now, huh? About time."
Akon turned his head, unable to sit up in order to get a better look at him. "How did you find me? I locked myself in the lab. It was under lockdown. No one could get in."
"Trust me, it wasn't that hard. Not with the door being torn off its hinges or the massive hole in the building."
"What massive hole?"
The man shrugged. "Must have been one hell of a fight to cause that kind of damage. Looked like a rocket went off and out the roof. The door was just leaning there against the doorframe with a hole in it. Small hole. If I didn't know better, I'd say that someone punched a hole in it and ripped it out of the wall."
"But that's a reinforced door. Who would have that kind of strength?" asked the nurse.
"Either way…" He looked at Akon again. "You we needed a little help finding. A man in a suit told us that you would be locked in a closet at the end of one of the halls. That's the only way we managed to find you. You were inside laying on the floor under a whole bunch of books and papers."
"A man in a suit, huh?" Akon couldn't think of anyone he knew that looked like that. Then he remembered something else. "Oh! Where's Rin? Is he alright?"
"Rin?"
"Yeah, yeah. Little guy with a ponytail on his forehead. Little mousey thing," Akon said. "He and I were the last ones left after everyone else turned. I told him to hide himself in the Communications Department. Did you find him? Was he ok?"
The two looked at each other. "That boy was a Hollow Reaper when he was discovered. And he wasn't in that department," said the nurse. "He was several floors below, in one of the labs."
Akon's face fell. "He… was a Hollow Reaper..?" he turned away, looking across the room at the far wall. "So… He was attacked away. Kid must have come after me and I attacked him without knowing. Maybe that's how I ended up in a closet."
"On the contrary," said the nurse. "When we found him there wasn't a scratch on him. He must have been attacked by the Arrancar himself."
Akon turned back. "What Arrancar?"
"You didn't know? An Arrancar was behind all of this. Ichigo Kurosaki took care of him and now everyone's returning to normal."
This was a lot to absorb. Akon then asked, "So I didn't attack Rin?"
"No. Not at all."
He rested his head back on the pillow. "Oh, thank God," he sighed. "I wanted to make sure someone survived at least. I knew I was a goner so… I tried to make sure he would make it out in one piece." He looked at the nurse. "Where is he now?"
"Resting. But he was asking after you."
"He was?"
"Yes. I think he said that he wanted to make sure you were alright and to thank you for protecting him."
Akon nodded. Then he shut his eyes. "Well, when you get a chance, tell him that I said 'no problem'. And tell him that I'm alright and said 'hi'. Ok?"
"Of course."
When Ichigo woke up, the sun looked like it was on the verge of setting. Despite that, the sickbay seemed to be full of life. He sat up, looking around. The room was empty. Rukia must have left to see her brother. Aside from a few aches and pains, Ichigo seemed good to go and started to get out of bed. He tried putting pressure on his leg. It throbbed. He knew at once that he wouldn't be able to walk on it. He looked around and found a pair of crutches laying against the wall by his bed. He got up and, using the table for support, hopped over to them. Once each one was under each arm, he started to hobble toward the door.
Nurses were running around carrying pots of food and jugs of water in and out of rooms. Soul Reapers were talking and laughing in every room. The Seireitei was alive again. He looked to the side and saw Soul Reapers crowding around doors and people hopping around on crutches like he was. He ventured out into the hall in search of his friends. Down another hall, he found Ikkaku standing outside one of the rooms, laughing at something. Ichigo went over to him as quickly as possible. "Hey. What's so funny?"
Ikkaku gave Ichigo a glance but didn't answer. He was still laughing. "Come on, it looks good on you. Just be happy you're alive, ok?"
Ichigo stood next to him and looked into the room. Yumichika was sitting up in the bed closest to the door looking distraught. "Easy for you to say! Look at me! This is worse than death!" His hair was a matted mess, strands of hair tangled or ripped out and the feathers that were normally attached to his brow and lashes were gone. His face was also a filthy mess. "I look like I haven't bathed in a week!"
"There's a reason for that."
"And just look how bloodshot my eyes are!"
"You didn't sleep either. And you just woke up a few minutes ago." Ikkaku shook his head. "I knew I shouldn't have handed you that mirror."
Yumichika prodded his cheeks with his right hand while the other held up a small mirror. "I look ghastly!" He looked like he had lost a fight with a chainsaw.
"You're not that bad. You were a Hollow Reaper. You couldn't help what you did."
"How can you be so calm about this? Look at me!"
"I'm trying not to."
Yumichika wailed loudly. "I can't believe this! If this is what happens when you become a Hollow Reaper then… Augh! I'd kill that Arrancar myself if he wasn't dead already!"
Ikkaku turned to look at Ichigo. "I told him everything that happened. He's not happy. He's fine with having no memory and he doesn't give a damn if he hurt or killed anyone. All he cares about is how he looks as a result."
"Ikkaku! I need a comb, a brush, face cream and my whole make-up set, stat!" He poked his face again. "Maybe there's still time for me to apply the lotion before my skin starts pealing. I'm so filthy… If I was in my right state of mind I would never…"
"Aw, quit being a baby," Ikkaku called. Then he looked at Ichigo. "How you doing?"
"Alright, I guess. How are things? Where is everyone?"
"Oh, uh…" Ikkaku started thinking. "Um, Rukia's with her brother upstairs. Renji is on the same floor down the hall from them and throwing a fit because he wants to find them both and no one's letting him leave the room. Uh… You know where I am. Let's see… That girl is somewhere. Don't know, don't care. That big guy that's with her all the time is helping the nurses. That other guy, the thin one in the suit, is somewhere. No idea."
"What about the Captains? Like Toshiro and Soi Fon and everyone else."
"Oh. Uh… Hitsugaya's recovering. Rangiku's with him. Soi Fon was found. She said that she managed to do fine for a while until she ran into a clone. She tried to kill him. She did it, but ended up getting infected in the process. She ended up turning… like, two or three days ago. Something like that. Good for her. Mayuri and Nemu are in the lab. One of the labs that wasn't blown up at least. No idea what they're doing." Ikkaku tapped his chin. "Oh, yeah! And we found Kenpachi."
"You did?"
"Yup. Guess where he was."
Ichigo had no idea.
Ikkaku started to chuckle. "He was here the whole time, but the Lieutenant kept telling him to go a different way so they kept getting lost."
"You mean they were lost the whole time?" Ichigo shouted.
"Yup. They had no idea there was even a problem. No idea about the Arrancar either. They just kept passing each other by. Same thing with the Hollow Reapers. They went for a walk and ended up getting lost. He sensed there was a fight going on and tried to get back. He ended up showing up here a few hours ago, asking what was going on." Ikkaku chuckled again. "He's pissed that he missed all the fun."
Ichigo leaned against the wall with a sigh. "I can't believe it… Lost this whole time."
"Yeah. That's the captain for you."
Yumichika wailed again inside the room. He grabbed the sheets and pulled them over his head. "Don't look at me! I'm hideous!"
Aside from the fatigue, the former Hollow Reapers were faced with an additional side effect. Due to the fact that they didn't eat or drink anything while in the Hollow Reaper state, they were long overdue for nourishment. Now that they were awake long enough to feel the effects, hunger kicked in soon enough and they all begged for food. There wasn't much to go around. A lot of food had spoiled and some food wasn't edible due to it having been thrown on the floor or in other various places. So far, all they had to offer the starving Soul Reapers were rice and stew. They didn't complain. They just wanted to eat something. Anything was good enough.
The next time Byakuya awoke, he turned to Rukia weakly. "I'm so thirsty."
"Sure." She went over to the jug of water on the table and poured him a glass. She returned with the cup and jug in each hand and sat at his bedside. "Here."
He shakily took the glass from her as she helped him to sit up. She propped several pillows behind him for support as he lifted the cup to his lips. He sipped it at first. Then he started to drink faster. Within a few seconds, his glass was empty. He handed it back to her. "More."
"Ok." She poured him another glass This time he took it with more energy and drained it in one gulp. As she moved to pour him another, he tossed the empty cup aside and grabbed the jug from her, lifting it up to his lips and pouring it down his throat. "Ah…" All Rukia could do was watch as he drank directly from the jug. He handed her back the empty jug, panting.
"Thank you." He panted and sat back with a sigh. "I've never been so thirsty before in my life."
She took the jug and glass back and set them on the table. "You were dehydrated. It's understandable."
A rumbling noise made both of them look down. Byakuya's stomach was demanding attention. He lifted his gaze to his sister. "I'll need some food now."
"Ah… Of course." The nurse who was in the room earlier had left a single bowl of rice for the captain when he woke up. Rukia picked it up and brought it to him. "Here you-"
Byakuya snatched it away and began to devour it. The chopsticks he was using were a blur as he tipped the bowl upward, shoveling it into his mouth. He was barely chewing. Within a few second, the rice was half gone and disappearing fast.
"Sl- slow down, brother!" Rukia warned. She had never seen Byakuya eat so fast before. She didn't want him to choke. "Take it easy."
He bumped the bowl upside-down and finished off the rest of the rice, making sure he didn't leave a single grain behind. He panted and handed her the empty bowl. "More, please."
Blinking, she took it back. "Um, ok. But Unohana said that when dealing with starvation, it's best to reintroduce food slowly. So I can't really give you too much more until she says otherwise. At least you have something in you."
He blinked, taking in a deep breath. "I'm still hungry. Just one more bowl can't hurt. Please."
She stood up. "I'll see what I can do." She left to find the nurse with the pot. She persuaded her to give her more rice and then returned to the room. The bowl wasn't full, but it would have to do. "Sorry it isn't much. But I managed to get…" She stopped.
Byakuya was sitting up, his head tilted to one side, asleep.
"Brother?"
He snored, slumped against the tower of pillow behind him. He managed to eat and drink. Now it was back to sleep for him. Rukia set the bowl down on the table and tried to make him more comfortable.
"You need your rest, brother," she whispered, covering him with the sheets. She brushed his hair out of his face and lifted his head, resting it back so his neck wouldn't hurt. She wanted to make it aligned with the rest of his spine. "I'll be here when you wake up."
It was nice to see such a peaceful expression on his face as he slept. She didn't mind that he spent most of his time asleep. He looked rather cute sleeping. It was nice.
Unlike the others, Hisagi had yet to wake up. Physically, Unohana could find nothing wrong with him. She said that he would wake up when he was ready and there was nothing she could do for him. This had Kira worried. Everyone else was awake but him. His injuries were healed and he displayed no signs of Hollowfication. Why wasn't he waking up? Kira sat by his side and waited. He wanted to talk to him when he woke up. He wanted to make sure he was ok.
At last, his eyes opened, showing his first signs of life.
"Hisagi?"
He turned his head to the left. He spotted Kira and smiled weakly. "Hey."
"How are you feeling?"
He shrugged. "Alright I guess." He shifted his body with great difficulty. "My body feels heavy, though. I can't really move much."
"That's fine. Everyone's like that."
Even so, Hisagi kept trying to move his limbs.
"Um… I… Know what you did."
Hisagi turned to him. "What?"
"I know what you did before." Kira kept his eyes down. "You… got scratched and didn't tell anyone."
"Oh." Hisagi sounded disappointed. "You knew?"
"Only after you… turned. I saw you."
Hisagi nodded slowly.
"Do you remember?"
He shook his head. "Not really."
"You didn't hear anything I said to you?"
"Uh…" Hisagi thought back.
"You were throwing yourself on the ground. You were trying not to attack me. You don't remember any of that?"
Hisagi frowned. "Um… Not exactly. But I do remember seeing your face. I think… I think I remember hearing your voice, but I don't remember what you said. I can't remember much of anything."
Kira sat back in his chair. "Oh. I see." He had to get those things off his chest, even if Hisagi couldn't hear him or didn't remember it. Now that it had been said, he didn't want to have to say it again. He felt like the pressure was off. There was no need to repeat it. "That's fine. Don't worry about it."
Hisagi held up his hand.
"What?"
He waved him closer. "I'm feeling weak. I think I'm about to pass out."
"That's ok. Everyone's been doing that."
"Still… I want to say something before I black out." He waved him over with his hand. "Come closer."
Kira moved closer.
"Closer."
He leaned over, on the edge of his seat. Then without any warning, Hisagi flicked his forehead with his raised hand. "Ow! What was that for?" Kira asked, jumping back and massaging his head.
"You're stronger than you think."
Kira blinked. "Huh?" Did Hisagi remember the conversation after all? Did he hear Kira vent his feelings and express how poorly he thought about himself? "Wait. Are you saying that..? Do you…"
Hisagi was silent on the bed.
Kira tapped his forehead. "You still awake?"
Hisagi said nothing and moaned, turning away from Kira's prodding.
Kira sat back with a sigh. Maybe Hisagi said that because he needed to hear it. Maybe it had nothing to do with what happened in that street days ago. Kira smiled. "Glad you're back." He stood up and walk out of the room, smiling for the first time in days. It felt good to do it again.
Thanks to the treatments he was given, Ichigo was making a speedy recovery. He still couldn't put his full weight on his leg, but he didn't need to use the crutches as much as he did before. He passed by Renji's room on his way to see Rukia and overheard him complaining how he didn't want to be kept in bed any longer and could walk fine on his own. It took two nurses to keep him in bed, but he was still trying to get up anyway. Ichigo finally made it to the room where Byakuya was being kept and sure enough, there was Rukia sitting in a chair beside him. Byakuya's back was turned towards the door, apparently asleep. Ichigo moved into the room.
"Hey."
Rukia turned. "Oh, hey." She looked him up and down. "Did Unohana tell you that you could get up?"
"More or less." He gestured to the crutch under his arm. "She wants me to use this."
"Hm." Rukia looked back at her brother.
"Have you been to see Renji yet?"
"No. I've been here with Byakuya. I don't have to see him. I can hear him down the hall. He needs to quit complaining so much."
"He wouldn't be complaining so much if you went to see him. It's you he's looking for."
She folded her arms. "That may be, but he also wants to stop being babied so much and he also wants to see Byakuya who isn't allowed to leave the room, either. He can wait. Or he can do what the nurses tell him to do. He's too stubborn."
"Well, look at his captain. Byakuya can't be easy to put up with either."
Rukia turned to him, glaring. "That is not true. Byakuya is a kind and fair person."
"You're only saying that because he's rich and you're living with him. I know Byakuya's just as stubborn as Renji. He never bends when it comes to certain things. I think he's just as big an idiot as Renji sometimes."
"I'm not asleep, you know," Byakuya said from his bed, back still facing the door. He was awake this whole time and heard every word.
But Ichigo didn't care. "Oh, well. Sorry, I guess. But you know it's true."
"You confuse pride with stubbornness."
"I doubt it." Ichigo looked at the empty bowl on the table and the half empty glass of water. It seemed that Byakuya had gotten his appetite back. The fact that he was still awake also proved that he was doing much better than before. "Rukia, have you left this room at all?"
"Not lately. Why?"
"I was wondering if you knew where Linnette had gone to."
"I have no idea. I know she was with Hanataro earlier, but now I'm not sure."
"And the others?"
"I couldn't tell you."
Ichigo looked out the window. "Has everyone been found?"
Rukia followed his gaze to the window. "Everyone's accounted for, it seems. There's a team searching the buildings and sewers for anyone who may have been missed. Cedric's helping with that, I know."
"But you don't know where Victor is?"
"No idea. Maybe he's with Linnette somewhere. " Rukia moved the sheets over Byakuya's exposed shoulder. "When she started singing, a lot of Hollow Reapers were lured out and followed her. That made things easier for us."
Ichigo nodded. "Well, I'm going off to look for them."
"Ok. See you."
Ichigo left the room, knowing that she was too preoccupied with her brother to care what he was setting out to do. Ichigo passed the room Renji was in, finding him on the floor and the nurses picking him up and ordering him not to leave the bed again.
He went down to another floor and looked into one of the rooms. Rangiku was sitting beside Hitsugaya who kept fading in and out. She smiled when she saw Ichigo.
"How is he?" Ichigo asked.
She looked back at her captain. "So-so. He was asking for Momo before."
"I want to know if I hurt her," Hitsugaya murmured. "I remember seeing her before everything went dark on me."
"Captain, you were not in control of your actions."
He turned away. "I know I bit her. I know I hurt her. I know I did." He shut his eyes. "I didn't want to but I couldn't stop myself."
"She's fine. And there's no hard feelings. She's doing just fine. You don't have to worry."
He said nothing and pulled the sheets over his head.
"Don't be like that, Captain. Please." She stroked the lumps under the sheets, rubbing his shoulder and back. "It's ok. Don't be so hard on yourself. Momo told me that you tried to warn her but she didn't listen. She says it's more her fault than yours."
Ichigo moved closer. "Um…"
"Yes?"
"I was wondering if you've seen Linnette or the two men that are always with her."
"Um…" She put a finger to her chin thoughtfully. "Um… Oh, yes, I have! That handsome man in the suit went with Nemu a while ago. It looked like she was taking him to the lab with her. What's left of it."
That was strange. "Why would Victor go with her there, of all places?"
"Who knows?" Rangiku went back to rubbing her captain's back. "I'm sure you can catch up with them and ask. Just go that way and keep heading east of here. Or ask someone outside. I'm sure you'll find someone who can help you find them."
"Thanks." Ichigo left the room on his crutch and went down the hall.
Once outside, he found rows upon rows of Soul Reapers laying on the ground on makeshift beds and tarps, all being nursed by healthy Soul Reapers. Many of them were members of Squad 4 but other helpers were from other Squads who wanted to help out. Ichigo didn't see Cedric anywhere. He must have been somewhere else. He tapped a passerby and asked if they saw Nemu and a man pass by. They nodded and pointed him in the right direction.
After asking several other people and being pointed in the proper direction, Ichigo found himself outside of Squad 12's lab. Due to there being a gigantic hole in Research and Development, they were forced to use another lab instead. This was Mayuri's back-up lab, so Ichigo was told. Mayuri always kept a backup of everything just in case.
Ichigo spotted Nemu hurrying down the hall with something in her hands. "Hey!" Ichigo called and hobbled over to her on his crutch. She stopped and turned his way. "Where's Victor?"
She pointed down the path she was on. "I'm heading there right now if you'd like to follow."
"Yes, thank you."
Ichigo was led into the building and into a dark room piled high with all sorts of technology, many of which Ichigo had never seen before. Scary-looking contraptions were everywhere and a fowl stench filled the air. Ichigo walked by a container that smelled pungently of melted batteries and tar. Another container smelled strongly of acid and another of vomit. He didn't dare question what they were out of fear that it was worse than how they smelled.
In the middle of it all was the Captain of Squad 12 himself. Ichigo could just barely make him out over all the objects in the room, obscuring his view. As he moved closer he could clearly make out the captain running around the room, pushing buttons and pulling switches and rushing back to a table in the middle of the room. On that table was the man in the white suit. Only he wasn't wearing his jacket, shirt or tie. His bare chest and the rest of his body was strapped to the table with different tools pointed at his upper body.
"Victor!"
Mayuri looked up and growled. "Oh, who let you in here? Nemu! Nemu, where are you, you worthless girl? Where are the things I sent you for?"
Ichigo approached the table and found Victor looking up at him calmly, as if he didn't notice the thick leather straps pinning him down. "Oh, hello. Nice to see you up and about."
"What the hell are you doing here? This is Mayuri's lab!"
"Yes, I'm aware of that. He invited me here."
"Invited you?"
"Yes. Nemu said that he wanted to study me for a bit. I agreed."
"Why the hell would you do that?" Ichigo snapped.
"Because he said that he was interested in me." Victor looked behind Ichigo at a chair. "It shouldn't be for much longer. If you like, you can sit right over there where my jacket is.
Ichigo turned around at the jacket, shirt and tie neatly folded on the chair behind him, out of the way. Ichigo turned back to him. "Who in their right mind would willingly come into his lab? Mayuri's a freak."
"He's just curious." Victor smiled. "He wanted to study my anatomy."
Mayuri approached the other side of the table. "Fine, Kurosaki, you can stay here, but keep out of my way. I'm a very busy man." He held up a syringe with bubbling fluid inside. "Now, keep still while I inject this."
Ichigo's eyes grew wide. "Whoa! What the hell are you doing? I thought you were studying him!"
"I am, I am."
"It looks like you're tinkering with him!"
"It's just a test." He tried to stab Victor with the needle but the tip broke off the moment it made contact with his skin. Mayuri pulled the needle away and looked at the broken tip. "Huh. Interesting. I managed to stab you successfully with a knife before yet a needle doesn't work on you. That's very strange."
Victor shrugged his shoulders. "I'm learning things as well, here. No one's tried to inject me before. Is there anything else?"
Mayuri tossed the needle away. "Yes, as a matter of fact…" He turned around and lifted up a strange object, setting it down on Victor's chest. "I'd like to make another attempt to get at your insides."
"Go for it."
"What?!" Ichigo yelped.
Mayuri attached the device up to Victor's chest. Two large daggers with metal claws on the ends stabbed Victor's chest and started to pull in opposite directions, in an attempt to rip open Victor's chest. All they did was drag slowly across his flesh, leaving behind no cut before finally snapping and falling apart. Mayuri watched his machine fall to the floor in pieces showing no signs of anger, only mild frustration. "Interesting…" He traced a line over Victor's chest. "There's nothing there."
Victor closed his eyes calmly, knowing that this would happen. "Are we finished now?"
"Quite the contrary. I've still got a few more tests to run." Mayuri called Nemu over and she held up a box of objects which Mayuri started to take out one by one and use on Victor, still trying to open his chest. None of the objects worked. "This is fascinating… Though I stab you and trace a line across your flesh, you leave no marks having shown you've been cut. This isn't regeneration. This is something else."
He stabbed Victor again and watched as no making were left behind. Victor barely made a sound as he was repeatedly stabbed by various tools.
"It's like watching water rippling. You stab water and drag your blade through it, but it causes no damage. You're not cutting the water. The surface remains the same. Only ripples show. I can see your flesh moving but there's no cut or blood. It's just like cutting water. You stab water straight down and lift out the blade and there's no hole in the water. It's the same. This is remarkable." Mayuri stabbed Victor with his final tool and tossed it aside.
"Are you done yet?" Ichigo asked this time.
Mayuri examined Victor's undamaged body and nodded to himself. "Just one last thing." He turned around and disappeared under the table. Ichigo stood on his toes to get a look at what he was doing. All he could make out was the top of Mayuri's back. Then he stood up and raised a chainsaw over his shoulder. "Keep still."
"Whoa! Whoa!" Ichigo threw his arm out in a futile attempt to protect Victor without thinking. "What the hell are you doing?"
Mayuri brought the chainsaw down and Ichigo ducked in cover. The fast moving chains made contact with Victor's throat and buzzed nosily. Victor didn't flinch once. He stared at the ceiling calmly and waited. The saw buzzed then whirled and finally broke down with a clang. Mayuri pulled the weapon away and gawked at the chipped and mangled teeth on the saw. It was as if he had just attempted to cut into a block of steel. Then he looked at the man on the table. There were no marks. As usual.
Victor then turned his head and looked at Mayuri with a calm grin. "Are we finished?"
Sighing in defeat, the captain dropped the chainsaw on the floor and kicked it over to Nemu for her to take care of. "I suppose." He started to untie him from the table and Victor sat up, completely unharmed.
Victor waited for Mayuri to untie his legs even though he could have easily broken out of his restraints at any moment. Once he was freed, he walked over to the chair behind Ichigo and started to get dressed. He tucked in his shirt and started to fasten his tie when he looked over his shoulder at Ichigo. "Do you know where Linnette is at the moment?"
"Not a clue. But Cedric is supposed to be helping the others."
"Ah." Victor grabbed his jacket and slipped it on. "I last left her with Hanataro but that was a while ago. I'm sure she's fine. Still, I should look for her." He buttoned the jacket in front and smoothed the material over his body, making sure everything was in place. He looked at his reflection in a beaker, combing his hair into place with his fingers.
Mayuri stepped behind Victor with Nemu not far behind holding a clipboard. "Just a few last questions."
Victor looked at Mayuri's reflection. "More? You've been asking me things for the past hour, I'm sure. You haven't gotten enough yet?"
Mayuri snapped his fingers and Nemu prepared to jot down the notes. "Just a few more. Now… Does your hair grow?"
Victor picked up a strand of hair and examined its length. "Yes. I get my hair cut every now and again."
"How often?"
"Once or twice a month, I suppose."
"What about shaving? If your hair grows then what about facial hair?"
Victor ran a hand over his chin. "I've never needed to before. I never noticed."
Mayuri looked surprised. "So your hair grows, but you can't grow hair on your face?"
He shrugged. "Linnette never did like facial hair on men. I guess she likes the clean-cut look. I've never had even a stubble before. Not that I mind. I like the way I look. It's who I am. Or at least a reflection of it."
"Yeah, uh-huh." Mayuri wanted to get back to business. "What about height?"
"No, that never changes."
"Not even your appearance?"
"Not that I've seen in the past 6 years I've been alive. I never age."
"And hunger?"
"Have never experienced it. I do enjoy wine, however. I have quite a collection of it back home."
"But you don't need to drink?"
"No. I just enjoy the taste."
Nemu scribbled down the notes.
"If that's all you have, you must be one tipsy parent."
Victor turned around with a smile. "Actually, I've never been drunk before. I have no idea what that feels like."
Mayuri blinked. "Not ever?"
"No. I once drank an entire bottle of wine in one sitting and nothing happened as a result. There were no ill effects at all."
"Nothing?"
"Nothing at all."
"Huh." He motioned for Nemu to write this down. "Now, uh… Even if you can't, or rather, have no need for food, you can eat, correct?"
"Yes. And I have before."
"Can you taste the food?"
"Yes. If I can taste wine, I should be able to taste the food I consume."
"Good point." Mayuri thought of another question. "During all that…" He motion towards the table and the tools laying in a pile on the floor. "Did you feel any of that?"
"Yes."
"So you can feel pain?"
"Yes. It usually takes a lot before I react, however."
"You didn't yell at all during all that."
"Should I have?" Victor asked. "I felt it, but that wasn't anything major."
Ichigo sighed. That wasn't major to him? He wanted Victor to say that to any of Mayuri's last victims.
"Now then…" Mayuri looked at the notes Nemu had been taking. "So far, I've crushed you, I've stretched you, I've twisted you, I've stabbed you, I've cut you or at least tried to, and I've spun you in a high velocity machine and I've drowned you and hung you upside down for at least an hour, I've burned you and, according to this, electrocuted you… And you're still here. Nothing I've done has caused you any damage at all."
Victor looked mildly flattered by this. To him, this was nothing out of the ordinary.
"And your partner is the same?"
"Yes. He should be. We've displayed the same powers and abilities."
"So…" Mayuri tapped the clipboard with his middle finger. Nemu got ready to take notes. "This other man… What's his name again?"
"Cedric."
"And you both have a… daughter?"
"It's a little more complicated than that," Victor chuckled.
"Yeah, yeah, created you, human… I know that already. Blah, blah. But… Cedric… Is he… your partner, you said?"
"Yes."
"That kind of partner?"
Victor tilted his head to one side. "I'm not following."
"If you're both taking care of a girl and living together as a family and you're both the parents of said girl, wouldn't that make you two… you know?"
Victor frowned in confusion.
Mayuri rolled his eyes. "Are you two love partners?"
"Love..?" Victor's eyes went wide. "Hardly! That's not it at all."
"So you're not in love with each other?"
"No!"
"But he's your partner and you have a child and have a family together… so…"
"If you had to categorize the relationship we have, Cedric's more of my brother than anything else."
"Your brother?"
"Yes," Victor answered. "We were both created the same way from the same person. We are the same while being our own person. He is my brother."
"Ok." He looked at Nemu and whispered, "Cross out 'homosexual' on there, would you," and then faced Victor again. "So… A brother, huh? Who's older?"
Victor had to think about this one. "Well, physically, he is. He's closer to 30 where I'm closer to 25... I think. However, I was created before him and therefore, born first, so technically, I'm older."
"I see." Mayuri looked at the clipboard again. "So…" he said while reading the notes. "Do you… You said that you have emotions, right?"
"Yes."
"Then you feel love. Yes?"
Victor smiled. "Yes." His blue eyes started to sparkle. "I love my sweet little Linnette."
"Uh-huh, yeah, that's great. But have you ever felt love for another?"
Victor's smile started to fade. "Actually… no. I haven't."
"You've never felt anything towards a woman your age or otherwise?"
"No, never." Victor's smile was back. "The love I feel is for Linnette alone. I've never felt anything stronger or just as strong for anyone else."
"Not even your brother?"
"No. I enjoy his company and have a different kind of… love, I guess you would say towards him. We've grown close and I enjoy his company like I said, but I feel no affection towards him at all. I feel more comfortable saying that I like him rather than love him. Unless you would be willing to accept a different, not as passionate love for him."
"Ok." Mayuri had Nemu write something else down then nodded. "So all you feel is love for her and no one else."
"Never have."
"And you've only been affectionate with her?"
"That's correct."
"And even seeing pretty women on the street, you've never felt anything towards them at all?"
"No."
"What about men?"
Victor frowned. "Must we do this?"
"Just answer the question."
"No, I have not. I've never felt love towards a man or woman other than Linnette." Now he looked annoyed. "Are we through?"
"Just one final question, I promise." Mayuri got close to Victor's face and asked him his final question softly but seriously. "You feel a connection with Linnette, isn't that right?" His voice sounded cryptic. "You protect her, love her and are always with her. And when she's in danger, you come to become her shield. Whenever she calls, you come. You do as she says. Is that right?"
Victor nodded. "Yes. That is a part of our relationship."
Mayuri looked him up and down and then nodded. "I see." He stepped back. "Ok. That should be enough for now. You may go now."
Victor bowed his head. "Thank you." He started towards the door, stopping to look at the teen standing beside him. "Are you coming?"
Ichigo hesitated. He wanted to find out more about why Mayuri was running all these tests and asking questions. "I'll catch up. I just want to talk to him for a minute."
The man nodded and walked away. "I'll be seeing you, then." He opened the door and walked out, closing it behind him.
Ichigo then turned and looked at the Captain looking over the notes Nemu took, adding them to a pile of papers he had set aside; most likely notes taken from earlier. He stood behind him, saying nothing. Then Mayuri took notice of him and responded with an irritated, "What?"
"What the hell were you doing to Victor?"
Mayuri faced away, looking over his papers and walking over to a large computer built into the wall. "I was interested in him. He's unlike anything I've seen before. His powers are incredible. I had to study him and test his abilities."
"Oh, so you're interested in him and not Linnette? She's the one who made him, after all."
"So what? She's a mere human. I have no interest in something so simple. Him, on the other hand…" Mayuri started to type things into the computer, glancing at his notes every now and again. He started smiling. "He truly is amazing. I like him a lot."
Ichigo moaned. That was never a good sign. If Mayuri liked him, that was bad news.
"His strength is amazing. Speed is incomparable. He's incredible. Simply wonderful. He's inhuman while having all the same emotions as a normal human would possess. His thought process is also unique. He's an individual. Despite being created to perform certain actions, he's capable of thinking and acting for himself."
Ichigo looked around the room while Mayuri talked, trying to ignore the fowl smells wafting through the thick air. Then Mayuri laughed and set the notes aside.
"Why, if I wasn't so certain he would rip me in half, I would purposely put that girl in danger just to see what he would do. That would be something."
"So you would put her in danger just to run some tests on him?" Ichigo was outraged.
Mayuri treated it as if it were no different from stealing a child's toy. "Big deal. I would try not to kill her. She's only human so what do I care?" He looked at the screen in front of him with a smile. "Still, this man is wonderful. All this information… I've never seen anything like it. No matter what I try, I can't cut into him. I can't get him to bleed. He has no blood, yet he has organs like a normal human being and they all function perfectly. How they are able to function without blood is beyond me which makes it so interesting. He has a heart and lungs and bones. I could feel them. I could hear them working. And just to be safe, I scanned him. Everything's there and working normally. Though I doubt that he even needs them. He may have lungs but he didn't need to breathe when I held him under water for a half hour. He surfaced with no issue whatsoever. Amazing!"
"Yeah, yeah…" said Ichigo, bored. "And he doesn't eat or sleep, I know. I've heard it all before. This is old news for me."
"Well, I've never had the pleasure to have him in my lab before. This is an exclusive for me." He looked at the screen with big eyes, as if looking upon a masterpiece. "A near perfect being. I simply hate perfection. There's nothing to come of it. But him… He's different. Though he seems to be perfect, he's flawed. It's incredible, really. Simply incredible. He has imperfections and there's room for improvement in areas though I don't possess the power to change him." He typed in something else on the screen and stepped back. "He only feels love for one and that's the girl who created him. And though he has working organs, he is incapable of reproducing."
"I don't even want to know how you figured that out," Ichigo groaned, looking away from the screen.
"This is science, boy! Think!" He clicked several buttons and the information on the screen disappeared. "I wish I knew more about these men. This is interesting. Very interesting."
Seeing how Mayuri was beside himself with joy and wonder, Ichigo felt the need to ask something that he had been wondering ever since he learned that Mayuri was running tests on Victor. "So… Out of all the information you have… Did you happen to find out what they were?"
"Eh?" Mayuri looked up.
"What I mean is… Everyone says that they're just Linnette's imaginary friends come to life."
The captain scoffed. "Imaginary friends… What a complete load. This goes far beyond such a thing. There's more to them than that."
"Then you know what they are?" Ichigo wanted to know. Victor and Cedric spent many sleepless nights trying to categorize themselves as well. It would be nice to know just what they were.
Mayuri looked at the notes by his hand. "Well… They're inconsistent with a lot of things I thought they would be. They're not human, that's for sure, though they may appear it. But after many, many tests, there's only one logical conclusion I could come up with. Based off what I've seen, what I've heard and after all the tests were finished, I think I've narrowed down what they are. I think I understand their purpose and their reason for being. Their relationship, the one with the girl and the one with each other. I think I know what they are."
"Good." Ichigo was dying to know what the captain had come up with. "Then what are they?"
Mayuri lifted his head and looked into Ichigo's eyes, completely serious. "They're her Zanpakuto."
Holy crap! What?!
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