Oops, I swear I'm not abandoning this story. Thank you for reading this far - and for sticking with me even though the uploads are few and far between. Act 4 Part 2 will be uploaded soon. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Act 4

4.1

The rain knocked on his window in waves as a storm began to roll through Karakura. Uryu tossed and turned, trying to find a somewhat comfortable position to lie in. He needed to be less picky considering he only had about four hours to sleep before class. Five hours if he skipped the shower and first period. He laid on his right side and forced his entire body to relax. He wasn't comfortable, but that wouldn't matter once he was asleep.

A jarring crash of lightning sent a jolt of adrenaline through his veins and shook all thoughts of sleep from his body. He sighed and sat up; if he was awake he should at least do something productive.

Uryu got out of bed, rubbing his eyes as he walked over to the small desk crammed into the corner of his box of an apartment. A textbook had been left open, it's heavy pages preventing it from shutting on its own. He picked up his glasses, which he'd left next to the book before getting ready for bed. His room came into focus as he put the glasses on. He sat and started leafing through the pages to at least give himself the illusion of studying. The knocking of rain continued to sound through the apartment, thunder crashing somewhere far away.

The knocking became more persistent. Uryu tuned into the noise-now a fist on his front door. Insistent. He took a moment to feel the signature of the person behind the door: it was Kurosaki. He should've known-no one else would pound on his door at this hour. No one else even knew where he lived. He sighed and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. He wanted to leave Kurosaki out in the rain, but the neighbors would complain if he kept knocking like that. And the supper didn't need a reminder that he was, once again, late on the rent.

Uryu got up and went to the door. He took a grounding breath before opening the door. Ichigo stood with a hunch, drenched from the heavy rain. His scowl promised death if Uryu so much as commented on his appearance. But, in all honesty, he was in a mood to fight.

"Have you ever heard of an umbrella?" Kurosaki glowered and pushed his way inside. Uryu let out a small huff of annoyance and closed the door. Kurosaki at least had the decency to stay in the tiny entrance and not soak the carpet. "I'll get you a towel; take off your shoes." Kurosaki did as he was told and Uryu quickly returned with a towel. He dried his hair and patted at his clothes. Uryu took the time to look him over. Kurosaki was being surprisingly pitiful. He had come here in only a t-shirt, jeans, and his torn-up sneakers: no jacket, no boots, no umbrella. Uryu forced his face to relax out of his normally sharp expression. "Get in the shower and warm up. I'll get you something to sleep in."

Uryu woke up with a start. That dream was more of a memory. Something that had happened a while ago on the last truly stormy night in Karakura. Tonight also seemed to be like that. There was rain, though this time it was gently tapping his window instead of pounding on it. A flash of lightning filled his room, but there was no immediate sound of thunder. He laid back down and let himself be comforted by the tapping of the rain and the warmth beside him. The warmth-"did I wake you?"

Szayel was reading, the little bedside lamp turned on. Uryu was curled into his side with an arm across his waist. The position didn't bother him. "No, it was just the rain." Szayel hummed in agreement, the vibrations tickling Uryu's face. He started nodding off as the sound of thunder echoed in his room.

Uryu shot out of bed. He was breathing fast, short shallow breaths, getting dizzy with the beginnings of hyperventilation. He forced himself to sit down on the side of the bed, to try and calm his erratic breathing. There had been two this time. Two nightmares-or rather, two dreams for they weren't even scary in nature. But the implications of the second… Uryu felt dizzy again. They had seemed like lov-no. He wasn't even going to think that. It was just a dream and dreams meant absolutely nothing. Still, the first hadn't even been a dream. Rather, a memory. What had Ichigo been so upset about? It was hard to remember it, even after he had remembered so many details…

There was a small noise that caused Uryu's head to snap towards the door. A tray of food was unceremoniously pushed through, somehow landing properly on the floor. Uryu got up as the opening closed. There was a sandwich, canned coffee, and two bottles of water. There was no message, but Uryu understood what it meant; he wouldn't be seeing Szayel today.

4.2

Uryu had been given seven meals now and he still hadn't seen Szayel. The meals were coming through a prison-like slit in his otherwise sealed door and usually were slid in so quickly he couldn't even try to communicate with the deliverer. In an attempt to demand Szayel's attention, not that he wanted the man's attention per say, he was reading by the door. He had been stationed on the floor since he woke up in a cold sweat.

It was the dreams. While the nightmares kept him up at night, the dreams made him sweat in the morning. They were too sweet. Too relaxing and chillingly deluded. He had to focus on something else or he'd suffer the entire day.

There was a noise outside; he put his book down and stood in preparation. The slot opened and a tray was once again pushed through. Uryu hit the tray to the ground and grabbed through the slot to clasp a surprisingly large hand. The hand was cold, like Szayel's, but it was much too large to be his.

"Jeagerjaques?" The man was silent, but Uryu could feel his impatience. "Why are you here and not Granz?" Uryu's grip was tight, but he was aware that Jeagerjaques could easily shake him off-something that Jeagerjaques hadn't done yet. He was willing to talk. "And why is an Espada of your prowess hiding behind walls?" This wouldn't work on Szayel, or anyone with an IQ above 70, but it might work on the brawny Espada. "Are you afraid of a powerless Quincy?" Grimmjow pulled his hand away, Uryu following suit just before the door opened. He almost laughed; of course, it worked.

Grimmjow was taller than he had thought. Having only seen him standing next to Chad, Uryu had assumed they were closer in height. But, being beside him now, it was clear the Espada was a good five inches taller than himself. He also had a more muscular build and appeared to be almost twice his current weight. Standing next to Szayel… his weight loss hadn't been so apparent. Now, he was forced to see the sickly state of his body.

Grimmjow tossed him a once over, making Uryu straighten up on reflex. His eyes weren't as critical as Ryukens, but they were challenging enough to cut through Uryu's internal monologue. Determining that he wasn't a threat, Grimmjow seemed to relax and walked further into the room. He made his way to the mouse cage and squatted, then poked at the glass in lieu of a question.

"They're mice. They come from-" He was cut off with an annoyed glance.

"I know what they are. I've been to the human world." Grimmjow stood up and gave Uryu another assessing glance. "You're the smart one, right? Out of the humans who came here-you're the smart one?"

The comment didn't feel so much like a compliment, but rather a denouncement of the others he traveled with. "Inoue-chan is brilliant and I wouldn't underestimate Sado's level of intelligence. I am smart; so are they."

A large, toothy smirk overtook the Espada's face, "you didn't mention Ichigo."

Uryu refrained from falling into the pleasant lull of the conversation, "take that as you will." Uryu reconsidered. "What Kurosaki lacks in tactical intelligence, he makes up for with pure strength and natural ability. He's not to be scoffed at."

"I didn't," Grimmjow straightened his back and tipped up his head, in a mock version of Uryu's stance, "scoff." He relaxed back into his normal idiosyncrasies, "and he's not that strong."

It was Uryu's turn to smirk, "he beat you, didn't he?"

Uryu's back was suddenly slammed into the wall. His vision was clouded, most likely due to the speed at which his head snapped back to the wall. There was a hand around his neck, too, but the pressure wasn't strong enough to choke him. Still, the threat was very real. His vision loosely focused on the Espada in front of him. Grimmjow's scowl resembled Ichigo's but contained more malice than could live on Ichigo's face.

"You're the smart one. That's what he said, so you should be smart enough to watch your fucking mouth." Grimmjow's hand slightly tightened. He wanted fear, he wanted to be in control.

Uryu refused to give in. "I'm smart enough to know you won't kill me." Grimmjow's grip tightened around his neck, but Uryu made no attempt at an apology.

Grimmjow let go and sat over on the bed. Uryu refrained from rubbing his neck. "I don't want to kill you. That doesn't mean I won't if you piss me off again."

Uryu lifted an eyebrow in challenge. "If Kurosaki beat you, so can I."

Another once over, this time the glance was a much fuller investigation. Grimmjow had dismissed him earlier, but now he was reconsidering. Still, Uryu was talking an awful big game for how much power he currently had. He was lucky Grimmjow was such an idiot or else he would probably have been killed by now. Grimmjow huffed a single laugh, smirk reappearing on his face, "so you're bitchy, guess he likes that type."

Uryu glared, wanting to attack Grimmjow the way he'd been attacked before, but knowing better. He crossed his arms, "I'd rather be bitchy than weak." Grimmjow shrugged in what Uryu assumed was agreement. Grimmjow was annoying like Ichigo. Ichigo would be moody and quiet, then suddenly pissed about something Uryu was doing or not doing or had done last week. It never made much sense to Uryu, how a man could be so filled with passion and life and yet have a permanent scowl on his face and silently sit in the back of a crowded class.

Grimmjow waved a hand in front of his face, making Uryu stagger back. When had he moved? Did he have his powers despite the seal? Or-he was spacing out. Grimmjow had moved while he was thinking about Ichigo. That could've cost him his life. Uryu clenched his teeth and walked out of the corner he'd forced himself into. That was the most dangerous thing he'd done in a while. He needed to remain alert while in the presence of an Espada.

"What's he done to you?" Uryu raised an eyebrow. Grimmjow's tone had been serious, though not necessarily solemn, and the question confused him. Grimmjow seemed to understand. "The freak that's locked you up here. What kind of experiments has he done?"

Uryu felt his heartbeat speed up. He went to push up his glasses in a panic, forgetting they had been taken so long ago. He pinched his nose to try and look… annoyed? Tired? What exactly was he going for? "Why are you asking?"

Grimmjow shrugged, "making conversation."

Uryu glared, "you're not the type to make conversation." He crossed his arms and straightened his back, though when it had relaxed was anybody's guess. "Why are you asking?" Grimmjow sighed and made his way back to the door. He lifted his hand as if to open it, Uryu's heart sped up once more, "wait." Grimmjow put his hand down and turned to face Uryu. This time, Uryu sighed. He had been bested by an idiot. "I'll answer your questions," Grimmjow smirked, Uryu took time to think. He wanted Grimmjow to stay because of boredom and loneliness, but for something else, too, "if you answer mine."

Grimmjow's smirk faded; he was just as suspicious as Uryu. "What do you want to know?"

He wanted to know that everyone was safe. He wanted to know if Chad was the only other one in Hueco Mundo or if everyone else was here as well. He wanted to know how long he'd been here. He wanted to know if anyone was looking for him. He wanted to know if he'd ever-He calmed his racing thoughts. The most important thing to figure out is, "who is still alive?"

Grimmjow didn't hesitate, "can't say."

Had Szayel told him not to? Grimmjow didn't look like the type to follow orders, but it seemed like he needed Szayel's help and Szayel wouldn't provide without conditions. There had to be some things he wouldn't be able to tell Uryu, but Uryu had to ask just in case. "Is the war over?"

"Can't say."

"Who else is in Hueco Mundo?"

"Can't-"

"Then what can you tell me?" He blurted out. "What makes this conversation beneficial for me?" Grimmjow was silent, he didn't even move or fidget. Uryu rolled his eyes at the lack of response. "Fine. I don't need to know anything. But I'm not going to tell you anything either. You can leave if you want."

"Sado is doing fine."

Uryu looked at him. Grimmjow seemed serious. "By fine, you mean-"

"I feed him, I get him water, he's sleeping alright, he hasn't gotten hurt by any Hollow-I even stitched him up from his previous fight. Sado is fine. What does that information buy me?"

Uryu looked him over and uncrossed his arms, speaking before fully deciding if he could trust the Espada's words, "there's only been two real experiments and only one of them officially ended. The second experiment was to test how circumstances and stakes affect my Quincy abilities. I'm still unsure as to what the first one accomplished."

Grimmjow let that smirk slide back onto his face, "ok. So what has he been doing with the rest of your time?"

"Do you have anything else for me?" Grimmjow raised an eyebrow. "I didn't think so. I have nothing else for you, if you have nothing for me."

Grimmjow shrugged, "it's not like I wanted to talk with you in the first place. You're the lonely one, here."

Uryu glared, but couldn't refute the Espada's claim. He'd been alone for longer before, but there had been the availability to stop in at a coffee bar or to even ask Inoue for help on his homework over the phone just to hear someone's voice. Here, all he had was Szayel. And all Szayel had was him. Embarrassingly enough, he didn't hate having so much of the man's attention. Without it, he felt lonelier than ever before. Lonely enough to prolong a conversation with Grimmjow Jeagerjaques.

No. He wouldn't sink so low as to-as to need something from this Espada. Especially not his attention. He couldn't control what he wanted, but he'd be damned to let the Espada know what that was. "Sure, I'm lonely. I've been here for I don't know how long and the only thing that I've interacted with has been the Eighth Espada. I'm lonely and I want to see someone-anyone-but you are not someone. You're not human."

"I never claimed to be." Uryu's head whipped around to view Szayel, standing tall in the open doorway. He moved into the room, communicating something to Jeagerjaques in a look. Jeagerjaques slinked out of the room, his head high. Uryu took the time to breathe, allowing the air to completely fill his lungs before slowly releasing in an effort to calm himself down. He'd shouted too much recently. He needed to get a handle on his emotions. "I am the Octava Espada, or did that slip your mind?"

"It didn't "slip my mind." My conversation with Jeagerjaques was with Jeagerjaques. It wasn't meant for you." Uryu took another breath, thinking as quickly as he could. "But what I said does apply. I'm lonely. I haven't talked to a human in a very long time."

Szayel frowned, "and why would you need or even want to talk to a human? I'm much more stimulating company."

Uryu glared, "there are things you can't offer me." Szayel was taken aback. What more could there be? What wasn't he doing? "But, if you'd let me spend time with Sado-"

"No." Szayel looked like a pouting child.

Uryu was not amused, "why not? We're both powerless, it's not as if we can plan a revolt." Szayel was silent, further pissing Uryu off. "What's wrong with you? You haven't even seen me since then and now you're refusing to let me talk to the one other human in Hueco Mundo?!" He was worked up again, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. His clouded thoughts almost stopped him from remembering. "But we're not. We're not the only two people in Hueco Mundo." Uryu glared and took a step forward. "You have more people here. The person who died… there has to be more." Szayel stayed silent. Uryu came towards him and pushed at his shoulders. "An experiment only works with multiple trials, there has to be more!" Uryu pushed him again, but Szayel caught his arms. He tried to pull free, but Szayel held tight.

"There are more." Szayel looked at him with heavy eyes. "There are more people here besides you and Sado. What," Szayel pulled him closer, "did you think I'd listen to your every command?" He pulled Uryu a bit closer, then threw him to the floor. "Don't mouth off to me. And don't mouth off to Jeagerjaques."

"What gives you the-!" When Uryu finally got back up, Szayel was already gone.

5.3

Uryu sat at his dining room table, both legs underneath his small frame to boost him high enough to reach his bowl. Mackerel miso stew, his favorite, steamed in front of him. But there was no smell, despite the fact that the stew had a tendency of spreading throughout the entire house. His small hand reached out to grab his chopsticks, the sticks being far too large for his uncoordinated hands. He grabbed at a piece of mackerel and was careful not to spill anything on the white table cloth as he brought the piece into his mouth. It wasn't right. He chewed some and then took his napkin and spit the fish into it. It had no taste.

Ryuken sat across from him, no meal set before him. He was tall, sitting high without the use of his feet, staring down at Uryu. "Do you have any manners?"

Uryu's body flashed hot and cold, the familiar fingers of panic taking hold. Why would he do that? He couldn't give Ryuken the satisfaction of messing up. Of being uncouth. Even in his own house at 6 years old.

Ryuken sighed, "Uryu, are you even listening to me? Just how disrespectful can a child be?" Uryu kept his head down, trying to not instigate. Mom always said that if Dad was in a prodding mood, just let him talk without argument. It would end faster if he just accepted it with his head down. "Uryu." If Ryuken would just let it go. "Uryu." Uryu closed his eyes, wishing he could leave the table. "Ishida!"

Uryu shot up, breathing fast, and looked around the room for his father's intimidating frame. Instead, his teary eyes were greeted by Chad's soft gaze. "Ishida, are you alright?" His face was wet, those tears finally falling down his boney cheeks. Chad's usually hard to read face showed his shock at his friend's breakdown. But against all forms of behavior Ryuken had drilled into him, he let the tears fall without making an attempt to wipe them away.

Chad seemed to pull himself out of his shock, making a move he'd never made before. He moved to sit against the wall beside where Uryu had fallen asleep on the floor and moved Uryu to sit in between his legs. Neither one of them ever understood how to make a physical gesture, but Chad hoped this would be accepted.

Uryu did accept the gesture, after tensing every muscle in his body for at least a minute. Chad was warm; hardly anything in Hueco Mundo was warm. He leaned back into the heat as his tears stopped flowing. His breathing slowly returned to normal. Everything was fine-well, as fine as it could be right now. Uryu pulled his legs up and wrapped his arms around them, a defenseless and small version of himself on display. At least he'd finished crying. "I'm alright, Sado. It's just… I've been here too long."

Chad grunted in agreement, then thought to use his words. "I've been underground. In Hueco Mundo. With Jeagerjaques. It hasn't been that bad. Just a lot of fighting, but Jeagerjaques does most of that. His pride…" Chad stopped talking. Despite the odd trailing of his sentence, he was done. Uryu smiled, Chad was alright.

But that knowledge wasn't enough. "Do you know anything? About what's happening at home? About the war? If everyone's alright? Or if anyone is coming for us?"

Chad shook his head, then realized Uryu couldn't see him. "No. I woke up. I had thought an Espada killed me, but I woke up underneath Hueco Mundo. With Jeagerjaques. He had healed me. And he told me that he would hold onto me until he was ready to fight Ichigo again. That I could help lure Ichigo back… so I guess Ichigo isn't here. But he's probably alright if Jeagerjaques is still planning on fighting him."

Uryu scrunched his eyebrows in thought, "but what about the war? Why isn't Jeagerjaques still fighting?"

"He never planned on staying loyal to Aizen. He didn't want to serve Aizen; he left when he could. Aizen never came for him, but that could be because he doesn't care. Or because he's not in Hueco Mundo. And, after we got here… Jeagerjaques hasn't told me anything. He said he can't or we'll be kicked out."

"And why did he come here?"

"Granz is smarter than him. He thinks Granz can figure out how to get Ichigo back here for a fight."

Uryu laughed, "Kurosaki would fight a child if it dared him. It shouldn't be difficult to get a rematch." Unless the war was still going on. Ichigo wasn't dumb enough to come back to Hueco Mundo and fight Grimmjow while Aizen was still on the attack. Or, if Ichigo was dead, then he wouldn't-

"Ishida." Chad's hands landed on his arms, comforting rather than constricting. It felt like an anxiety blanket: warm, heavy… nice. Chad was always nice. "I'm not sure what's happened to you here." Uryu tensed up between his hands. A familiar hot/cold panic rushed through him. That happened a lot lately. "But we're going to get out of here. Ichigo will come for us as soon as he can." Chad must've felt something, though if it was fear or doubt, Uryu was unsure. But whatever he felt caused him to change his words. "Someone will come for us." He took a second to think. When he spoke next, he sounded completely sure, "we will get out of here. We will."

There was something in that that changed his perspective. Chad wasn't a liar. And he never used words lightly. This promise wasn't empty. It was the most honest thing anyone had ever promised him. So maybe… Chad was right. And all of the bad things, while still bad, wouldn't repeat relentlessly until his eventual demise. He could go back home.

Back to a shitty apartment, and a lonely life. With the knowledge that Renji and Keigo had died here and that other people are trapped here as well. How could he return? How shameful it would be to confess what has happened here… what would be left of his pride? Or had that left long ago? Pulled into the reaching tongue of Granz… He couldn't be sure, but he was terrified.

"Ishida," Chad pulled him out again. When had he stopped existing and started spiralling? "What ha-" What happened to you? That was the question floating around Chad's mind. But the repercussions on Uryu's mental health weren't worth settling his curiosity. He didn't ask it, and Uryu didn't interrupt with an answer. "Is anyone else here?"

Uryu got off the floor, breaking out of Chad's thin grasp. He couldn't do this. Not now. Not-could he ever do it? Could he ever confess what had happened here? To anyone? Because, he turned to face Chad, who was slowly standing, if he couldn't tell Chad, who could he tell? Chad wasn't capable of judgment. Chad would never take his pride. But it seemed impossible to confess what had happened here. What was happening here.

"You don't have to tell me," Chad replied to his own question, settling all of Uryu's anxiety. He didn't have to tell Chad, but he did feel a responsibility to Renji, to Keigo… and he felt a deep desire to mourn with someone else for once.

Uryu stood tall and strong. "Renji Abarai. We fought against Granz, but we didn't win. And Granz… dissected him and left him to die. But he didn't just die, he-" Renji lied on the dissection table, body pulled open, the same he'd been so many days ago. He had to be dead, Uryu thought again and again, but Renji's labored breathing proved otherwise. "He…" Slowly, Uryu came to Renji's side. The binds around his wrists had turned his hands a discolored blue: they blistered and smelled of death. Uryu took a hand into his, quickly dismissing any thought of the hand being foul or disgusting. Renji's eyes met his and then looked deliberately behind him. Attempting to avoid attention, Uryu slowly looked a little behind him to a cart with a splay of tools on top of it. A small, sharp scalpel drew his eye immediately. "I-" Uryu couldn't find the pain he knew would later arise in his arm, nor could he find the fear he should have of the Espada in front of him. All he could feel was the blood cooling on his skin and all he could see was the dead Shinigami he'd fought beside. "I killed him."

Chad looked on in disbelief. While there wasn't judgment, there was intense confusion. Uryu sat on the bed and began to explain, "he asked me to. He was going to die, but after much worse treatment. It… it was horrible. His skin had been pulled open for over a month, and his hands reeked of death, I-"

"I understand." And he did. Chad really did understand. Uryu placed his head in his hands. Chad crossed over and sat beside him. "It's what he wanted."

Uryu nodded, then lifted his head. "Not long after… Granz had me in this… experiment. I was tasked to kill as many Hollow as I could. We had done two trials that varied slightly, but then-" Uryu stopped, almost tripping with the suddenness. The door shut quickly, leaving him and his classmate alone together. The boy was frantically looking at the wall away from Uryu, Seele Schneider in his hand as if it were a lead pipe. "He changed the rules." Keigo Asano stood, shaking like a dog, not five feet away from him. This was no longer a fun challenge. It was a fight for another's life. "He had kidnapped Asano."

"Asano-" Chad cut himself off. Uryu looked at him, the man's eyes were heavy with pain. Heavy enough to make Uryu reconsider telling the rest of his tale. But something sat like steel deep within the surface, demanding to know the rest.

"He stuck him in the training room." "Asano, the one who's holding us here has no qualms with letting us die. Soon, a stream of monsters is going to come into this room and I'm going to defeat them, all of them, so that you will live and be able to go home. Don't worry about the amount of Hol-monsters that enter because, no matter how many enter, I won't let them hurt you." "I had to kill all of the Hollow, but-" He wasn't counting, but he knew he'd defeated at least seven hundred Hollow at this point, judging by the amount of blood streaming down his arms. He could push past this, he knew; he'd done it before, what was one more time? "But-" His vision started swimming in pools of black, letting him know he was most likely close to one thousand now. Szayel said the Hollow wouldn't stop, but Uryu chose not to believe that. Because hope powered people like Ichigo, Orihime, and Chad. And he'd be damned if the only thing preventing Keigo from living was his own hope.

"There were so many of them." Blood had stained his entire outfit red, a stark contrast to the glowing blue that emanated from Uryu's own body. "Too many of them." Again, his vision swam and he felt the strings loosen from his body. "And I-" He sliced at the first Hollow, but another one got his calf and a third got his arm again. The strings loosened once more as a string of curses and grunts left his mouth. He killed another Hollow, but the three others were still alive and five more were about to get in on the action. "I couldn't beat them. I couldn't win. My body stopped working and he-" Keigo layed Uryu down on the floor and then took a Seele Schneider from his belt. Eight Hollow were slowly moving closer, hesitating on account of the sudden drop of spiritual pressure. He threw a smirk over his shoulder to Uryu. "He was a hero." For a second, Uryu's eyes played tricks; he could see Keigo emanating a vibrant pink, similar to the blue that had surrounded him. Uryu had hope, for a moment. His vision began to fade once more, but he found himself staring at the student as he began running towards the Hollow. Keigo held the Seele Schneider like a lead pipe. "He died taking on a horde of Hollow with a weapon he couldn't activate. He died protecting me."

"Ishida, it's not your fault." Chad said those words, but his face was covered in tears. Something dark and erratic, entirely unlike Chad, dimmed his face. And Uryu thought to himself that he should've been more gentle with the news. That Keigo had been Chad's friend, and that their friends usually survived. But the thought of sharing his pain with somebody else had sounded so appealing. And hearing those words from Chad, that it wasn't his fault, lifted some of the weight from his shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Sado." He was. He was so sorry for everything that had happened underneath Hueco Mundo. Sorry for those he saw die, those he killed, and those he had no knowledge of. Nothing beautiful happened down here. Only death.

He was crying again. Had he ever stopped? For someone who didn't consider himself the crying type, Uryu cried often. He cried over death, he cried in that fucking box, he cried in his room back home when the moon was up and he was alone, he cried at the dinner table when Ryuken "raised his voice," but insisted "no, Uryu, I'm not yelling."

Hot arms enveloped him. It scared the shit out of him for a moment until he realized who they belonged to. Chad was still here, he realized. Still in his room, and currently hugging him. He also came to the conclusion that his spacing out was getting unreasonable.

Focus. Chad's embrace was not reciprocated, but it was welcomed. Uryu never knew what to do when hugged, it wasn't something that happened to him very often. Orihime did try and give him the occasional hug, but he was usually able to politely decline. If it hurt her feelings, she didn't let on. And the other people in his life… well, he really hadn't been hugged since the death of Sensei. Chad managed to pull him closer, tighter in the embrace. It took Uryu too long to realize Chad was hugging him to console himself, too. There was a wetness at Uryu's back that spoke of the boy's silent tears.

Chad was a strong man. Despite being the same age as Uryu, Uryu always felt the teen was his senior. Maybe it was the ten inches Chad had on him, or the hundred pound difference between them, or the genuine confidence Chad seemed to exude when confronted. Uryu would kill for one ounce of that genuine confidence. Still, even people like Chad could break down and need someone else. Being needed was also a new feeling to Uryu. Sure, if someone's skirt ripped, Uryu was the guy requested, but he was never the one confided in, never the shoulder cried on. It dawned on him that he'd never really offered.

Deliberately, painstakingly, Uryu lifted his arms, and wrapped up as much of Chad as he could. His hands, now well rested on the boy's back, stopped their shaking. He placed his own head in the crux of Chad's neck and finally relaxed into the hug. He was glad that Chad was here, glad that he wasn't alone right now.

But he needed Chad to leave as soon as he could.

"Sado, you can't stay here." Chad pulled out of Uryu's grasp, his hair covering most of his tear stained face. "It's not safe for you here. You have to convince Jeagerjaques to find Kurosaki another way; you can't stay in this lab-"

"You can't stay here alone!" Chad had never yelled at him before. Bigger than a brick wall Chad was meek and mild outside of battle; he wasn't the type to yell in a large, resonating voice. Uryu must've shown something, shock, fear, forcing Chad to stand and put a significant distance between them. Uryu sat still on the bed, feeling much younger than he was. "I didn't mean to…" Chad ran a hand through his hair, then another. When he looked at Uryu again, Uryu could clearly see his deep brown eyes, resilient against the sterile light. "You can't stay here alone. I'm not gonna leave without you. We'll find a way out together, Ishida. Together." Once again, Uryu was certain Chad meant it. But Uryu knew better. "Together" resulted in Renji, in Keigo, in Lumina and Verona… Chad would have to leave without him, whether he liked it or not.

Before Uryu could make any sort of empty promise, the door to his cell opened. Grimmjow cocked an eyebrow at the scene, but chose not to comment. "Here's your meal." He took a step in and tossed Uryu a sandwich, an apple, and a bottle of water. "You're coming back with me."

For a moment, Uryu was convinced Chad would insist on staying, but Chad nodded and the moment quickly ended. Before Chad could walk out of the room, he turned back to Uryu, still stuck to that damn bed, and took a moment to actually look at him. "I'm serious, Ishida." He left the room and Jeagerjaques was quick to close and lock the sliding door. Uryu put his food down; he'd lost his appetite.

4.4

Alone. A-lone. Alone. A-lone. Alone. A-lone. It felt like a song. Something that shitty band Ichigo had shown him would sing. Some stupid angsty thing drawn over a catchy beat, that felt right. Uryu laughed, thin and dry. Ichigo had terrible taste in music, fashion, and most things. Orihime wasn't much better, with her preference for anything that scared Uryu artistically-anything against what normal people considered music. And Chad… well, Chad's music taste was good. Chad was a legitimate musician, after all. He'd shown Uryu some "guitar legends" a while back. That was a fun day. It was always nice to be with Chad. He's quiet and calm, grounded and unshaken, Uryu, neurotic and jittery, needed someone like him in his life: a rock, a pillar of strength.

Everyone needs Chad, he knows. Chad was most likely the only thing that kept them all together. He made it possible to bear Ichigo's griping and Orihime's flightiness. Hell, he's the only thing that makes it possible to bear Uryu's moodiness and short temper. Without Chad, they'd have surely fallen apart long ago. They wouldn't be civil classmates, let alone a team.

So it was ok, then. To give Chad up. To send him a world away. Even if it meant he could never leave. Even if it meant he could never sit by the window in class, counting the dried autumn leaves littering the ground. Even if it meant he'd never fix another ripped skirt after school and if it meant he'd never eat lunch on the rooftop with the noisiest group he'd ever met… that'd be ok. Because he could know that he'd saved someone. That someone had made it out of this lab alive and whole. And that Chad would protect everyone Uryu can't.

The door to his room slid open; the Octava Espada walked in, without the normal flare, and draped himself over the large chair. Uryu glared at him from his bed. Szayel spared him a glance over his decorative glasses, "are you still angry?" Uryu harshened his glare, then laid down, facing away from the Espada. "So you are." A silence split the room down it's center. Uryu couldn't feel reiatsu in this place, so, without looking at Szayel (and without the Espada running his mouth), it felt like he was completely alone. The bed dipped, reminding Uryu of his presence. "I let you see that other human, like you wanted. I don't know what else you could want from me."

Uryu shot up and turned to face the Espada, a wild look behind his eyes. "You don't know?" He moved an inch closer, "you seriously don't know?" Szayel didn't respond. "Fine. I'll tell you." Uryu took a steadying breath. He was too temperamental. He could control himself better. "I want you to let Chad go. I want you to let those other humans go. I want TO GO BACK HOME." Uryu moved to push Szayel off the bed, his bed, but the Espada was unmovable. He sat like stone, not even laughing at Uryu's pathetic display of strength. "Fuck off," Uryu pulled back and returned to his original place on the bed, laying away from the Espada.

"I can't let you leave." The weight of Szayel filled the bed, "you know that. What do you want besides that?" Uryu's eyes stayed glued to the wall in front of him for a moment. Now was not the time to be acting like a child. He hadn't suffered for years under the weight of Ryukens gaze to give in to Szayel's torturing so easily. He wanted something from Szayel, and now was the time to get it.

He took a breath in, then sat up again. Slowly, surely, he turned to face Szayel; the Espada now sat fully on the bed. "I want you to let Chad and the other humans go. And to never take anyone else captive ever again." Szayel frowned, a deep thing that creased his face. "And in return…" He felt the now familiar tears build up in his eyes. "In return…" He didn't let a single one fall. "I'll stay here."

Szayel's frown lifted into a loud laugh that rang through Uryu's growing headache. He laughed like a legitimate "Mad Scientist," causing Uryu to recoil. Szayel's laugh cut off clean, rather than dwindling away. He smiled at Uryu, "what does that deal actually give me? You already can't leave. If you try to escape," before he could even devise another plan of escape, Szayel dragged him close and, using the momentum of the Quincy falling forward in his favor, punched the left side of his jaw. Before he could fall into the sand, the Espada managed to grab him by the front of his shirt and punch him in the gut twice. His vision was swimming and he was unsure whether or not he'd puked, "clearly, I'll catch you."

"The deal is I won't try to escape anymore. I won't even think of it. I'd live wherever, or die wherever, you want." Szayel's eyes widened slightly, his smile dropping. Uryu felt his own face regain neutrality. "You've seen my memories, Granz. You know I'm good at escaping and you know I'm stubborn as hell. If you don't make this deal, I will eventually figure a way out of here, I swear on my pride as a Quincy. But if you release Chad, all the other humans, and never take anyone captive again, I'll stay here for the rest of my life."

Szayel stood, taking a few steps away from Uryu. He was considering it, Uryu realized. He had been telling the truth, after all. Despite not believing in his own abilities to escape, Uryu knew he was smart. And that decades spent with the scientist would only serve to sharpen his mind. So it seemed likely enough that, in thirty years, he might be able to escape. But, by then, absolutely no one would come looking for him in the sands of Hueco Mundo, leaving his survival rate slim to none. So this deal, a deal not to try and escape, reasonably benefited them both. Szayel turned back to him, serious and solemn, "that's not all I want from you."

Uryu felt his eyebrows draw together against his will, "what do you want?"

The Espada steps to the bed and sits back down. Uryu grew uncomfortable with this arrangement. Szayel smiled, thin and fake, "I want you to sweeten up. I want you to work with me in the lab. I want you to drop your grudge against me." But that wasn't all, was it? The gears were turning, but nothing was coming out. What did he want? "I want-" What. Did. He. Want. What did he want, what did he want, what did he-Szayel looked at Uryu-truly looked at him for the first time today. His face was scrunched up in the beginnings of rejection, his eyes were wet with unfallen tears, rimed red with those fallen, his hair was wild and lifted in tiny tufts, almost making Szayel laugh. Uryu licked his lips, a nervous tick he'd adapted after not having glasses or hair to fidget with, Szayel's eyes followed the trail. "I want you."

His breath pushed itself out of his lungs. Uryu was unsure of how to get it back. That statement could've meant anything, but Szayel's intense gaze made the meaning clear. "You're asking for too much." Uryu kept his voice steady, his eyes focused. Fear had no part in negotiation, "I'll "sweeten up," work with you in the lab, and drop my grudge, but that's it. That's fair."

Amber eyes stared down cobalt blue. Uryu breathed, strengthened by all the staring matches his father started, and didn't back down. Szayel looked away, seemingly nervous at his own proposition. "The deal I offered is the only one on the table." Szayel stood and walked over to the exit. "Take it or leave it." He quickly left, giving Uryu no time to reject the offer.

Which he would've. There's no way he could take such a deal, it was entirely too ridiculous and unfair. A few days of completely ignoring the Espada would change his mind. Szayel would be back with a counter offer soon enough.

But how would Chad fair in the meantime? Grimmjow had been taking care of him, but was he still? Or would he be used as a new toy for Szayel to play with? His powers were interesting, they could be studied… if Chad could hold transformation whilst being disected. Uryu shook the image from his brain. That wouldn't happen to Chad. Szayel would give in.

Hopefully.

4.5

Grimmjow squatted in a corner of the lab. Why did he have to come to Szayel? The Octava Espada was just plain weird, and the two of them had never gotten along... but Grimmjow hadn't found him that much more intolerable than the rest of the Espada. So he'd figured staying with the Octava and his freakish fraccion for a few days would be alright.

But that was before he knew Szayel was shacking up with a human. A Quincy, sure, but a human, nonetheless. Worse still was the obsessive behavior Grimmjow picked up on minutes after arriving in the lab. Most of the day, Grimmjow would hunker down somewhere in the lab, and fuck around with whatever was nearbye, but it was becoming harder to do that when the Octava spent all of his time in the lab drooling over a live video feed of the human boy.

And worse-worse still, the scientist still refused to answer his original question of: what the fuck? He was weird when it came to talking about his… relationship with Uryu. Almost anxious and entirely unsure, something unlike the Szayel he had known. At first, he'd wondered what the kid had done to Szayel to change his entire way of being, but, after listening in on their conversation in the kid's room, it became clear that none of this was Uryu's doing.

So what had happened? Did the Octava fall and bump out his brains? Or did he accidently concoct and digest some sort of obsession potion, and the kid just happened to be nearby? It was entirely too unreasonable to think this had… developed. Out of thin air. That the scientist actually developed this freakish behavior just from interacting with the Quincy.

But, then again, Ulquiorra had exhibited some pretty out of character behavior after spending a shorter amount of time with Orihime. And developing in any way because of that girl made just as much sense as this. So then, maybe it was possible. But Grimmjow himself had spent just as much one on one time with Chad and he still felt absolutely nothing for the kid.

Szayel reentered the lab, clearly agitated, but also nervous. He paced back and forth before sitting in front of the monitor and watching the Quincy once more. It felt wrong, but possible. Maybe Szayel changed because of someone else.

Grimmjow rolled his eyes. All this theorizing was annoying and certainly not his style. Direct approach was always his best option. He cleared his throat, but remained squatting, "yeah, so what the fuck was that?"

Szayel's shoulders tensed, something minute and barely noticeable, but Grimmjow excelled in reading body language. It didn't matter if the scientist looked him in the face or turned his back, Grimmjow could read whatever was written on either side. "What do you mean?"

The Sexta huffed and stood up, now leaning against the back wall. "The way you eye fucked that kid then ran away with your tail between your legs. What the fuck was that?"

Szayel turned around in his chair. He crossed his arms and legs as if it were his default position, and sent an unthreatening glare to Grimmjow. "I didn't," with an added eye roll, "run away. I gave him a proposition, then I left him to properly consider it."

Sure, the Octava was good at spinning lies, but he was terrible at telling them convincingly. He was like a writer who shouldn't act. "This is why no one likes you, Octava. You're always full of shit."

Szayel acted mock offended, then rolled his eyes. "I'm a Hollow, I don't have any feelings around being liked."

Grimmjow stopped his leaning and straightened up. "You don't?" Szayel raised an eyebrow in challenge. Grimmjow shrugged, "since you spend all your time staring at that video feed, I figured you did care about someone's-" Szayel pushed him up against the wall, forearm pressed against his neck, hard enough to choke him. Grimmjow tried to throw him off to no avail. After a moment of putting Grimmjow in his place, Szayel backed off and put some distance between them.

After catching his breath, Grimmjow closed the distance between them and kicked at the other. Szayel caught his foot, flipped him mid-air, then slammed him to the ground. He got on Grimmjow's back and restrained his arms. The Sexta kicked and bucked, but Szayel was immovable.

"Don't mouth off to me, Sexta. You're stronger than me, but only outside of this lab. I've remodified my systems to compress your powers, just as I've compressed the Quincy's. The only one with any sort of power here is me." Grimmjow tried to find any sort of reiatsu, but couldn't. He wasn't someone who actively used reiatsu; it was always something that just worked when he needed it. He hadn't even noticed it's absence until now.

"What did you fucking do, you crazy bastard?" Szayel laughed, then released Grimmjow. He flashed over to his computer, just to shove it in Grimmjow's face, and pulled up a confusing page. Grimmjow pulled himself off the floor and stalked over to the screen.

"I developed a reiatsu blocker for some of my more dangerous experiments, but I never really had a chance to use it until the Quincy stayed here. It was originally meant to suppress the abilities of those who weren't Hollow, but it still doesn't work without specific coding. I can't just block all Quincy ability, I have to input specific information to block out Ish-this Quincy's specific code. I just observed your code and input the data yesterday, so now, in this lab, you'll have no access to your abilities. For my safety, of course." Szayel smirked, that creepy confidence coming back in full force. Grimmjow sneered. "It's not like I took your powers. I just really can't have you killing me because of your own bad temper."

"Or killing the Quincy," Grimmjow huffed.

Szayel's face regained neutrality, "or killing the Quincy, yes."

The Octava shifted his gaze back to the monitor, closing out of his current page, and reopening the one with Uryu. The boy was still in bed, though he wasn't asleep. Szayel rewound the footage and reviewed his conversation with Uryu; Grimmjow stalked back to his squatting corner and took on said position. He watched the Octava, reading his back. He was nervous again, even far separated from the conversation, but there was something else too. A hunger running through his arms that tensed and untensed when the Quincy boy got riled up.

The scientist watched that clip twenty-eight times before finally letting the rest play. Uryu sat up in bed, then laid down on his side. He yanked the covers over him and stared at the white wall. Grimmjow swore he faded right into the room, like any other piece of furniture. Szayel stayed enraptured. After a while too long of silence and staring, the boy fell asleep.

Szayel kept watching, Grimmjow soon left.

5.6

White walls, white floors, white lights. Chad's skin, once dark and full, was drained of color and life. Living in caves under Hueco Mundo had been alright. Sure, it was scary, dark, and infested with things trying to eat him, but Grimmjow was a natural deterrent. And, if anything dared threaten them anyway, Grimmjow wouldn't hesitate to take care of them. Life was weird down there, but not necessarily bad. He just had to wait it out until someone came and got him. It wouldn't be too long.

But then it was. He had no way of counting days, and besides the occasional small bit of conversation, Grimmjow never really said that much to him. Not that he ever really said anything back. It was quiet there until, "We're going." Grimmjow cracked his neck and waited for Chad to stand. You couldn't remain in one place for too long down here, so they often picked up and moved according to the Espada's instincts. Chad drank what was left of his water then placed the bottle gingerly on the ground. It wasn't in his nature to litter, but there weren't any recycling bins in Hueco Mundo, and he certainly couldn't bring it around with him.

The Espada led him through the intricate underground tunnel system, until they hit the Forest of Menos. Typically, they'd avoid highly concentrated areas, since it posed more of a threat to them both, but this is where they needed to be today. Grimmjow glanced at him, "I'm gonna need to hold onto you and bring you up there, so don't go boneless on me, you're fucking heavy." Up where? Chad didn't have the time to ask before being lifted by the Sexta. And shutting his eyes tight because the Espada jumped fast and the ground below him disappeared too quick. Chad wasn't very fast, and he was too big to be carried by Ichigo or Uryu, so he only experienced these speeds when Grimmjow was feeling particularly impatient.

He was placed back on the ground and, after a moment of regaining his balance and calming his stomach, Chad opened his eyes. They were in Hueco Mundo. The part of it that they'd been in when they arrived to save Orihime. It was oddly emotional and wonderful to be here again; somewhere so unknown and yet entirely comforting. Grimmjow didn't care about his reunion with the land and instead started walking, assuming Chad would follow. Chad did.

They walked for a while, much longer than their usual search for a new base took, and Grimmjow still hadn't informed him on their plans. The occasional Hollow would pop out, try and take them by surprise, but the Espada dealt with them before Chad could even blink. And they never stopped walking. Chad brushed a hand through his hair, it had gotten long. And dirty. He looked at Grimmjow, who seemed to be looking for something. Though smelling for something seemed more accurate. Chad gave in, "where are we going?"

The Sexta kept his head down, not sparing Chad a glance, "the freak's house. Kurosaki's still not here so I gotta find out what's up. He should know." Grimmjow was almost walking on fours, seemingly having picked up a trail.

The freak, Chad contemplated. Who is that? Another Espada? Another Aizen? Every day that passed, Chad became more and more aware of just how unprepared they had been to come to Hueco Mundo. They knew almost nothing about Aizen, they knew almost nothing about HOLLOW. Chad had learned more about Hollow in his time underneath Hueco Mundo than he'd have ever learned on earth. And sure, being in the environment always taught you about it faster, like learning a language where it's natively spoken, but Urahara had told him absolutely nothing about Hollow or Hueco Mundo before he sent them here. And he'd never asked.

He ran into the back of Grimmjow, and took an embarrassed step back. The Espada didn't seem to notice and Chad thought he should be more careful spacing out in a world full of monsters while being led around by an unattentive tour guide. The Sexta straightened up and spoke, "we're almost there."

Chad glanced at the ground, at what Grimmjow had been sniffing, and saw the blood spattered around. A trail of it led to two bloated bodies. One had been sliced with a sword, the other… had been beaten into the ground. The blood spatter read as the smallest fight Chad ever saw. Grimmjow reached over the fraccion and dug around in the sand. After a moment of digging, he lifted up the hidden panel. It led into seemingly unending black. "There's a ladder. Use it. Once we're on the ground, we'll walk for a while, and then hit another ladder. Climb up it, and we're there. I'll enter first incase he thinks we're intruders."

For a moment, Chad considered the idea that they were intruders, but he quickly followed after Grimmjow anyway. Neither of them closed the door. The climb was long, but the walk was longer. Chad hit his head on the new ladder when it appeared in front of him. The only warning from Grimmjow being, "that was short, he must've rearranged the exit," a moment before he ran into the thing. Chad ran into the bottom of Grimmjow's foot when the Espada suddenly stopped climbing, their lack of communication getting the best of them again. "I'm gonna go in there, you wait until I call you. I wanna make sure he doesn't try to kill me."

Grimmjow lifted the panel, then waited a moment to see if anything tried to kill him. When nothing happened, he pulled his sword out of it's holster, then pushed himself up into the room. Chad climbed up higher on the ladder but didn't try to-"What the FUCK?!" Chad nearly fell down the ladder. Grimmjow didn't seem like he was in trouble, but there did seem to be a problem. There was discomfort, disgust, confusion. "What. The. Fuck. Octava. Fucking christ, put a sock on the door or something, that shit's gross, I don't wanna see you fucking anything! I didn't think you fucked anything!"

"Why are you here, Sexta?" Replied an agitated voice. The voice responsible for the bashed in ball outside, he guessed. They were silent for a moment.

"Settle down, Octava," Grimmjow picked up the conversation. "I just had it drawn in case you had any weird traps. I have some cargo with me, too, so I don't want to fight you right now. I'll sheath it if you sheath yours; I don't want him getting hurt yet." The "yet" wasn't promising. Chad didn't consider them friends or even allies, but he didn't feel threatened by the Espada. Yet.

"Fine. He can come up now, I won't attack him." Chad looked up, Grimmjow gestured for him to come up. He took a breath, a bit concerned over meeting another Espada, and definitely still contemplating Grimmjow's "yet." He climbed higher, reached up, and lifted himself out of the tunnel. The lights were bright and it took his eyes a moment to adjust. Once he could see again, his eyes immediately focused on the bright pink man six feet in front of him. The pink man extended an arm, causing Chad to look away from the shock of pink to see… To see…

Ishida.

Uryu Ishida.

Chad took a step forward, but was stopped by Grimmjow's own extending arm. He stopped, the "yet" weighing over his head. Uryu, on the other hand, tried to go around Szayel's barrier. Szayel grabbed Uryu's arm and pulled him back; Uryu made to shove Szayel, but the Octava simply grabbed his other arm and pulled him to him. He talked above Uryu's head as if he were a small child. "What are you doing here? And with a human?" Uryu's eyes shown with fury and embarrassment. It almost looked like that time Ichigo hit a growth spurt, shooting up to 5'10, while Uryu was still 5'7, and held something too high for Uryu to reach. That fight nearly ruined their friendship. But Chad made sure to grab the thing-a pen? Or maybe a scarf?-from Ichigo and subsequently hold it over Ichigo's own head, making Uryu laugh for the first time in a month. Except this… this was different. The dynamic between these two was different than two schoolboys. Uryu's life was at stake. And his pride. Though which was more important, Chad was unsure.

"I'm here because I need a way to get Kurosaki here. I have him," Grimmjow gestured towards Chad, "because he's one of the fuckers friends; I figured he could be bait." Uryu tensed up. "So why are you holding onto that one? The Quincy?"

Szayel raised his chin a bit, "the last Quincy is a precious resource. If I keep him here, I can experiment on him whenever I feel the whim." Experiment? Was that the reason Uryu looked like the dead? His hair was short, his face was thin, and his eyes were… tired. His wrists were skinnier than Chad remembered, though it was hard to tell when compared to the Octava's thin hands. He really looked horrible. Worse than when dead week happened at the same time as that surge in Hollow attacks.

Grimmjow smirked, "so what was happening before, that's just extra? What you've been doing in your free time-or, who you've been doing in your free time-"

Uryu's face flushed a dark red, a shade darker than when Orihime hugged Uryu in a way that rubbed her whole chest against his, "what are you implying? That's a moronic inference! I wou-" Grimmjow's face grew dark with rage and Szayel quickly let go of one of Uryu's arms in favor of slapping a hand over his running mouth. Uryu stopped struggling after a moment. He was going to get himself killed, Chad thought. Uryu's life would always be at stake around Hollows, possibly even around Shinigami, but him speaking like he would to Ichigo to the Sexta Espada did make Chad want to laugh. He'd missed his friends. He'd missed Uryu.

"Let's put a pin in the banter; as you can tell, he has a bad temper and no self preservation instincts, so it's best not to pick at him. My motives do not matter; all you need to know is that I want him alive. Whatever you want from me I will only provide if you don't kill him." Grimmjow's expression settled into a less threatening scowl. "I'll try my best to keep his tongue in check, but he tends to say what he wants regardless." Uryu pushed Szayel's hand away gently, and Szayel allowed it to fall away. "For now," Uryu looked at Chad, somehow finding Chad's own eyes behind his sandy hair, and Chad really looked back. He wanted to talk to him. He wanted to know if he was alright. He wanted to know if Uryu had a plan, because Uryu always had a plan. "I will return Ishida to his room, take this human to another room, and then we can talk." Grimmjow nodded in agreement and Szayel wrapped an arm around Uryu's waist and used sodino to leave the room.

Chad stood still. Uryu was here. He had just been here. And he was… worse for wear. He looked malnourished and emotionally charged. When he'd looked into Chad's eyes… his eyes begged for help. Though Uryu would never do that, Chad knew. Uryu was too full of pride to admit he was breaking down here. What was here? Chad looked around. It was sterile, white, something straight out of a cliché horror film. But it was scary. It was cold, and bright, and smelled of bleach.

So maybe he preferred their previous hole in the Menos Forest after all. But, thinking back on his talk with Uryu, in remembering the way Uryu never completely stopped crying, Chad knew he had to stay here. That this place was worse than the endless Menos Forest, and that Uryu had spent his entire captivity here. That Uryu hated this place enough to tell him to leave it. To leave Uryu here and save his own skin. Chad brushed through his hair. At least this place had running water. A half shower in the sink was a surprisingly wonderful experience after having sand everywhere for the past how many days. Grimmjow had snagged him some new clothes from some Russian shop, Chad guessed by the lettering sprawled across his shirt, and he felt at least halfway clean.

The door to his cell lifted, Grimmjow casually strolling in. He did this a lot. He'd come in, sit around for a while, then leave. He never said much, Chad didn't either. Grimmjow closed the door, then sat in front of it. "That friend of yours is loud, ain't he?"

Chad let out a deep laugh, "yeah."

Grimmjow grinned, that grin that made Chad a bit unnerved. It looked a lot closer to an animal baring its teeth than a grin. "He's ok. Confident, ya know? Kind of annoying, though."

"He grows on you," Chad cut in.

The Espada shrugged, "we won't be here long 'nough for him to "grow on me," or anything like that." Chad focused. Grimmjow didn't strike up conversation very often. He was here to tell Chad something. He hadn't told him anything since the day they'd got here. "Granz is getting us out of here asap, he said. He doesn't like you being here, I guess. So, congrats! He's gonna get you home."

"No." Grimmjow actually looked at him. Chad felt the weight of his icy blue eyes, but didn't cave under it. He took a breath, preparing himself for the consequences of his actions. "Ishida has to leave here, too."

The Sexta shot up from his spot on the floor, making Chad, still seated on his bed, feel two feet tall. That was the intention, Chad realized too late. Grimmjow took a slow, deliberate step forward. "Don't," he said in a hushed tone, contrary to his large actions, "say that shit. The reason he wants you out is because of the Quincy. If he hears you planning to get that kid out of here, you won't be allowed to leave in one piece."

"No," Chad spoke back to Grimmjow for the first time since their meeting, "there's no reason for Ishida to still be here. He should come back home."

Grimmjow sharpened his gaze, "I only saved your life to clear my future debt-I heal you, you help me lure out Kurosaki. That's it. Now, I'm getting you home too. You owe me now, not the other way around."

Chad's shoulders set and he met Grimmjow's gaze. "What do you want? In exchange for freeing Ishida, what do you want?"

The Sexta huffed and took a step away from Chad, as far as he could get in this cell. "Look, I have pull with Granz. He owes me for a lot of freakish shit I've caught him doing over the years, so he'll help me get to Kuroski. But he's not gonna do anything against his own self interest, that's just how Hollow work. We're not so kind as to blindly follow the wants of humans. So the Quincy boy is gonna stay here until Granz finally kills him, and that's just the facts of it. Accept that now, and move on."

Until Granz finally kills him… He would. Kill him. It was a miracle Uryu was still alive now, Chad realized. With the way he never backs down, even when the odds are stacked against him-even when he should just shut his mouth and swallow his pride. If he left Uryu here now, he would never see him again. Because he could be killed any day now.

"I can't leave him here alone. There's no time to go home and organize a team." Chad stood, using the four inches he had on Grimmjow to his advantage. "You have to help me."

Chad was never one for intimidation tactics, but he knew Grimmjow responded well to them. If he could demonstrate any sort of power over Grimmjow, if he could prove he himself was a worthy opponent, Grimmjow might help him.

Grimmjow looked Chad once over then raised his chin in challenge. Chad was silent. So was Grimmjow. Then, "I'll think about it." Before Chad could even process the words, Grimmjow left his room.