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Ichigo lay with his eyes closed for several long minutes before actually cracking a lid to see just where he was. During that time, and apparently for some time before he regained consciousness, he was being berated by the hollow within him.

"I told you not to go after him this time but you just wouldn't listen," it screamed.

"Like I'd listen to you," Ichigo scoffed, though now he was regretting it. "Damn it, why did Grimmjaw attack me like that? It doesn't make any sense."

Suddenly, the hollow grew eerily quiet.

"What?"

He felt the presence inside him nearly speak but hesitate, something that made his stomach turn.

"What?" he demanded again, this time he actually spoke aloud.

It was a slight chuckle that actually caused Ichigo to open his eyes. It was Ulquiorra and another arancar, one with pink hair and glasses. "Good, you're awake. That means we can get started."

Ichigo sat up quickly, but the pain in his head caused him to fall back to the mattress while still trying to appear threatening. "Start what?" he asked carefully.

"Aizen-sama has taken pity on you, as you are a human and don't know about our ways even though you can harness our power." Ulquiorra told him as they approached. "We are here to prepare you."

Ichigo didn't like the sound of that at all and once again tried to sit up, this time succeeding. He found that he was still in his soul reaper outfit, though it was badly torn and barely hung from his body. Aside from his head, he actually felt pretty good so, he tried to summon his bankai, quickly finding that he could not. "What? Why can't I…?" he looked down at his still empty hands to only then notice the two thin gold rings around his wrists, "What the fuck is this?" he held up one hand to Ulquiorra.

Ulquiorra looked at the pink-haired arancar who answered his question. "Aizen-sama knew that if you had access to your full power, you would probably hurt yourself as well as cause a great deal of damage to his things as well. Those suppress your raietsu. You have only enough spiritual pressure to stand being in our presence, no more."

Ichigo growled but tried to summon his bankai again. "Damn it!"

"Enough of this, get on your hands and knees," the fourth ordered.

Ichigo didn't move, he simply glared.

Ulquiorra rolled his eyes in disgust before doing it himself. Szayel held his shoulders in place while Ulquiorra proceeded to disrobe him.

"Stop it! What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Ichigo protested, his words strong but his actions weak.

"I told you. We are going to prepare you." He discarded the torn robes and briefly admired the body before him. Sure, the boy was human but that didn't seem to inhibit his attractiveness.

"For what?" he asked nervously, trying to see one of their faces.

"For Grimmjaw. I didn't hit you that hard, don't you remember?" He suddenly felt the soul reaper grow impossibly tense. "So you do remember…or were you hoping that was just a dream?" he taunted. "You should relax," he told Ichigo in an even tone, "We are here for your benefit. As I said, Aizen-sama has taken pity on you. If he hadn't, Grimmjaw would already be in here and you would already be bleeding."

Ichigo, of course, couldn't relax. There was no way he was going to trust anything that either of the arancar said. However, in his current state, he could do little in the way of protest.

"He's not going to listen to you," the pink-haired one said. "Here," he pulled a small vile out of his pocket and handed it to Ulquiorra.

Ichigo heard an uncorking sound before he felt the warm oil being dripped onto his backside. He gasped at the sensation, it made his skin warm and tingly and as some of the fluid dripped down his crack, over his balls, and down his shaft. That was when he felt something unexpected begin to stir inside him, especially around his groin. "Agh, what are you doing? Stop it!" He had more to say but was cut off when a slick finger began probing his insides.

The one holding his shoulders chuckled at Ichigo's reaction but didn't change his hold.

Then the voice in his head chimed in again, "At least they're getting' ya ready for it. Mmmm…that feels pretty good, doesn't it?"

Great, now his hollow was getting worked up. "You're not helping!" he scolded the voice.

"Look, King, there's no way out of this. This is going to happen. I say, don't fight it if they're gunna be this good to ya." When the hollow felt the rage growing within the boy, he continued, "if you don't think you can handle it, you should let me take control. I'll make sure we have lots of fun!"

"Never!" There was no way he was going to let his hollow have control, especially in a situation like this.

Ulquiorra sensed the internal struggle within the soul reaper, but misinterpreted it as a fight between his mind and his body, both obviously overwhelmed but in very different ways. Regardless, he didn't want to waste time, so he withdrew and returned with two fingers, this time carefully scissoring them, spreading the unwilling entrance. He smirked when Ichigo gasped again, this time because he hit the boy's prostate.

"Nnngh, why are you doing this?" Ichigo demanded through gritted teeth, renewing his struggle when the arancar's touches started to feel good.

"Because Aizen-sama told us to."

"But why? This doesn't make any sense! The last time I checked, Grimmjaw wanted to fight me and kill me. Now he wants to rape me? What caused the change of heart?" Ichigo spat.

"He doesn't want to rape you, per say," Ulquiorra defended. "He just…needs you weather you are willing or not."

"He…needs me?" Ichigo repeated in disbelief.

"Well, not just you as you are," the pink-haired one chimed in, "you need to transform into a hollow first."

Ichigo laughed a little, "I can't do that if I don't have the energy to transform." He motioned to the rings on his wrists. "Plus, my hollow transformation doesn't last that long. I hope he can make it quick."

"He's got a terrible attitude," Szayel complained. "Can I put the other ring on?"

"Not yet. He's not quite ready." Ulquiorra said just after adding a third finger and feeling the body before him start to really resist him again. "Kurosaki, when we let Grimmjaw in here, don't resist him. Aizen-sama made him promise not to cause you harm but if you fight him, I doubt he will keep that promise and he will not be held accountable."

"Don't fight him? Are you kidding?" Ichigo weakly renewed his struggle until Szayel lifted his chin to look him in the eyes.

"You may be pretty, but that won't stop him from wanting to break you…in fact it might make things worse for you. You should listen to Ulquiorra."

Ichigo growled up at the pink-haired arancar but found his words stolen from him when Ulquiorra stopped stretching him and began messaging his prostate. Instead, the sounds he made sounded much more heated.

"It looks like he's starting to come around," Szayel commented when he noticed Ichigo start to grow hard with Ulquiorra's administrations.

"Indeed. In spite of all his fuss and big words, it appears at least part of him enjoys this. You can go ahead and put the collar on now." He withdrew, unsure as to exactly what was going to happen.

The pink-haired arancar lifted Ichigo by the hair, until he was on propped up on his hands before pulling a larger metal ring from his uniform. He carefully opened it and began to move for Ichigo's throat.

"Hey, what the hell is that?" he tried to pull away only to find Ulquiorra poised to hold him in place.

Szayel gave an irritated sigh and looked at Ulquiorra. Apparently, he was unwilling to explain.

"Go ahead, Aizen-sama told us to answer his questions."

"It's going to force your hollow transformation. Hopefully, with you unable to expend your raietsu, it will help you maintain that form indefinitely."

"What do you mean hopefully? You're not sure what it's gunna do?"

"Look, it wasn't my idea to use you as the guinea pig. That's just how it worked out. These two items have never been tested like this but don't worry, no matter what happens, it shouldn't harm you…at least not irreparably."

"And if it doesn't work? Then what?"

"Then Grimmjaw won't be able to get what he needs from you and he'll probably go insane and he'll probably destroy himself."

At that last comment, Ichigo hesitated long enough for the pink-haired arancar to slip the collar around his neck and quickly clasp it shut. Suddenly, his eyes grew wide and he could feel his power stirring inside him. He could feel the transformation coming on but not with the same rush of power as he was used to. As if that wasn't bad enough, he could hear his hollow giggling inside him.

"No, take this thing off me!" he demanded and began clawing at the ring around his neck.

The pair of arancar backed off, giving him a little more room, but continued to observe the boy's struggle.

The sounds of his struggle filled the stark room, all the while the presence inside him growing stronger. "You don't know what you're doing! There has to be another way. You can't let him…" Ichigo's panicked voice stopped mid-sentence to be replaced by maniacal laughter.

When Ichigo finally turned to face them again, the top right third of his face was covered by a hollow mask and his eyes had changed color. "Thanks for lettin' me out. King, just doesn't understand."

They both gave him an intrigued look.

"He transformed but…" Szayel trailed off as he drew closer for a better look.

"You said we were pretty but you're not so bad yourself, Pinky," he threw a wink at the curious arancar.

"Apparently, the boy doesn't have as much control of this aspect of himself as we expected. No matter, he will still serve our purposes." Ulquiorra commented as he began to leave.

"Where ya goin'? Those things you were doin' were startin' to feel real good," he gave the fourth a smoldering stare.

Ulquiorra chuckled, briefly wishing that that body was for him. "I'm going to retrieve Grimmjaw. It is cruel to keep him waiting any longer since you are now willing."

"Well, the King ain't exactly willin' but he ain't in charge right now, ya see?"

Without another word, the dark-haired arancar left.

The hollow in Ichigo's body pouted. "At least you decided to stay with me." He grabbed Szayel by the collar and tried to pull him close. The arancar moved but not as far as he would have liked so he closed the rest of the gap with his body and locked lips with the curious arancar.

At first, and mostly out of surprise, Szayel tried to pull away, but when the boy's tongue began to dance along his lips he eased up and slowly began to kiss back. Sure, this boy was for Grimmjaw but he wasn't here right now, right?

"So, how long do you think this is gunna last?" the twisted version of Ichigo's voice asked, suddenly breaking the kiss and pulling the other even closer.

"Grimmjaw or the transformation?"

"Both."

"I can't honestly say. These items have never been tested like this and you are a most unusual specimen. As for Grimmjaw, it is difficult to say. Apparently the chase you gave him earlier got him all riled up so I wouldn't expect him to take his time."

The boy shrugged and began to unfasten the shirt of Szayel's uniform.

"You are much more compliant now," he noted.

"The king is no more compliant than he was before you put this thing on us but, as I said, he's not in charge right now…and I have you to thank for that." He ran his fingers beneath the harsh fabric of the arancar's uniform to touch the fair skin beneath. With that, he cut their conversation off to start making out with the pink-haired arancar once again.

They only stopped when they heard Grimmjaw throw the door open and storm inside. "What the fuck do you think you're doin'?" he demanded as he pulled Szayel off his prey and threw him across the room hard enough to put cracks in the stone wall.

Szayel just smirked and wiped the blood from his lips, "Just keeping him entertained until you got here. Actually, he started it," he added offhandedly as he quickly left the room, closing the door behind him.

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