Hey everyone. It seems people didn't really like the last chapter, so I hope all my readers like this one better!
Chapter 11
Shiro was dazed as he was lead back to the padded room he currently called home. His body and mind were exhausted from multiple forms of abuse. He was breaking down slowly but surely from the constant experiments and trials. They had at least tripled from the amount he would have had before he escaped. His legs seemed to be moving on his own at this point, and in a way, they were. As the human side of Shiro's mind was swimming, the demon side was just alert enough to help the stumbling and shuffling patient keep walking. But he could only help so much.
"Come on! Hurry up! I got better things to do than lead a dog back to its cage," The guard yanked on the chain leash hooked to Shiro's collar. Shiro fell foreword at the rough treatment. His knees collided with the floor. His hands caught his torso before his face hit, but collapsed soon after. Shiro was breathing heavily. His body had just taken too much to keep going. "Dammit…Come on, get up. I'm not carrying you, so either you walk on your own or I'm dragging you like that," the guard pulled hard on the chain emphasizing his point. Shiro let out a cry in protest. When the leash went slack, he laid flat on the hard tile floor of the hallway. He heard the guard sigh before he tugged again trying to pull Shiro down the hall. Shiro grunted in pain and protest, but it was ignored.
Quickly determining pulling from the neck would take too long, the guard dropped the chain in exchange for Shiro's arms. Shiro winced and his mouth opened in a silent scream as his arms were pulled from their sockets. Silent tears stained his cheeks the more the guard dragged him down the hall. The demon in him tried to help with the pain, but again, in the state they were in, he could only pacify his host a small amount.
The torture stopped momentarily. Shiro cracked his eyes open to see his door be thrown open. Rough, yet strong arms pulled him up just enough for the guard to kick him the back. Shiro laid still where he fell. His entire body pulsed in pain. His arms were slowly loosing feeling and the pain running through him made it hard to stay conscious. "Worthless piece of shit. Don't have much fight left you anymore," a strong kick hit Shiro in the ribs, "I know it's wrong to beat a dying dog, but I've waited so long for this." The next blow came to Shiro's shoulder, but it was just enough to push him over. A heavy boot knocked the wind out of him when it came down on his chest. Pinned down, Shiro coughed violently and some blood dribbled out of the sides of his mouth. "You gave us all so much trouble for so many years! It's about time some of us got some payback, and I am sure happy to get the first chance." he pushed down on Shiro's chest. "I don't know why Dr. Aizen doesn't just kill you and let the pink haired one have a field day dissecting your body." Shiro felt one of his ribs crack as the guard put more pressure on him. A short but loud cry escaped him.
"What's going on here?" another voice that was somewhat familiar to Shiro spoke. There was the soft clank of a plastic tray followed by quick footsteps. Shiro could suddenly breath much easier. Well, as easy as he could with a broken rib and multiple bruises. "What is wrong with you?! This patient is to be treated delicately and you know this. He is very important to the research," the guard stood protectively in-between Shiro and the escort guard. Using what little energy he had, Shiro looked up and his eyes widened. Before him stood the guard that always took care of him. It was the one person who thought Shiro to be equal and most of all, human; not just another lab rat. A soft pang of guilt ran through the patient.
"That thing is nothing! He did nothing to help anything and made sure to make all our lives hell! He deserves this!" The escort spat.
"And what exactly did he do? Fight back? Try to keep his dignity as he was used? Play a prank here and there as kids do? Yes that is truly making your life hell."
"Hah! You forget what Dr. Aizen did to us after his escape."
"And what exactly was that?" a soft yet stern voice interjected, "Go on. Tell me what I did?"
The color drained from the escort guard at seeing his boss. The other guard froze at the same time and took and attention position. Both knew what the man did after they failed to recover the escapee. In this world, failure and/or disobedience met with a fate worse than death. Neither wanted to think about the horrible things that not only they went through, but many of their comrades; all apparently in the name of science.
Dr. Aizen strode over to Shiro's beaten form. He let out a line of tsks as he glanced across the limp and barely breathing body. "Luckily he will heal swiftly. His blood line will help that. No delay in testing should occur. I will send someone to wrap him up." He turned his gaze to the guard who had been escorting Shiro, "You will follow me. We shall discuss how you can help this floor succeed in its goals." The escort's eyes visibly widened. "And you," Dr Aizen looked to the other guard, "Relocate his arms and check his body for broken bones. Reset any you find. Do not worry if he cries out in pain. Just make sure he is back in working order and able to heal for the next trial." The doctor turned and began to leave, "Oh and one more thing. Please make sure to restrain him once he has eaten. We would not want anything more to happen to our most important patient." With the escort unwillingly tailing the doctor, the .two exited and closed the door behind them. Shiro heard the demon in him growling at the man's last words, but he was in too much pain to do anything about it.
"He really got you good huh?" the guard knelt down next to Shiro, "This is going to hurt." The guard took his glove off, folded it in half and placed it between Shiro's teeth. "Bite down on that and remember to breathe."
"I'll do wha' I can ta help with the pain and healin'." Shiro scoffed at the demon's supposed kindness. "I may wan control, but not of a useless broken body. Don' think I'm doin' this fer you." Now that sounded more like him.
An audible pop brought Shiro back. His jaw clenched down on the glove with a groan of pain. "Just relax. Breathe with this one. Ready?" Shiro nodded to him and he nodded back. Another pop and another muffled scream left Shiro panting. "Last one. This is going to hurt the most." The guard felt out Shiro's abdomen finding the broken rib. Before he could protest, the guard slammed it back into alignment. Shiro screamed through the glove, coughing as the scream died down. The guard wiped tears away Shiro didn't realize he cried.
"Some help ya were," Shiro thought to the other inside him.
"I never said when I'd help with the pain," the demon chuckled.
"Useless," Shiro gritted out to him.
After removing the glove, Shiro was still panting. The guard gently picked up the patient cradling him and walked over to the newly added bed. Laying him down, the guard tried not to cause the young man any more pain. He started lifting Shiro's shirt. He tried to move away from the touch, but Shiro was too weak to truly protest. Fingers feathered over the multiple bruises and lacerations. The black, blue, purple, and red created a stark contrast to the snow white canvas they inhabited. He flinched when the guard pushed gently onto one of the more colorful spots. "I'll try to get you some ice, but no promises."
"Don't worry bout it. They'll heal by mornin'. I'm sorry by the way. Fer the whole escapin' thing I mean and knocking ya out and all that," Shiro croaked out.
"Don't worry about it. I know why you did it and I don't blame you. Just get some rest," the guard turned to leave.
"Aren't ya suppost ta bind me?" Shiro looked at the guard. There was sadness in his eyes.
"You need to eat first," he grabbed the tray and left it next to Shiro's bed. "I'm not supposed to bind you till that plate is clean, and it looks like you're going to sleep before that gets eaten."
"He'll punish ya," Shiro replied
"I'm only following orders," the guard smiled at Shiro and took his leave locking the door.
Sleep was tugging at Shiro and it was hard to keep his eyelids from falling. These past few trials had really taken their toll. Before, he would have just let them happen. Just let the medical staff do what they wanted while still fighting back and making fun at the workers expense. He didn't know any better then. Not to mention, he wasn't using energy to keep control of his own body as well as dealing with experiments. But now it was different. He knew these weren't just to try and find a cure. Probably never was to begin with. Dr. Aizen was just trying to rip out this other side of him and let it take control. He just wished he knew why the crazed man wanted this side of him out. And even more, why the doctor wanted control of it. He was just too tired to think about it now.
Shiro slowly sat up to face the beaten headboard to his bed. Using his now permanently sharp incisors that never seemed to go back to normal after the first feeding in the hospital, he bit down into his thumb till a small bead of blood flowed out. He let it build up slowly on top of the scar tissue before running his finger on the worn wood creating a small line next to two others. Pinching the skin, another bead of blood collected on the abused flesh and he used it to circle the three marks. If his assumption that they were giving him three meals a day was correct, it had been eight days since he was recaptured. Eight days since he had murdered again. Eight days with no sign of Ichigo coming to save him. Eight days, and with each one he was losing more and more hope, control, and willingness to fight. It wouldn't be long till he would be nothing more than a host to the demon inside him if things didn't change.
Relaxing as much as he could, Shiro laid back down on the sorry excuse of a bed. True to his word, the nurses Dr. Aizen promised came in moments later to wrap up what was left of Shiro's wounds. The deep purple bruises were already starting to fade. The cuts and pin holes were stitching themselves up as well at an alarming pace. Shiro still appreciated the gentle work they made of his body though. It felt good to actually be treated as a patent at times. They silently went about their work cleaning off the now dried blood and wrapping up his wounds. He flinched at the cold compresses they placed on the more violent looking bruises.
As quietly as they came, the nurses left and Shiro was once again left to himself. Relaxing into the silence, he was able to recede into what only could be described as his inner world. It looked like a sideways city in ruins. The windows were broken in almost every building. The walls were cracked and crumbled. The sky was dark with a hint of a red glow among the midnight blue and black clouds. The entire world gave off the feeling of a wasteland. Shiro was greeted by a copy of himself among the wreckage, except instead of looking in yellow eyes on a white background, they were a glowing gold on a darker than night black. The copy smirked in hello.
"Why do ya let them do this to ya? Ya know ya could just kill um all," the copy almost sounded concerned to Shiro. He wasn't sure if he should be worried about that. He had only interacted this way with the demon side of him a few times and it only started once he was brought back to Los Noches. Those other times weren't exactly pleasant visits either.
"I ain't killin' anyone again. And I don't really 'ave a choice. I'm stuck 'ere and whatever they are doin' ta me keeps me like this," Shiro replied back. The worn out feeling he was having even showed in his inner world. "This time, I'm jus' not so sure how much I can take. Ichi better come soon."
"Hah! Like tha useless brother is commin'" the other one cackled, "We're on our own and ya know it. Ya might as well just give yerself ta the so called doctors now if yer gonna wait fer him before fightin' back. Let then cut cha up like a turkey on Thanksgiving. Maybe he will even set up a nice table ta carve ya on. Candles and everything."
"Ha…ha…ha you're so funny," the sarcasm was literally dripping from Shiro's words as the demon laughed and laughed.
"Ya will need ta feed soon though. We were close las' time. Luckily, Mr. Ego gave us tha' offern'."
"Close ta what? And why are ya so helpful all a sudden? What happen ta the evil, 'Imma take control of yer body and go on a killin' spree thing?" Shiro couldn't help but be skeptical, considering all that it had made him go through.
"Control is exactly wha' I want. If ya don' feed neither of us will 'ave control. Leave the hunger long enough, and ya turn Hollow. Runnin' on nothing but instinct and the need ta feed. Ya go Hollow, I don' get control. I will get my killin' spree though," the demon laughed at the last part."And before ya ask, I didn' tell ya before cause there wasn' a need ta. I was planning ta have control before tha' happened. But now…well do I really need ta explain?"
"A…a Hollow? K…killin' spree?" Shiro's voice shook slightly. For some reason the word Hollow almost felt familiar to him. Almost like he had heard it before, but nothing was coming to mind. It was almost like a distant memory that he could not bring into the present.
"Yup. Killin' spree and feedin' frenzy until you're full," the demon looked as though he was imagining the situation. A small smile grew on his face, "Maybe wouldn't be a bad idea. Would make it easy ta get outta here."
Shiro became sick at the idea and almost vomited at the thoughts and visions that were flooding in. He dry heaved a bit, crouched over, and held his stomach. A soft pressure on his shoulder made Shiro look up into glowing eyes.
"Hehe, sorry. Didn' think id effect ya so bad. I promise I'll try ta help us from goin' Hollow. Trust me, I dun want it either. Why doncha get some rest eh? Yer gonna need it for tomarrow," the demon let a crooked smile break his face. He helped Shiro stand back up straight. Giving him a pat on the back, the demon turned his back to Shiro and walked to disappear amongst the debris.
Once he was out of sight, Shiro closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Back fully on his bed, Shiro finally let the exhaustion he was feeling take over.
Dr Aizen was sitting at his desk looking over the notes his subordinate had provided on Patient 87. Said subordinate was sitting opposite him waiting a response from the powerful man. Although Dr. Granz was a very proud and confident man, he couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. The patient was not responding as needed or predicted. He was still resisting, both sides of him.
"What do you propose we do Dr. Granz?" Aizen looked over the notes at the one across from him.
"To be honest, I am not sure sir. We may need to go to more…unorthodox and, how should I put it, classical methods," the doctor pushed up his glasses.
"Those would be?"
"Electroshock therapy, lobotomy, prison tactics such as bribery, or starvation, just to name a few," the doctor listed as if they were normal procedures. "However, he already has the electrical nodes in him, and a lobotomy may just produce another Patient four, and that is not what we are after."
Aizen stayed silent in thought till a small smile appeared, "Starvation. Interesting idea doctor. A demon needs to feed on blood and flesh. It does not have choice. It may be just the perfect way to get it on our side."
"What about how he broke the bonds the first day here due to hunger and the need to feed? Allowing him to go longer could prove problematic sir."
Dr Aizen chuckled, "An easy fix. I will have custom restraints made for him. He will not be able to break them again."
"And the boy's family sir?"
"I have put up many barriers and precautions to stall, if not permanently hind their ability to do anything about the young man. Besides, by the time we are finished, even if they do find a way and come, Patient 87 will see them as nothing more than his next meal."
AN: Hope everyone liked this chapter a lot more than the last one. Please let me know your thoughts and if you are still reading and want more. Thanks!