Shukaku: And here's chapter 2!
Rye: Credit for this chapter goes to Shu-chan! So don't freak out if the styles of writing change.
Shukaku: Hope you like it!
Disclaimer: Rye and myself do not own Bleach!
Ichigo yawned as he studied the folders that Szayel had given him and rubbed his eyes tiredly. This was the second day in a row that the orange head had gone all night without sleep, he found the material within the folders far too interesting to put down.
"Ichi, you gotta sleep bro," Shiro yawned as he leaned against the wall next to his brothers desk.
"Hm? Yeah, yeah, I will," Ichigo mumbled, rubbing his temples. The albino twin cocked an eyebrow at this and moved, standing behind his brother.
"If ya don't sleep soon, yer gonna pass out fer a few days like ya did last time," He growled, slipping back into his other way of speech.
"I know that!" The orange haired twin grunted. He felt his twins' hands on his shoulders and groaned as he began to rub and press on all the knots and kinks he'd gotten from staying in one position too long. He set the folder down and leaned into his brothers' hands, closing his eyes as Shiro continued. The albino snickered and continued, seeing how relaxed his twin was. He knew it wouldn't be long before he passed out from exhaustion.. not to mention he would crash from all the coffee he'd had the last two days. He heard Ichigo's breathing slow and saw him slump forward and smiled.
"Alright, King, time fer bed," Shiro chuckled and picked his younger twin up. Ichigo grumbled weakly but didn't protest, too exhausted. He helped his twin into bed and tucked him in, something he'd gotten used to doing since Ichigo started working at AMSI. He nearly fell over when Zangetsu bumped his head against his leg and growled, wanting attention. "Jealous much?" He teased the dog as he knelt down. Zangetsu whined at him, as though trying to scold him for calling him jealous. Why would he have any reason to be jealous? The day he became jealous was the day his pup's started dating someone. Then he would be jealous. Shiro rubbed the mutt's ears and scratched his back, snickering as Zangetsu stopped his leg from shaking. "Yer too damn proud, Zangetsu, just let yer damn leg shake, eh?" Those black eyes bore into Shiro's gold pair and he gently bit at his arm. The albino scowled and took his arm back, rubbing Zangetsu's ears more.
The wolf bred dog mix eventually gave in and whined, letting himself indulge just this once as his tail wagged and his foot thumped against the floor. Shiro laughed and finally stopped.
"Keep King comfy, yeah?" He smirked and patted the bed, letting Zangetsu get on the bed next to the sleeping Ichigo. The mutt growled and rested his head on the orange head's stomach, as though to say 'you know I will'. Shiro smirked and shut the lights off, pouting to himself. He hated when Ichigo stayed in his study but he knew if he'd taken his brother back to their room, he would have freaked out. Sighing, the albino twin left back to their room for some well deserved rest.
XxXxXx
By the end of the two weeks, Ichigo looked like he'd been to several parties from the black circles under his eyes and how he could barely keep his head up. Shiro made him go to bed quite early the day before he had to go back to work and made sure he stayed asleep. In the morning, the 18 year old looked better than he had the day before, it always amazed people by how fast the two recovered from such things.
"Good luck today, bro," Shiro ruffled his twins' hair with a smirk. Ichigo ducked away and scowled at him. "Watch it, or yer face might get stuck like that," He teased.
"And that shit-eating grin of yours might get stuck on your face too," He muttered as he ate some toast. Shiro let out a cackle and smirked at his younger twin. "See you tonight, I'll call if things change," The albino nodded and watched as Ichigo left.
"Looks like its just you and me, Zangetsu," He said to the dog, who had his head in Shiro's lap.
-Arrancar Medical Study Institute-
Mayuri stood outside waiting for Ichigo to arrive and snorted when he did.
"How you get here from across town, I will never know," He grunted. "Now, have you gone over all the material that Octavo gave you?"
"Yes sir, Dr. Mayuri," He bowed and handed back all the folders. "The material caught my interest right away. I've heard about the subject but.. I never thought it was possible. The survival rate of such experiments is very slim.."
"Which is why I'm having you help in this procedure, Quince!" Mayuri interrupted him. "Your knowledge of medicine is what's going to help us today, all your hard work will pay off," Ichigo nodded, now silent. "Now, follow me, we're going to begin," Again he nodded and followed the older man into the labs. Ichigo shivered slightly when he saw the other scientists and heard the faint growling of a large animal as they sedated it.
"Sir, we've harvested the necessary gene's from the panther," One scientist, who if Ichigo remembered correctly, was named Akon, told the man. Mayuri looked over the charts he was handed and nodded, handing them back. He told Ichigo to get ready and watched as he scurried off to get his equipment and lab coat. When he returned, he found that a man had brought in. He was at least 6 feet tall and towered over most of the scientists, his handsome features were solemn, like he was resigned to his fate now. Ichigo supposed this was better than death row...
He watched as the man was strapped to a table, his arms and legs shackled down to the table so that if he struggled, he wouldn't be able to get free. All sharp objects were kept away from him as he passed by, and for good reason too. As Ichigo had been told, the man was an excellent escape artist, with stealth and grace to match that of the majestic beast that they had captured. He watched as various machines came to life with a low hum. Everyone got their radiation gear on and the experiment soon began. For the life of him, Ichigo could not understand why the subject was kept awake during this whole thing.
"Quince, would you like to do the honor of injecting the panther gene?" Szayel asked him, smiling from under his hood. Ichigo kept his excitement down and nodded, walking over to take the syringe from the pink haired scientist. He looked into the eyes of their subject and gulped as he looked away, the needle hovering above his arm. The vein was very prominent on him and looked as though it were bulging from his arm. This made it easier for the young male, as his hand was shaking slightly.
"Just get it over with," The test subject finally growled at him. Everyone looked up, they were genuinely shocked to hear him speak. Ichigo scowled and stuck the needle into the bulging vein, injecting the gene's into him. He pulled the needle out and stepped back, watching as the test subject grunted and began to shake.
"Stand clear!" Someone shouted as they began the electro/radio activity. Ichigo's eyes were wide and his breathing shallow as he continued to watch.
"Quince, the medicine!" Szayel hissed at him. Grabbing another syringe, this one filled with his own creation, Ichigo stabbed it into the man's neck, injecting the light blue liquid into the blood stream. The concoction was something to help the body accept the new gene and bind it to the human DNA strands. Before the experiment had started, they'd given him another injection that broke down the DNA in certain areas to make room for the panther DNA, which would then fill in the gaps. The electro/radio activity also worked with his drug to help bind the two DNA particles and sealed the bond. Ichigo stepped back after that, panting, eyes wide as he watched the test subject. The man was struggling helplessly against his bonds, the scientists were forced to place a mouth guard in his mouth to make sure he didn't bite his tongue.
Ichigo caught a glimpse of the mouth guard and was curious why it had spaces meant for what looked like large canine teeth. He watched with wide eyes as the muscles beneath the man's skin began to ripple and a pained, though muffled, scream erupted from his mouth. He knew the man's body structure was changing as well as his muscle definition. His eyes shot open and Ichigo watched, almost mortified, as they changed to an eerie, almost glowing, blue color and the pupil became like that of a cat. They didn't stay like that though, they soon rounded out again and he shut his eyes in pain. Ichigo blinked and he swore he saw ears appear on his head but when he blinked again, they were gone. Slowly, the man began to settle down, his body drenched in sweat, his breath heavy and labored almost. The mouth guard was removed and the orange head caught a glimpse of lengthened canine's in his mouth.
"Quince, the stabilizer," Szayel murmured. Ichigo snapped out of his daze and injected a clear drug that would help stabilize the man and hopefully, allow him to survive through the rest of the day. Once the test subject was taken away to the Recovery and Observation labs, Ichigo went to go change and take a quick shower in the personal wash rooms. After he was done, he found Szayel waiting for him, smiling. "You did well today, Quince," He commended. Though he wouldn't admit it, Ichigo had gone far beyond his expectations. "Were you nervous?"
"I won't lie.. Yeah I was," He sighed, pulling his shirt on. "When that guy started shaking, I thought he was going to die right then and there."
"Well, he didn't," Szayel chuckled. "All thanks to you and that drug," Ichigo forced down a small blush.
"It was nothing really," He muttered.
"If it weren't for you, this would not have gone as smoothly as it did," Szayel continued. "Well, Dr. Mayuri has said you can leave for the day, and that you are to report here first thing in the morning." Ichigo nodded and waved as he left, feeling drained by all that had occurred. All he wanted to do was go home, go to bed, and sleep for the rest of the day...
XxXxXx
In the Recovery and Observation Labs, Mayuri smiled widely. He couldn't believe it had worked! During the two weeks that he had given himself he had managed to infuse human DNA into the Panther and make it change into a human, but they were cutting it pretty close seeing as the change began to cause problems. They almost lost the test subject before Kurosaki could do anything.
But seeing how quick the boy was and how efficent his work was as well. Now it was only a matter of seeing if Sexta would pull through, though he was still shocked that the panther spoke. The arrogant beast refused to speak a word to anyone, but when Kurosaki had hesitated, he told him to get it over with.
'He must have thought we were going to kill him... fool.' Mayuri though as he stood behind the one-way mirror watching Szayel checking over the machines and IVs connected to Sexta. 'Now we only need to see what can be done with Sexta... Grimmjow Jeagerjaques.'
Shukaku: Tell us what you think!
Rye: And ask us anything if you are lost or confused.
Shiro: Remember ta R&R everyone!