Greed: What's up! See, we're hoping this isn't late. (We've written everything in advance and we aren't changing it unless something really important pops up!)

Vanity: So, we hope you enjoy this lovely little chapter we have put together. No spoilers for you, though. We just aren't that nice (or mean in some peoples' opinion).

Greed: Read and review motherfudruckers! We get all tingly when we get a review, if you know what I mean. Ahaha.

Vanity: Vulgar idiot.

Greed: You love me!

…

Chapter 12… Complications

…

Ichigo wasn't sure what was happening, and Shiro wasn't helping much. The bastard was doing everything in his power to keep at least half control of their shared body. His useless cackling was beginning to grate on Ichigo's nerves.

"Would you shut up for even two seconds? Something's happening outside and I can't hear a damned thing thanks to you."

"Gahaha! You're such a dope, King! That's the sound of fighting. I wonder if they've finally gotten fed up with each other and started killing off everyone."

That wasn't possible, Ichigo thought to himself. The only thing he could think of was that Shinji was trying to save his friends. He knew that Shinji was one of the ones not captured because he was too crafty to be caught. He sighed and started his newest routine. Trying to find a way to get those nasty devises off of his arm and neck.

…

Shinji was right in the middle of fighting off one of the newest captains. The fucker was just too annoying.

The blond man was about to pull out his mask when a large brute came barreling out of nowhere right into his opponent.

Kenpachi stood after tackling the other captain, holding the smaller man up in the air by his throat. The man was unconscious, causing Kenpachi to huff out a breath of annoyance and drop him. "That wasn't fun at all."

"You're right. It was annoying," Shinji agreed. Kenpachi grinned at the skinny man and laughed. "Now, where is Mayuri? Wasn't he supposed to be the one guarding this section? We can't have any more surprises if we're going to get everyone out like planned."

Kenpachi shrugged and Yachiru giggled. "Mad Scientist Man must be experimenting. I wouldn't be surprised if he hasn't even noticed that something's wrong," the girl squealed.

Shinji rolled his eyes. "Can we just get a move on?" he asked.

"Sure! Kenny will get Scientist Man. You find Berryhead and the others!" Yachiru shouted as Kenpachi took off toward the 12th division barracks. Shinji just rolled his eyes and headed toward the barrack where the prisoners were kept. Hopefully everyone would be there.

…

Ichigo bristled as the door to his cell opened. This was the first time someone had come to his door in the two days he had been here.

When the door swung open, it revealed the lunatic scientist Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Without thinking, without even realizing what was happening, Ichigo had lunged at the makeup wearing man, only to drop to the floor after the first step, garbled voice screaming in pain.

"That wasn't very smart, Kurosaki. Or am I speaking with the other one? Ah, this is such a rare opportunity. I've never had a Vizard as my subject before." The man cackled crazily as he approached the panting boy. "It's too bad you are already mentally unstable, however. I would have liked to see what you were like healthier. Ah well. I can always ask to have one of the others. I'm sure no one will miss them."

Ichigo tried to move as the 12th Division Captain drew closer. His body would respond to any commands, though.

"Ah, I see you're having problems. Nemu! Help the Kurosaki boy to the lab. We have experiments to run. And we only have about a month to do them. After that they'll probably kill the boy," Mayuri scoffed. "I don't know why they won't just let me keep him here. We could produce a clone," he mused as his 'daughter' pulled Ichigo up from the floor. "They could kill it and we could keep him. No one would ever know. He'll probably be almost dead by the time we're done; no one would see the difference."

Nemu kept quiet throughout the whole tirade. Ichigo could barely keep his feet even with the girl's support. The thought of being in this man's clutches was worse than any hell. Ishida had told him what he had wanted to do to Orihime, and that had apparently been the light version because she was female. It wouldn't do him any good to be with this man for a long period of time. Hell, even just this little bit of time was too much.

'King, we need to get out of here,' his hollow supplied, not helping in the least.

'I know that. I KNOW that! But you did this. You attacked him and now we won't be able to move for a while. You're the one that needs to think more before he acts, Shiro. I don't know what to do. This isn't good." Ichigo was starting to panic. Things had never been so bad. So bad as to rip him away from his family, rip his family from their home. Rukia was hurt and Renji and the other Vizards were captives of Soul Society. He was going to be experimented on. Pain he could handle in the heat of battle. This wasn't battle. This was pure torture and Kurotsuchi hadn't even started yet.

'Calm down, King. Yer startin to hyperventilate. I'll help ya out. I'll stop some o' the pain.' Ichigo couldn't believe it. It sounded as if his hollow was actually trying to help. 'I can even take over. Ya won't even feel a thing.' There it was. The play for total control, and it was so tempting. Ichigo wasn't going to give in, though.

'Shut up, Shiro. Just… just shut up.' His copy didn't answer.

It didn't take much longer for them to reach the lab. Nemu promptly dragged the teenager over to a metal table and straightened him out so that his limbs lined up with the straps. A minute later and the teen was fully restrained. It only took a few minutes more for him to regain the use of his fatigued body. He didn't bother pulling at his bonds. He was too weak to get away right now. Maybe, maybe if he could get stronger he could get out and save the others. Rukia, Renji, and the Vizards that had gotten captured with him.

Mayuri watched the boy as he got ready for the first experiment. He grabbed a scalpel and then moved closer to the boy. The captain chuckled making the boy glance up at him sharply. He seemed to pale at the sight of the knife. "Nemu, remove his shirt and give him a dose of that new drug I've been working on. I think that one will work nicely." He turned back to the boy on his examination table. "It's something that will allow you to feel pain. It slows down blood flow and even keeps you conscious. Wonderful mixture, just wonderful."

The orange headed boy closed his eyes as Nemu cut his shirt off. Just moments after the fabric was pulled away, something cold pressed into the inside of his elbow. He flinched, not being able to help himself as cold liquid rushed through his veins. The drug itself was almost agony inducing. It caused a cold burning within his blood.

"In pain already? That dose shouldn't have bothered you so much." Mayuri laughed again. Then he lowered the scalpel to rest right below the teen's ribs and applied pressure and dragged down. Ichigo almost didn't scream. However, as his stomach was cut open, he couldn't hold back the terrified sound.

Shiro was whispering in his head. 'I can get us out, just give in. Let me loose. Ya know I can heal us faster. Let me free. Let Me Free. LET ME FREE, KING!' It was a shout in his head that just echoed in his skull as the pain seemed to go on for hours. Ichigo no longer knew what Mayuri was doing after the first or second cut. Everything was blending in together and it was getting harder and harder to not give into that voice. The voice that was now almost soothing. 'I can take the pain away, King. Let me free. You can sleep. Forever if you want. Just let go.' It wasn't screaming at him anymore and that made it so easy. So easy to sink down into that voice.

And that's what delirious boy did. That voice finally convinced him. He couldn't remember the reason why it would be bad to let that voice out.

Mayuri continued on with his work and didn't realize that the boy's demeanor had changed until he opened his eyes. Both were a shining gold engulfed in black. Kurotsuchi didn't really put much thought into the change until the boy started to thrash uncontrollably. The restrains—both arms and legs, head, chest, and abdomen—should have made movement virtually impossible. Now he couldn't get his work done. "Nemu! You stupid girl! You should have strapped him down more," the man yelled at his 'daughter.' As he turned to physically reprimand her, a screeching sound filled the lab. Mayuri looked back to see Kurosaki's hand freed and reaching for the straps holding down the rest of his body.

He tried to restrain the reaching arm, but was shoved into the wall with impossible force. In the few seconds it took him to get back to the boy's side, said boy had pulled everything but his legs free and those only took him a second more to rip apart. By this time a mask, complete with horns and two bold, red strips down the face, was facing the 12th Division Captain. Its mouth was open, and its skull mask seemed to hold an expression of deep anger.

And then a scream, a howl of such rage, filled the small space.

The monster rushed the two shinigami within the room, aiming for the Captain first. Mayuri didn't even have time to call on his Bankai to save himself. Before he could even get the second syllable to form, his head was bashed into a table holding different liquids in glass and metal containers. That ever present grin of his had finally been wiped away, though the hollowfied teen didn't really think of such things. He thought of hunger and rage and destruction.

Hunger was first, though. And shinigami were wonderful meals.

…

Zaraki was in the 12th division labs. When he raced into the one Yachiru thought Mayuri may have been in he was met with an empty room. As he was about to say something to his pink haired menace of a vice-captain, a howl ripped through the building, making the walls shuddered with its force.

The large man turned with a wide grin on his face. He now knew where Mayuri was. That had to be something he had caused. The man must have had one of the Vizards in his hands to make such a racket.

He took off in that direction, no longer needing advice from the sometimes infuriating little girl on his back.

When he finally entered Kurotsuchi's lab he found the strange captain to be nowhere in sight. What was in sight, however, was a long, orange haired, humanoid hollow facing an emotionless Nemu. The creature, Ichigo, advanced. When he was close enough to the lieutenant, his hand shot out and into her chest. The woman gasped and blood fell from her mouth, but she didn't struggle. She waited patiently as he devoured her, sucking her reiatsu dry. After a moment her body disintegrated into nothing.

Yachiru chose that time to pop up over Kenpachi's shoulder. "Yay! We found Berry head!" she exclaimed. The hollowfied Ichigo snapped his head to look at the source of the voice. Shaded golden eyes narrowed and the mask seemed to hold a cautious expression, body language adding to the faux show of emotion. Then, muscles bunched and the hollow leapt for the beast of a shinigami in front of him.

Kenpachi dodged the rushing Vizard and removed his eye-patch at the same time. The following flood of spiritual pressure caused the hollow to up his already terrifying reiatsu. The resulting crash of power crumbled the stone of the Science Department causing the whole of the building to collapse. As the building fell, Ichigo was already turning back toward Kenpachi. The 11th squad captain almost didn't move in time to dodge the blow that would have landed on his back, dangerously close to his pink haired lieutenant. The small girl turned a blank eyed stare to the hollowfied teen before almost launching herself at the threat. Before she could act, though, Kenpachi grabbed her and thrust her in the opposite direction. No words were needed to tell her to get out of the way.

Yachiru shot off in the direction she was thrust, reverting back to her giggly self as if nothing had happened.

Ichigo didn't even bother to go after the girl since there was a much larger source of reiatsu right in front of him. He opened his skeletal mouth and let out a long, intimidating howl. He'd have this shinigami as a meal. The other two just weren't enough. Maybe this large source of power would fill the emptiness. The howl stopped and silence filled the once noisy air. It was like being deaf after hearing perfectly, this abrupt stillness.

The orange headed Vizard didn't stay still for long after letting go of that horrendous sound. He once more lunged toward his prey. And the prey lunged back at him.

Kenpachi went at the teenager with his serrated sword, meeting the Vizard's black blade and making sparks fly. The duo separated for a mere second before going at each other once more. The swords were halfway forgotten as they each went to mark the other with fists and claws and kicks. The dark haired captain started to make a move toward the hollowfied teenager as he rushed passed him, missing severing the man's arm by centimeters. He had his sword under the boy's chin and then he was gone. The bastard was playing with him it seemed.

The smaller male appeared behind the larger male a split second later. Just as he was about to end their game, hands and swords were everywhere, forcing him down out of the air and onto the ground.

"Kenpachi, you ass! You were supposed to inform us of his whereabouts if you found him!" a blond Vizard yelled at the overgrown captain. Shinji looked at the fallen Ichigo. The boy was desperately trying to claw his way to freedom. However, with several captains, Vizards, and other shinigami helping to hold down the volatile Ichigo, he wasn't going anywhere soon. "Get restraints on him. Kido and reiatsu suppressants. Whatever you can find. We're going back to the world of the living."

He looked to his companions, all of those they had gotten out of the prison barracks and even Rukia, who was in Renji's arms. Everyone was looking at the teen that had been forced to the ground. No, he had been forced to live a life that he hadn't been ready for. Soul Society had forced a boy of seventeen to run for his life, starve, fight, and give up his very humanity to stay alive. They had even forced him to kill. Even for a grown man or woman, all of that would have been too much. It wasn't a surprise to anyone that Ichigo had become this… thing once more to survive. The world was ugly. And sometimes, you had to be just as ugly to survive it.

…

Greed: So, thoughts? What do you think about that? Don't worry, that's not the end end. Okay? We're making an epilogue to finish it off.

Vanity: Sorry that we dislike happy endings. We're not the most optimistic of people. We'll get back to you with the actual ending in a while. Hope you enjoyed this lovely chapter as much as we did. Review with your thoughts. (And don't say we disappointed you with a dreary ending to this chapter. No one said it would be a happy one.) Until next time.