Chapter 3
The Central 46 chamber was dark, but wide; A rounded colosseum where all 46 members of the chamber could pear down at him as if he were an animal on display at a zoo. It was cool, and that alone made the entire hot walk there worth it.
He stood in the center of the chamber with his hands bound in front of him, under a hot white light that beamed down from overhead. He couldn't see any of the chamber members' faces, as they were all behind partitions that were simply marked with their corresponding numbers. He felt as if he were being judged, sentenced to death by combat in the colosseum. It made his stomach uneasy, being under so many gazes that he couldn't return, while he waited for proceedings to begin.
"Uryū Ishida. Occupation: Human and Quincy. Known for your work with the Substitute Shinigami, Ichigo Kurosaki. Do you know why you are here?" Asked one of the members, but with the vastness of the chamber, his voice echoed, making it impossible for Uryū to determine whom had spoken.
"To be questioned regarding Captain Kuchiki's and Nyruki Sawada's disappearance." Uryū said evenly, looking around at all the partitions.
"Precisely. We have already questioned Ichigo Kurosaki at length, and he has woven quite the interesting tale. We would like to corroborate his telling with yours." Said another unknown member.
"Very well. I will tell you everything that occurred." Uryū said.
"Were you with the Substitute Shinigami, Ichigo Kurosaki, when he first discovered that Captain Byakuya Kuchiki, captain of the 6th Division, and his subordinate, Nyruki Sawada, arrived in Karakura Town?" This one a female's voice.
Uryū nodded, "Yes. I arrived shortly after him at Urahara's shop."
"Please, have a seat, Uryū Ishida."
Uryū's brows furrowed as he glanced around, seeing a plain metal chair appear out of the darkness from a second beam of light that came down from above. He hesitated, simply staring at the chair with the uneasiness in his stomach growing in strength.
"Uryū Ishida... Sit."
Drawing in a long breath, Uryū turned and sat down, resting his bound hands in his lap. The moment he did, a pair of small scientists, both wearing lab coats, appeared through the darkness, cutting his bonds before firmly strapping his wrists to the chair's armrests with leather buckles.
"What is this? What's going on?" Uryū asked, tugging at the straps that had been secured with locking brackets.
The scientists knelt down and bound his ankles together with a long leather strap that extended from the front legs of the chair. He struggled against the leather bonds, but they were far too think and far too secure for him to gain any sort of advantage against them.
"Remain still, Uryū Ishida."
"Remain still? You strapped me to a chair! What are you planning?" Uryū shouted, all but demanding that he be told.
"We plan to simply acquire the information we need. This won't hurt, Uryū Ishida. Once we are finished, you will be escorted back to your cell while we continue with our investigation."
"I said I would tell-"
Uryū was cut off as a low, maniacal cackle began to echo from behind him. He knew that low chuckle, that snicker of malice and intent. It was a low cackle, one that brewed from the lower depths of one's throat and it was one he heard in Hueco Mundo.
"Kurotsuchi!? Don't come near me!" Uryū struggled more against the straps, digging the leather into his wrists.
"Now now... Don't be so hasty to resist, Quincy. Though, I must correct the Central 46 members. This will not be comfortable." Mayuri Kurotsuchi said as he stepped into Uryū's view with his hands clasped behind his back.
Uryū's struggling worsened, "Don't touch me!"
Mayuri's fear inducing grin widened as he reached up and lowered a half domed helmet, attached to the back of the high back chair with a squadron of wires that rose up into the dark coming out of the top. He settled it over Uryū's head before he strapped it on with another leather strap below his chin.
"You'll want this." Mayuri grinned as he forced a rolled cloth between Uryū's teeth.
Once Uryū was secured, Mayuri began to roll up the sleeve of the teenager's right arm to expose the crook of his elbow where he pulled out an elastic band and tied it a bit too tightly around his arm. Mayuri rapped a cold finger against his sweating skin to coax the largest vein to expose itself before he pulled a large syringe from his pocket and brought the needle to his skin.
Uryū struggled, writhed to try and get free of the contraption, but the straps were far too firm in their hold. He was completely at the mercy of the one person he loathed, absolutely despised above all else and all he could do was wait for whatever was to come and bite down on the cloth roll that had been forced into his mouth.
With his grin widening to its fullest width, all golden teeth and no lips, Mayuri buried the needle into Uryū's arm.
With a sucking gasp, Uryū shot bolt upright on his bedroll with large beads of cold sweat streaking down his face. His hair clung to his clammy skin and his heart thundered like a jackhammer in his chest, almost painfully, until his eyes finally focused in on where he actually was.
He looked around the dark cell and realized that it had all been a nightmare. He wasn't strapped to that horrible machine anymore, or face to face with the mad scientist, but rather he had been asleep, safe in his cell with the others.
"You ok, Ishida?" Ichigo asked from his bedroll, one over and in the corner.
Uryū took several moments to control his breathing as Nyruki knelt down beside him, brushing his hair from his face and pressing a fresh chunk of ice to the nape of his neck that felt like heaven against the lingering heat of the night.
"It was just a bad dream." Uryū said with a soft gulp as he rested his head in a hand.
"You feeling better?" Nyruki asked softly, running the ice around his neck to coat it in cold.
"Yes. Thank you." Uryū said with a heavy sigh.
"What happened with Central 46?" Nyruki asked, moving the ice chunk to his forehead and brushing his hair from his face once more.
"They had me strapped to that machine and Kurotsuchi injected me with something. After that, I felt like I was burning alive and then everything that's happened over the last few days was racing by my vision. It looped endlessly and it made my stomach churn so badly that I feared I was going to throw up right there." Uryū said as his shoulders slumped and he released another heavy, exhausted sigh.
"Knowing Mayuri Kurotsuchi, what he injected was most likely a memory inducing drug of some sort and the machine then translated and projected those memories for the chamber members to see." Byakuya said, leaning back against the wall on his bedroll.
"That sounds like what Ulquiorra could do when he crushed his eye. He would take the damn thing right out of his head, crush it into a glittery powder and then we'd all breathe it in. Not a second later and we'd be watchin' exactly what he saw like it was some damn movie." Grimmjow said from the other side of the cell.
"Perhaps that is where Mayuri Kurotsuchi got the idea. I do remember him bringing back a rather large amount of cargo from Hueco Mundo." Byakuya said, resting his chin on a knuckle.
"How much you wanna bet Szayelaporro had some shit on him. That motherfucker couldn't leave anythin' alone. Hell, not even Fracción were safe." Grimmjow scoffed with a click of his tongue against the roof of his mouth.
"And you would be correct, Grimmjow." Uryū said lowly.
"I am concerned, Nyruki. He may be trying to revisit his time when we were trapped in your inner world." Byakuya said, glancing over to her.
Nyruki drew in a long breath as she placed the ice chunk in the palm of Uryū's hand and pressed it to his exposed chest.
"What? I'm confused." Ichigo said, scratching his head.
"If he is, then we've gotta destroy it. We can't let him get anything from that research." Nyruki said, glancing back over her shoulder at him.
"I agree, but we cannot focus on that until after the battle royale." Byakuya said.
"Ok... Hold the damn phone... What the hell did you guys go through in there?" Ichigo asked with a strong furrowing in his brow.
"We learned about Captain Kurotsuchi's deepest desires." Byakuya said simply.
"How sick and twisted was that? All kink, leather and chains?" Grimmjow asked with a crooked smirk.
"You would not be far off the mark, though it wasn't of a sexual nature." Byakuya said as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"His deepest desire is to experiment on anyone of lieutenant level spiritual power, or higher and develop a fusion serum so he can fuse the captains and Ichigo with their Zanpakutōs." Nyruki said, resting a hand on Uryū's back to help him stay sitting up and continue pressing the ice to his chest.
"Whoa whoa whoa... That sounds an awful lot like a Resurrección?" Grimmjow gaped.
"Precisely. I hadn't made the connection until now. The research for such an experiment must have been in the cargo he brought back from Hueco Mundo. I'm almost certain of it." Byakuya said, releasing a long sigh.
"I wouldn't doubt it. In fact, Szayelaporro was researchin' our releases before you all showed up. The Arrancar literally fuse with our swords when we release. They hold our power from back when we were still Hollows." Grimmjow said.
"Then we've got a problem. We need to speak with somebody and fast, Byakuya. If he's left unchecked, that whole nightmare might come true." Nyruki said, locking concerned gazes with him.
"I agree. When Rukia arrives, we will task her with taking the message to Captain Ukitake. Once we're out of here, we will deal with him." Byakuya said firmly.
"What're you gonna do? Take it to the Head-Captain?" Ichigo asked.
"Perhaps, but I would like the ultimate outcome not to be his removal from captain." Byakuya said as he stared at the floor to muse.
"What? Why? He's psychotic!" Uryū suddenly burst out, only to have his vision whirl from a dizzy spell.
Nyruki firmed her grip on his shoulder before he could collapse and helped him lay back down, still with his hand pressing the ice chunk to his chest to calm his racing heart. She gently removed his glasses so he could rest more comfortably and set them down next to his pillow, away from the risk of getting crushed.
"Despite our mutual distaste, Uryū Ishida, Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi is an asset to the Gotei 13, as well as the reason you survived your encounter with Szayelaporro Granz." Byakuya said with a glance at the boy.
"Can't he get into some kind of trouble?" Uryū asked with hope in his tired eyes.
"I did not say he wouldn't. I just said he wouldn't be removed from his position." Byakuya said as he released a slow sigh.
"I'll Bankai him... I could Bankai him... Just sayin'." Ichigo shrugged as he interlocked his fingers behind his head.
"You will have to wait in line, Ichigo Kurosaki."
By the blessing of Heaven, the heat had given way to more rain, but the air was still thick from the humidity, only cooler and making it impossible to sleep with the thin blankets that had accompanied their bedrolls.
Luckily, Uryū had recovered from his time spent in the machine whose chair was the only thing visible and had slept soundly after waking from his nightmare. Ichigo had spent most of the night softly snoring and seemingly in competition with Grimmjow whom still claimed that he purred instead of snored, while Byakuya and Nyruki, somehow, managed to get some sleep through the noise.
While he slept on his back, Nyruki had used his arm as her pillow, facing away from him, but still trapped within the safety of that very arm. He had used his pillow to cover his face with the hope of drowning out the dueling purrs, but it did little other than to mess up his already deplorable hair.
He laid quiet and still as he snoozed while the sky shifted colors from blue black to the morning kaleidescope of orange, pink and yellow that was shaded with gray. It seemed to be a quiet morning, with the only sounds being that of the gentle rustle of the Spring rain. He didn't mind that kind of quiet, save for the twin purrs and it allowed him to have the rare moment of letting his mind go blank.
The sound of approaching footfalls forced him to open an eye however, much to his dismay. It had been a rare moment to simply lay and relax next to Nyruki, embracing her while they both slept, but as their guests appeared in front of their cell, he knew he had to wrest himself from her warmth.
With the offering of food that made his sinuses come alive, Byakuya sat up to see Rukia softly smiling back at him. She had accompanied the two guards that they had all come to know has Hayato Shinoda, the taller one, and Shirō Katagiri, the shorter one, as they brought their morning meal. However, this meal was not the plain slop that they had been eating, but rather a delightful meal prepared by the chefs at the Kuchiki estate.
"Morning, Nii-Sama." Rukia smiled as the two guards opened the cell.
"A morning made brighter by the addition of real food." Byakuya said as he stood and went to the bars directly in front of Rukia.
"I thought you'd like that considering... well... prison food." Rukia cringed.
Hayato and Shirō handed out the trays of delightfully smelling jasmine rice and freshly cut fruit from the Kuchiki's own gardens. The scent was so welcoming and helped ease the tension within the cell that had steadily been rising since Uryū's alarming return.
"Thank you so much, Rukia." Nyruki smiled wide as she sat down on her bedroll with her tray.
"Of course." Rukia rested her hands on her hips and continued to softly smile.
"I assume you got my summons?" Byakuya asked, keeping his voice down to just above a whisper.
"I did... Though it took a bit for these two to get it to me." Rukia said, pointing her thumb at the pair as they closed the cell door and locked it.
"We had to wait until we were relieved of duty for the evening, Captain. Otherwise, it would have drawn suspicion. We apologize for the delay." Shirō said as both he and Hayato bowed low.
"Do not worry yourselves. I understand the need for discretion. You two should return to your posts to avoid that very suspicion." Byakuya said lowly.
"Yes, Captain." Both said before they rose and left.
Rukia waited several moments until the pair had turned the corner, only to wait a little longer to make sure ears had adequately reached out of their rage.
"Nii-Sama-"
"Ssh... I will say only this. I need you to go through the Hollow History records for Karakura town for the last several months." Byakuya said, placing his hands on the bars.
"Renji and I are already on it. We started yesterday when we figured that there had to be a reason you would risk protecting a previous enemy." Rukia said in her own harsh whisper.
"Good girl. Go to the Restricted Archives within the Great Library. The more detailed records are kept there." Byakuya whispered to her.
Rukia's eyes widened for a moment, "But... But, Nii-Sama, I don't have the code. I'm not the clan head."
"I am aware, but we need the best information you can gather. Take Renji with you. Tell the guards posted outside the door that he's your escort from Squad 6 and enter the code 0114. That will grant you access." Byakuya said lowly.
"Are you sure about this, Nii-Sama?" Rukia asked with a bit of shock in her tone.
Byakuya nodded, "Yes," He looked over his shoulder, "Grimmjow... How long ago did you start working with Ichigo Kurosaki and his group?"
"Like I fuckin' keep track... Um... six months I think." Grimmjow shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Go seven months back. Renji will know what to do to compile the file for presentation to Central 46." Byakuya said, turning back to look at his adopted sister.
"Nii-Sama... I... I'm not sure-"
"Go, Rukia. There is no time. Central 46 is considering an execution so you must hurry. Also, take a message to Captain Ukitake. All you need to tell him is that Mayuri Kurotsuchi is becoming an issue. He will know what I am referring to." Byakuya said, his words laced with urgency despite their whisper.
Rukia's eyes widened, but she nodded and without a word, started back down the hall as fast as she could without drawing suspicion.
The moment she was gone, Byakuya went to sit on his bedroll where Nyruki had placed his meal, under the gaze of all the others whom seemed to be watching a bit too curiously for his liking.
"Is there a reason why you are observing me so astutely?" Byakuya asked plainly as he started to eat, not even once looking at any of them.
"When did you become mister spy?" Ichigo asked with a crooked smirk.
"I am hardly spying, Ichigo Kurosaki." He said plainly.
"That was spy shit. I know spy shit when I see it." Ichigo continued to smirk.
"If you so wish to call it 'spy shit' as you so ineloquently put it, than yes. I am being sneaky and procuring our innocence... All of our innocence."
Rukia's balls to the wall sprint had taken it out of her. She had run so fast as soon as she was out of sight of the Squad 1 detainment wing, that she had needed to sit down for a moment to catch her breath once she reached the steps of the Great Library. The rain had slowed to a modest drizzle, and a soft breeze had picked up, blowing away a lot of the humidity from the previous day's heat. It helped to cool her off and catch her breath and after several minutes, she felt normal enough to go inside the massive structure behind her.
It was a grand pagoda styled building with diamond shaped facade that was crested with not only the symbol of the Great Library, but with the crest of the Kuchiki integrated into its design. It was dark red with blackened roof tiles, all kept in perfect order and maintained with the same pride as the Kuchiki manor. She loved the way the outside of the Great Library looked and when she walked inside, it never ceased to amaze her just how grand the Great Library was.
The ceilings rose all the way up to the vaulted roof six stories up, wrapped with square balconies for each floor. Bookshelves the size of small buildings themselves were bolted to every wall, heavy with the burden of hundreds of books from eons of history. The many aisles were wide enough to drive caravans through and the floor was patterned with intricate tiles that were constantly kept clean by the army of workers assigned to the Great Library's care. In the center of the massive space was a computerized console in the shape of an octagon, tended to by three Kuchiki familiars and even more milled about all six floors to keep the Great Library's records in order; A job for a small army.
After paying the Great Library its moment of due, Rukia nodded her hello to the Kuchiki familiars working the central console as she passed by, heading to the stairs that wound take her one level down where she had last left Renji. She descended the stairs two by two until she reached the floor B1 and headed for the Hollow History section that was luckily, only a few rows down on the right.
"Renji!" Rukia called out as she skidded to a halt at the aisle she had left him.
"Wha? What's up? Why are you out of breath?" Renji asked, looking up from his tome and sitting on the floor surrounded by dozens more.
"I ran here... I just came back from seeing Nii-Sama." Rukia panted, putting her hands on her knees.
"Oh yeah? What he want? Breakfast?" Renji snickered, looking back down to his current book of interest.
"Put that down, Renji. We're going to the Restricted Archives." Rukia said as she walked up to him and yanked on his hair.
"Oi! Stop that! That hurts!" Renji yelped, dropping the tome into his lap, which only smacked down precisely where he didn't want it to.
"Come on! We don't have time!" Rukia urged, tugging harder on his hair to drag him along.
"Let go and I'll walk on my own!" Renji grit his teeth together as he rescued his hair from her grip and stood.
"Come on!"
Rukia snatched Renji's hand and started to run, but he yanked it free to wheel around and pick up an unmarked manila envelope that contained what little information they had already found.
"What's going on, Rukia? Why're we headed to the Restricted Archives that, last I checked, you couldn't get into?" Renji asked, having to surprisingly jog to keep up with her run.
"Nii-Sama needs us to get everything we can regarding the Hollow Histories for Karakura town in the past seven months." Rukia said as she whipped around the corner on their way to the restricted wing.
"Wha? That's what we're doing I thought." Renji said, tucking the folder under his arm as he easily kept up with her.
"Sort of... We need details and we're gonna get it there." Rukia said as she grabbed his Shihakushō to drag him along even faster.
They reached the end of their aisle, which ended in a T junction. She took the left that was marked with the direction for the Restricted Archives and slowed their furious pace to a normal walk just as the two large sentries came into view.
"Halt. Whom approaches?" Asked the large sentry on the right, armed with a halberd and wearing a black eyepatch that only marginally hid the jagged scar streaming down his face.
"Rukia Kuchiki. I seek entrance into the Restricted Archives. This is my escort Lieutenant Renji Abarai of the 6th Division." Rukia said, standing up a bit straighter and clasping her hands behind her back into a noble's stature.
"Good Morning, Rukia Kuchiki. Please enter the code." Said the sentry on the left, thinner than the other, but still thick with muscle and with bare arms completely covered in full tattoo sleeves.
The sentry on the right stepped aside, revealing a small keypad. She blew out a stiff breath as she stepped up to it and entered the code given to her.
0 1 1 4
With a low beep and a green light, the sentry on the left swiped his keycard down the card reader, which unlocked the door and slide it open, disappearing into the thick wall.
The moment the door was open, Rukia and Renji headed through into the dark corridor that was lit with small wall lights, beaming a yellow-green light upwards towards the ceiling. They walked passed several doors, labeled with the different sections of the Restricted Archives until they reach the third door down on the left.
They stepped through the door and into a large, but dark room in the shape of a cylinder, rising high above their heads. Its walls were lined with small vaults that were individually numbered and in the center was a round console that archived and made searching the trove of information easier than having to comb through each, individual vault, all locked with their own individual codes.
"Holy hell, Rukia." Renji breathed as he stared up at the high vault.
"I'll look through the console, you retrieve the files from the corresponding vaults." Rukia said as she went straight for the encircling console.
Renji rubbed the back of his neck as he looked around for a way to reach the higher vaults, finding it in the form of a tall metal ladder that was mounted to tracks that encircled the room.
"Alright. I suppose we better get started then." Renji groaned as he started to feel small compared to the size of the vault.
Rukia didn't even respond as her brows furrowed with concentration, searching the databanks for the right category, the right region, the right town. She rapped a finger over Karakura town's name and the next screen over was flooded with scrolling text, all being the archived history of Hollow appearances, their history and how they were eradicated. She scrolled through the endless stream, keenly watching the dates until she hit seven months ago, and it was marked in red.
"We're in business, Renji. First vault is 799875. Entry code is 7752."
Renji looked up at the daunting task of locating the vault, but it was made easy when the yellow-green coloring began to flash red, highlighting the vault he needed to go. It was halfway up the tall cylinder on the right and he breathed a sigh of relief that this was going to be a bit easier than he had originally thought.
It was Byakuya's turn to go before Central 46. He would be lying in saying he wasn't nervous, when in truth, he very much was, and it was all due to the knowledge that he would most likely be forced into Captain Kurotsuchi's machine. He wasn't enjoying the idea of being a subject under the scientist's microscope, but none could see it on his expressionless face.
The heat had broken and the humidity had finally ebbed away, giving way to a cool, but ominous Spring day that was blanketed with heavy clouds. The air smelt electric with another approaching storm, but for the time being, it was dry along his escorted walk to the Central 46 chamber. He stood up straight with his shoulders back, but his eyes were turned down towards the ground, never once acknowledging the onlookers of others as they passed by. The murmurs seemed endless, but he paid them no mind as they fell on deaf ears.
It was only a short walk from the Squad 1 detention wing to the entrance of the Central 46 chambers. He was escorted through the doors and down the long, seemingly endless flight of stairs until they reached a tall door that was peaked at the top. An escort pushed it open with relative ease, allowing a hiss of air to escape as the other lead Byakuya through into the awaiting darkness.
They guided him to stand in the center of a singular beam of light, coming down from directly overhead before they left without a word, leaving him alone, hands bound, and under the searing gaze of forty-six others whose faces he could not see.
"Captain Byakuya Kuchiki; 28th head of the Kuchiki house, Keeper of the Great Library and captain of the 6th Division. You can imagine our surprise that you are involved in such an investigation." Said a male voice from one of the forty-six spots surrounding him.
Byakuya, however, remained silent.
"Captain Kuchiki... Is it true that you willingly disappeared with the one, Nyruki Sawada, nearly a week ago?" This one was a female voice, but older, aged.
"That question, in and of itself, leads me to believe that you already know the answer." Byakuya said, scanning the partitions, marked with numbers, in front of him without turning his head.
"Answer the question, Captain."
"Yes. I willingly, under my own mind, left the Seireitei under cover of night with Nyruki Sawada." Byakuya said simply.
"Why did you decide to leave with her?"
"I do not feel that that question deserves to be answered, as it does not pertain to this inquiry." Byakuya said plainly.
"We will find out, Captain Kuchiki. Either by your own tongue, or by Captain Kurotsuchi's memory display device."
Byakura drew in a long breath to help him power through the nervous flip in his stomach at the mention.
"Very well... We left to hunt a Hollow from her past that we came to learn was a Vasto Lorde whom went by the name of Overlorde." Byakuya said, releasing the breath he had taken in.
"Yes... We have heard this name from your companions."
Byakuya remained silent.
"We shall commence with the memory display. Please sit, Captain."
The heavy click of a light coming on from overhead caused him to look back over his shoulder at the metal chair with thick leather straps and upturned half domed helmet.
"Is this really necessary?" He asked without so much as a twitch in his expression.
"You have no choice, Captain. Please sit."
With a silent exhale, Byakuya sat down in the chair, sitting up perfectly straight, much like he always did, with his bound hands resting delicately in his lap.
Not even a moment went by until the two scientists appeared out from the darkness and unbound his hands, placing each wrist on the armrests where they strapped them down. They buckled his ankles together, attached to the front legs so that he couldn't thrash, or kick, then left without ever once making eye contact. In fact, they never even looked up from the floor.
Strapped to the metal chair, Byakuya remained perfectly still and quiet until another approached, this one being the one person he wished wouldn't have been present; Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
However, he didn't say a word, nor did the painted captain make eye contact as he rolled up Byakuya's sleeve and pulled a strip of elastic from his pocket, tightly securing it around Byakuya's bicep before rapping a finger against the crook of his elbow. He lowered the half domed helmet down on top of Byakuya's head and strapped it on with his thin lips tugging into a crooked grin that only the noble could see.
It grated against every nerve, every ounce of patience he had and despite the Captain of Squad 12 not looking at him, Byakuya made damn sure that he was looking straight into those sickly yellow eyes.
Once the helmet was strapped on, Mayuri reached into his pocket and pulled out a cloth that had been rolled and tied at both ends.
"You'll be wanting this, Captain Kuchiki." He said so only Byakuya could hear.
Byakuya's eyes narrowed, but he remained silent as he opened his mouth and accepted the cloth.
With the cloth clamped between Byakuya's teeth, Mayuri returned his attention to the crook of the noble's elbow, flicking it a couple more times to coax the large vein to the surface. It didn't take long for the deep hue of bluish purple to appear through the thin vale of pale skin, becoming a perfect target for the syringe that the mad scientist had pulled from his other pocket.
"I recommend breathing." Mayuri said with a twitch in his grin before burying the needle.
The sharp and sudden sting of the needle made Byakuya flinch, but it was nothing compared to the intense burning that suddenly erupted in his arm, stemming from the injection site. The raging fire that felt like the heat of the sun quickly spread into his torso, into his other arm, down his legs to his toes before exploding up into his head like a volcano violently erupting.
Uryū had been right. He felt like he was burning to ash from the inside out. His eyes were forced into the back of his head as everything he had every seen, ever felt, ever experienced within the past week rushed passed his vision in an instant. The visions streamed passed his mind's eye like they were on fast forward, so fast that his stomach churned, cartwheeling with such speed that bile was creeping up his throat. He wanted them to stop, plead for them to stop before he was sick, but no words came out of his mouth, only pain in his jaw from clenching down on the rolled cloth with every ounce of his jaw pressure.
His throat rumbled from the pain as his whole body spasmed tight to the point where he felt his very muscles would break his own bones. His body screamed from the fire whose temperature was increasing, reaching levels that felt as if his skin was boiling, bubbling off his muscles like molten rock. The pain was so much that he would rather be back fighting Overlorde than sitting in that metal chair, completely at the mercy of a mad scientist.
Unable to contain the pain any longer, or the torrent of visions screaming through his mind, Byakuya's stomach gave up trying to fight and he doubled over, heaving what he had had for breakfast onto the floor with a liquid splash. His stomach heaved again, purging more of his breakfast onto the floor and spreading the puddle to seep under his feet.
Just as another wretch curdled his stomach, the helmet was removed from his head, instantly making the mind exploding visions vanish and giving his body a chance to cool from the internal inferno. His breathing was heavy and his forehead had broken out into a cold sweat, beading large drops down his face that clung to his skin. His vision was blurry, but he could still see enough through the haze to make out the Central 46 members, as well as Mayuri Kurotsuchi standing next to him with that irritatingly smug grin spread across his face.
"Oh... Did I forget to tell you not to eat?... Whoops." Mayuri lowly cackled as he shrugged high with his palms up to the dark ceiling.
Byakuya spit out the last of the bile in his mouth onto the floor near Mayuri's feet, slowly panting from the experience of having been set on fire from within.
"Hmm... How unbecoming." Mayuri grumbled with his grin vanishing from having been spit on.
"You and I... are going to have... a talk after this... Mayuri Kurotsuchi." Byakuya panted, slumped over in the chair and with his head hanging down at his chest.
"Now we understand your reasonings, Captain Kuchiki. You left because of your feelings for Nyruki Sawada, not because you wished to find and eradicate Overlorde."
"No... You're wrong. It was in conjunction with wanting to destroy Overlorde. I was not going to allow a member of my squad to vanish without a trace and hunt a Hollow they knew nothing about." Byakuya said, wiping the edge of his mouth on his shoulder before lifting his head.
"You do not get to claim captain and subordinate now, Captain Kuchiki. It is clear that Nyruki Sawada and yourself are more than that."
"And you would be correct. However, I have already submitted her transfer paperwork to be transferred back to Squad 13 under the charge of Captain Ukitake." Byakuya said with the barest hint of a smirk on his lips.
"When did you do this?"
"The night we vanished." Byakuya said, swallowing down what remained of the bile in his throat.
"We will have to confirm your claim, Captain."
"Please do." Byakuya said simply.
"We must ask you to explain your reasoning behind allowing Ichigo Kurosaki and his comrades to be so willing to accept a past enemy."
"We used to consider Ichigo Kurosaki an enemy as well, but now we find ourselves relying on his prowess to aid in our battles. Is this not true?" Byakuya asked as his cold brows furrowed.
"We fail to understand your point, Captain."
"My point is, is that despite Grimmjow Jaegerjaques's history and past alliances, he was able to put that aside to help us. What does that say of us if we are incapable of doing the same? Would that not make us hypocrites for accepting Ichigo Kurosaki, but not he?" Byakuya asked as he scanned the chamber.
"Ichigo Kurosaki was never allied with Aizen."
"That does not change the fact that he was still considered an enemy. He and his ilk forced their way into the Seireitei, battled our strongest Shinigami and even defeated me before saving Rukia's life. Despite all that, we have still grown to accept them all as allies, including a Quincy whom we, as Shinigmai, are guilty of committing genocide against. How is this situation any different?" Byakuya asked.
"Captain, are you saying that you were willing to blindly accept this Arrancar's help without so much as a shred of evidence to his change in allegiances?"
"I placed my trust with Ichigo Kurosaki... The same trust we all put in when that same boy fought side by side with us during our battle with Aizen and it is that same trust you are placing with him now by using his telling of events as your baseline." Byakuya said plainly.
"And how would you know of this?"
"There is no point to words. You'll only put me back into this machine and see for yourself." Byakuya said, tightening his grip on the armrests.
"You are correct, Captain Kuchiki. Captain Kurotsuchi, you may proceed."
Byakuya's eyes narrowed as he glared up at the blue haired captain as he forced him to sit back up and lowered the helmet back down. He tied the elastic band back around Byakuya's arm and rapped his finger against the crook of his elbow, over the red dot from the previous injection to spur the vein to reappear.
"Another injection?" Byakuya asked lowly, still glaring up at the Captain of Squad 12.
"Each one only lasts for three minutes. Multiples are needed to get a full account of what you've been up to, Captain Kuchiki." Mayuri said quietly as his grin began to spread across his thin lips.
Byakuya's stare remained steeled as Mayuri buried the needle into his arm and injected the fire inducing liquid that was perfectly clear, making the body of the syringe appear entirely empty.
The instant the plunger had pushed the liquid into his veins, his body erupted into that blaze of fire, burning his soul from the very depths of Hell. His muscles went rigid from the pain, threatening to creep up into his throat that was just as tight as his muscles in its attempt to keep back his scream. His stomach lurched, but there was nothing left to expel as his abs flexed with the action of trying to vomit. He wanted to vomit, almost begged for it, if only to make the hard spasms in his abs stop and relieve him of the burden of not being able to breathe.
There was no stopping it however as the visions burst back into existence in his minds eye, racing at the speed of light and only adding to the violent retching in his core. He couldn't focus, couldn't take in breaths that were satisfying for his lungs and unlike the first bout with the machine and serum, his throat ripped with a scream.
Like a blast of cold air rushing through the heat of Hell, the visions stopped and the helmet was removed, allowing his body to relax and recover from the marathon of dry heaves.
"Did we see correctly that you and your companions went to the Dejan'Ra?"
Byakuya took a moment to breathe, panting through the remnants of his stomach's battle with his own body. His blurred vision settled its whirling, finally giving him a chance to focus on what his still functioning ears had heard.
"Yes. We had no choice. Overlorde resided in their Northern territories and we did not have the time to go around their borders." Byakuya said, forcing himself to take long, more steady breaths.
"You confronted the Dejan'Ra clan head? What was it regarding?"
"That is no business of Central 46. It is a private matter within the Kuchiki and Dejan'Ra." Byakuya said, not having the strength enough to lift his head from his chest.
"We beg to differ, Captain. If your confrontation with the Dejan'Ra brings their house down on the Gotei 13, it will be you that suffers the consequences."
"Then so be it. It will be I whom bares that burden." Byakuya said, finally lifting his head.
"Captain Kurotsuchi, is there no way to implement audio into these visions?"
"Auditory memories are harder to access and given the amount of time, I have not been able to develop the needed nano bacterium capable of accessing that part of the brain. More work is needed." Mayuri said as he crossed his arms.
"Very well. Then we proceed as we have been."
"Captain Kurotsuchi, the next set of visions, please."
"My pleasure."