Project Big Bad

by Insanity-Plus

The Karakura Scientific Research Center is selected to receive a rare opportunity - the chance to study an unknown entity. Ichigo, working as an assistant, is determined to prove himself helpful in this project. Things don't go as planned when that very entity - a mysterious woman named Rukia - begins showing signs of obsession with him. IchiRuki. Rated for Blood & Language. R&R!

"Pig, pig, would you let me in?

Pig, pig, I've been everywhere that you've been

Now I've got nothing to lose and everything to win"

-In This Moment

---

"Let him through."

Kurosaki Ichigo held a plastic tray in his hands. Various medical tools such as syringes, glass vials, two scalpels, scissors, and a folded pile of sterile wipes were neatly piled onto it. He took care not to let his shaking hands drop any of the items as he waited for the guard to open the door. Once the order had been given after a quick verification of Ichigo's credentials the guard inputted his code on a small keypad built into the wall and stepped aside.

There was a metallic clanging sound followed by a sharp hiss as the automatic doors in front of him slid open. He was ushered in quickly by the guard, a tall man with a shiny bald head, and the door closed behind him almost hurriedly once he was through. He scowled at the door. He understood it was just procedure to not let it remain open for long, but it seemed almost ridiculous considering…

The room was brightly lit, almost blindingly so. The white padded walls and polished linoleum floor only made the blinding effect worse. To his left was a clear pane of glass – a two-way mirror, he knew, where on the other side a group of white-coated men and women watched him enter the room expectantly. He couldn't see them, only his own orange-haired scowling reflection in the mirror, but he knew they were impatiently waiting for him to get on with his task. He couldn't dawdle too long trying to adjust his eyesight to the bright room.

In the center of the room was a chair. It was a simple chair; metal with white padding to match the walls. It was bolted to the floor with dense, visible screws. Along the back there was an intricate series of straps and locks, tied mercilessly tight to hold in place the room's lone inhabitant.

Ichigo swallowed thickly, taking in his third steadying breath as he stared down the figure.

There was a scratchy hiss as the intercom came to life. "You may approach the subject, Kurosaki-san."

Ichigo nodded, more so for himself than anything else. He steeled his nerves and stepped rigidly towards the chair.

There was no reaction from the figure as expected. They were heavily sedated, their head tilting to the side. The only thing keeping them upright were the straps wrapped around their head. Their eyes were closed, looking as if in a peaceful slumber.

Ichigo knew he shouldn't, but he took the time to take them in as he set his tray down on the singular table by the chair's side. The straps were wrapped around the subject's forehead, shoulders, chest, wrists, stomach, thighs, knees, and feet. Around their mouth was a white leather wrap, holes poked through to allow air to flow into their mouth. Very little of the subject's actual skin was visible between the white straps. Despite being wrapped up so rigorously, their cropped raven-colored hair and petite figure shone through.

The subject was unequivocally female.

Ichigo had seen video feeds of the woman in the chair, had seen photos in files for study, but this was the first time he'd seen her up close and personal. Despite himself, he found her to be beautiful – with her smooth, pale skin and silky dark hair that the doctors had cut short to just past her chin. Her eyes were closed, but he had seen the pictures of those startlingly violet orbs and wondered if they were as dazzling in person as they were on film…

He had to shake his head to clear the invasive thoughts away. He was a professional, and he wouldn't allow himself to be taken by such impure thoughts. Especially when it came to someone who they weren't even sure was human.

He went to work, filling vials with blood samples. The crooks of her arms were left exposed for this very purpose, as were her fingertips for skin and nail samples – which he collected as well with the help of his scalpels. He made sure to use the sterile wipes to clean her arms once he was done but was shocked to find the puncture marks closing right in front of his eyes.

"Are you almost done, Kurosaki-san?" the voice of one of the doctors on the other side of the two-way mirror asked through the intercom.

"Almost," he replied, forcing his attention back to the task at hand. He had collected the blood and skin samples, leaving only the hair samples. He grabbed the scissors from the tray and began collecting loose strands of her hair to place inside the remaining vials.

His wrist grazed the tip of her nose by accident, poking out from just above the wrap around her mouth. He didn't think much of it at first, considering he'd been physically touching her arms and hands for the past fifteen minutes, until her nostrils began to flare.

He froze, watching as her nose began to twitch, audibly sniffing the air. Her face scrunched up, seemingly troubled by something in her sleep. Her fingers began to tremble, the digits flexing as she strained against the straps around her wrists. Her eyelids fluttered, those striking violet eyes, glazed over from the sedatives, opening and blearily wandering around the room until they landed on him.

"Mmfh…" she moaned against the wrap around her mouth, her eyes trained solely on him.

Ichigo took a step back, his mouth falling open in shock and horror.

She wasn't supposed to wake up.

Wasn't supposed to be able to wake up.

"Get him out of there!"

The door behind him slid open and the guard was grabbing Ichigo by the arm and dragging him out of the room before he knew what was happening.

Long after Ichigo had left the room and was out of sight, those violet eyes continued to haunt him.

[~]

"I'm so sorry, Dad," Ichigo said for the fifth time. "I… I just froze."

"How many times do I have to say it's okay before you get it through that stubborn head of yours?" Kurosaki Isshin, in his white lab coat and with his scruffy unshaven face, sighed from behind his desk. "There was nothing you did wrong. Who would have guessed she'd wake up with all those tranquilizers in her?"

Logically speaking, Ichigo knew that to be true. If the reports were accurate, then there were enough sedatives inside of that woman to knock out and keep out a full-sized elephant. For her to somehow rouse from her sleep and become alert was an anomaly – one that the doctors were actively studying as the two Kurosaki men spoke.

It had been a few hours since the incident, and Ichigo had been forced to undergo a physical inspection to verify that he hadn't been contaminated in any way. Ichigo had tried to tell them she hadn't touched him, so it wasn't necessary, but the examiners were insistent he be looked at just in case. They still barely understood what they were dealing with, so they couldn't take any chances.

Once he was cleared, Ichigo was summoned over the intercoms to head straight for Dr. Kurosaki's office for a debriefing. Although, it was less a debriefing than it was a father checking on his son.

"I could have at least saved the samples…" Ichigo said solemnly, his head hung low.

"The guards were able to retrieve what you had collected once the subject was under again." Isshin waved a hand in the young man's direction to dismiss his worries. "You got everything we needed. So, mission accomplished, eh?"

His father was trying to make him feel better, which he appreciated, but Ichigo couldn't help but feel like he had screwed something up. It was supposed to be a simple task, one Ichigo had to fight for despite its simplicity.

He had been brought in as a medical assistant to Isshin, who was one of the leading physicians at the Karakura Research Facility, but for the most part was left to do nothing more than clean up after his father during his studies. He'd wanted something more substantial to do, complaining that he'd gone to medical school just like the rest of them – albeit he had yet to receive his doctorate yet. He had another year of schooling before receiving that honor. Despite this, after a week's worth of whining, Ichigo was given a chance to contribute.

The subject – a Jane Doe of unknown origins – had been brought in two weeks prior to the site for testing and experimentation. Kurosaki Isshin was placed as the head of the case, leading a band of researchers and doctors in their study of the possible nonhuman creature. Ichigo, alongside everyone else who was employed in the facility, had been forced to sign non-disclosure agreements under the penalty of imprisonment by the government pertaining to the subject. It was, in his father's words, one of the most important discoveries of their time.

Ichigo was given the chance to help by collecting those samples, and he had been determined to prove himself capable. It was a menial task, but every journey had to have a first step. If he was to distinguish himself as someone other than Dr. Kurosaki's son, as someone who was determined to take over a permanent position at the facility someday, he had to do whatever he could to prove himself.

And even though his father said otherwise, Ichigo was convinced he had done the opposite.

"May I come in?" a voice called from the other side of the office door, preceded by two precise knocks. Isshin granted access and in walked the Director of the facility, Dr. Ishida Ryuken, and his assistant/son Ishida Uryu.

"Ah, Ryuken!" Isshin greeted him cheerily. "And your boy, Uryu! How are you gentlemen doing this fine day?"

Neither of the Ishida men seemed happy by the dark-haired man's casual way of addressing them but had grown used to the man's eccentricities so neither spoke on it.

"Dr. Kurosaki," Ryuken, with his medium-length white hair and sharp features, spoke with a stern tone. He said it as if trying to subtly remind Isshin to use titles rather than names while on the clock, but it clearly went in one ear and out the other as Isshin continued to smile pleasantly at his college buddy/boss. "We're not interrupting anything, are we?"

"Not at all," Isshin said, glancing over at Ichigo. "We were just finishing up actually. Ichigo, you are dismissed."

Ichigo nodded, ready to stand and leave to give them privacy when Ryuken placed a hand gently on his shoulder.

"Actually, if you may," Ryuken said, looking down at Ichigo with his usual stoic expression. "This conversation should involve you as well, Kurosaki-san."

Ichigo frowned in confusion at this. Usually when Director Ishida came around Ichigo was forced to leave the area to let the "grownups" talk. It was a continuous point of contention for him, especially because Uryu – Ichigo's classmate and childhood rival – was allowed in on the conversation as he was the Director's son.

Said colleague held a scowl equal to the one Ichigo usually wore. The sharp blue eyes that he shared with his father were narrowed on him, looking somewhat agitated as he had the past few days.

Could very well possibly be because Uryu had fought for the same chance that had been given to Ichigo but had lost out as it had been Isshin's call. Ichigo didn't like to think he'd gotten it thanks to nepotism, but clearly Uryu thought otherwise with his scathing glare.

Although Ichigo would have thought Uryu would look more joyful considering he had so royally screwed up his chance to prove himself.

"What's going on, Ryuken?" Isshin inquired, raising a brow. He looked just as perplexed as Ichigo felt.

"I wanted to speak to you both about the incident today," Ryuken said, then turned to his son. "Uryu, please close the door."

Uryu did as he was told and locked the door behind them to avoid any potential eavesdroppers.

"If you're looking for a debriefing, I already talked to my son here about what happened," Isshin said, leaning back in his chair to cross his arms. "I already planned on leaving the report on your desk in a few short minutes."

Ryuken used his middle finger to gently slide his glasses up his nose, a habit Ichigo had seen Uryu perform dozens of times before. "I wished to conduct my own debriefing if you don't mind. Especially considering new information has come to light during a follow up examination of the subject."

Isshin's lips thinned into a frown. "New information? What new information?"

"Kurosaki-san," Ryuken addressed Ichigo, ignoring Isshin's question. "When you were in there earlier, did you notice anything… strange about the subject?"

Ichigo took a moment to contemplate the question. What could be counted as stranger than a woman tied to a chair in a government medical facility on the outskirts of town? A woman who somehow healed syringe wounds in the blink of an eye and needed to be always sedated, at that.

"I suppose not," he answered finally. "She was asleep the whole time, until the end there when she suddenly woke up."

"Any idea as to what could have woken her up?" Ryuken's tone wasn't accusatory, nor was the stare he gave him. Uryu, on the other hand, glared at him as if it was entirely his fault.

Ichigo shook his head. "No, sir. I was collecting samples like I was instructed when she suddenly regained consciousness."

"And you're sure about this?"

Ichigo nodded. "Yes, sir."

Ryuken placed his thumb and index finger around his chin in thought, mulling something over in his mind.

"What is it, Ryuken?" Isshin asked, a little more forcefully this time. "What has happened?"

Ryuken met Isshin's gaze, then sighed. "During a brain scan after the event it was discovered that there were residuals of a spike in norepinephrine."

"Norepinephrine?" Isshin scowled, confusion coating his face. He quickly glanced at Ichigo before returning to his boss. "She had an adrenaline spike?"

Ryuken nodded. "We do not know how it could have happened. Tests came back negative for foul play, and in the two weeks the subject has been here we have not seen anything like it."

"She was pumped full of sedatives, there should be no way she could have fought through that and regained consciousness." Ichigo watched as his father ran a hand over his forehead, stumped by this new information.

"Kurosaki-san," Ryuken drew Ichigo's attention back to him. "Please, I implore you to think back to that moment. We have scoured the security footage and found nothing that could indicate what could have caused this anomaly. Is there anything at all that you remember that seemed out of place?"

Ichigo's eyebrows pinched in concentration as he recalled those moments leading up to the subject's awakening. He had just begun collecting hair samples, nearly finished with his task. He had reached over her face to collect a few samples from the other side of her head, then…

Oh, right.

"She seemed to, uh…" he fought to find the right words. The whole situation was weird, but he knew what he had to say would really take the cake. "She seemed to be… smelling me."

The other three men frowned at this, their eyes collectively narrowing on him in inquisition.

"Smelling you?" Uryu, who had been quiet this whole time, seemed flabbergasted by the thought. "That's preposterous."

"You hadn't mentioned that before," Isshin said, his tone reproachful.

Ichigo lowered his head. "I'm sorry. It seemed insignificant, so it slipped my mind."

"Hmm," Ryuken hummed in thought, his hand back under his chin.

"What's on your mind?" Isshin turned to the white-haired man. "Any theories?"

"Initial testing did prove that the subject had extraordinary sensory receptors," Ryuken said, his tone implying he was merely thinking out loud. "Particularly her scent receptors were considered exceptional among all the others. This might not be as outlandish as we may think."

"So, what? She smelled him and it roused her from her sedated state?" Isshin shook his head incredulously. "She's had ample opportunity to scent all the others who have handled her. Hell, I've been around her a hundred times by now. Why now is she suddenly becoming active?"

"I do not know. This is going to require further testing," Ryuken said, sighing. He dropped his hands back to his sides and addressed Ichigo directly once again. "At the very least, I appreciate your help, Kurosaki-san. It may prove invaluable."

Uryu's eyes narrowed again, and Ichigo felt a morbid sense of satisfaction from the older doctor's words.

The Ishida men bowed and excused themselves. When Ichigo turned back to his father, he found Isshin giving him a pointedly grave stare.

"W-What?" Ichigo stammered.

"Ichigo," Isshin said, his jaw set firmly. "I must ask you a fairly serious question."

Ichigo gulped. "Uh, okay…"

Isshin set his shoulders, drawing himself closer to lower his voice so only Ichigo could hear him.

"Did you shower today?"

Ichigo grabbed a stapler from Isshin's desk and threw it into the older man's face.

[~]

A few days passed without incident. Ichigo, with his low-level clearance, was only made privy to whatever information his father deemed appropriate for him to know. There were rumors floating around the facility about the subject, one such being that she was an alien discovered at a crash site and the craft was being inspected at a separate facility. Another was that she was an escaped experiment from America and the Japanese government wanted to find a way to replicate her super-soldier genes.

The only things Ichigo knew were true, according to his father, were that she was something more than human, she was found by the government and delivered to them for study, and that they only had a limited amount of time to figure her out. It was not made apparent to Ichigo where she was found, what had caused anyone to think she was something other than human – although her accelerated healing factor did raise a red flag in Ichigo's book – or why they only had a short amount of time to conclude about her. For all the information his father was willing to share, these pieces were left as a mystery to Ichigo.

As Dr. Kurosaki's assistant, Ichigo had been allowed to see more classified information than most. He had seen files with large black lines through entire sections describing the subject's physical attributes, partial medical experiments conducted in the facility, and possible conclusions to certain aspects discovered in those experiments. Genetically enhanced drugs were a leading possibility for the subject's superhuman attributes in Ichigo's mind, but there was no proof of this theory yet.

Another thing Ichigo had been granted was the viewing of video files so classified it would mean decades in prison should they ever be stolen and released to the public.

Every few days since the woman had been relocated to their research facility, they had lowered her sedation medication to allow her a modicum of consciousness in order to try and speak with her. There were security cameras installed in all four corners of the room, so small it was nearly impossible to see them camouflaged into the whiteness. There had been at least half a dozen medical researchers who tried to coax out of her the whereabouts of her origins. They tried offering her food, drink, entertainment, and even the possibility of being unrestrained should she comply. Unfortunately, every time, she remained perfectly silent, glaring at whoever was speaking to her with hatred in her violet eyes.

The same eyes that haunted Ichigo every time he watched the recordings.

There was one video file, though, where a reaction had been captured. It had been one of the male scientists who had spoken to her, following the same script used in every attempt. He had made the mistake of getting too close to her, which had been clearly stated should not happen during these 'interviews,' and had received a bloody, broken nose as she head-butted him and attempted to bite his nose clean off. The guards were forced to subdue her with electric batons and violently stab her with syringes to place her back under sedation. She had screamed like a wild animal, cursing everyone for imprisoning her and threatening to kill them all if they didn't release her immediately.

It was the first time anyone had heard her voice, or rather the first documented time as far as Ichigo knew. The reaction in the video said three things: that she understood and could speak their language and had, up to that point, chosen to ignore them, and that she was more than willing to resort to physical violence.

Security had doubled since then, and the 'interviews' had become less frequent as far as Ichigo could tell from the video files' timestamps. The only people allowed to speak with the subject from then on were those of higher clearance.

Which was why, when Ichigo was called to Director Ishida's office, he was so shocked.

"You want me to speak with her?"

In the room was, naturally, Director Ishida, his father, and another one of the leading researchers Dr. Urahara Kisuke. Ichigo hadn't known what to make of the trio when he first entered and had certainly not expected to be told that he was chosen to conduct the next interview with the subject.

"Yes," Director Ishida replied, steepling his fingers together in front of his face. He was seated across from Ichigo at his desk, the other two doctors standing at his flanks like lieutenants by their captain. "With the information gathered from your testimony pertaining to the incident the other day, it was agreed by the board that we allow you the chance to try and talk to the subject – unsedated."

Ichigo was stunned. Even before the subject had nearly torn a doctor's nose off, someone with Ichigo's level of experience wasn't even considered for such a task. To hear that he had been selected… it was shocking, to say the least.

"Are you sure, sir?" Ichigo wasn't, he knew that much. "What makes you think she'll speak to me?"

The three men exchanged glances, something indiscernible being conveyed between them. Ichigo watched as Ryuken nodded to Isshin, who looked uneasy with what he was about to say.

"Yesterday afternoon," Isshin began, his usual jovial attitude replaced by a strict professionalism Ichigo had only seen from his father a handful of times, "we brought the subject out of sedation to try and reason with her. Dr. Urahara here was the one to attempt speaking with the subject, and… well, Kisuke, you can explain what happened."

Dr. Urahara Kisuke was a blond, middle-aged man with an easy-going smile and nonchalant attitude. Most of the time Ichigo caught the man with his feet up on his desk doing some crossword puzzle or flirting with one of their techs. Despite his lackadaisical demeanor though, Dr. Urahara Kisuke was one of the most brilliant minds in the facility. He had worked closely with Ichigo's father for years and was the first one brought into the taskforce studying the non-human woman.

Like his father, Urahara held an uncharacteristic air of professionalism. Even with their high rankings and important jobs, the two men had always maintained levity. Seeing them both so serious had Ichigo's skin crawling.

"As per usual, she refused to give us any of the information we requested from her," Urahara said, his arms crossed over his broad chest. "I tried my best to relate with her, to offer her some fresh air after being cooped up after all this time in that room-"

"Which you were not authorized to do," Ryuken pointed out.

"She, of course, said nothing," Urahara continued, undisturbed. "But, just as I was giving up and heading out, she spoke."

Ichigo's eyes widened. "She… spoke to you?"

Urahara nodded. "She didn't say much, just a single sentence… 'Bring me the orange haired man.'"

Ichigo felt a chill run up his spine. She had asked for him?

"I tried to get her to elaborate, but she clammed up after that." Urahara shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm sure you understand the importance of this, Kurosaki-san?" Ryuken said, folding his hands flat on his desk.

Ichigo didn't know how to respond, his mind still whirling from shock that she had asked specifically for him. She hadn't said his name, or given any other descriptors that it was definitely him she was asking for, but how many other people in the facility had orange hair like him? Hell, how many people on the planet had his shade of hair color?

"We have not been able to recreate what occurred during your last visit," Urahara explained. "We've tried a variety of stimulants, but nothing seems to bring her out quite like you did. So, we figured, why not give her what she wants and let you in there for a go?"

The blond-haired man said this so casually, as if he wasn't suggesting Ichigo enter a room with an unknown creature by himself. Ichigo had seen the clip; seen the carnage she had wrought on that unfortunate scientist. He might have been gung-ho for proving himself by collecting some samples while she was asleep, but going in there while she was awake? He was a lot less enthused.

"I don't know…"

"Listen, son," Isshin stepped around the desk to place a hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "I wasn't for it either at first, but we're getting closer to our deadline, and we've barely made any progress since her arrival. This reaction is the most promising lead we've had to figuring her out, and it's important we follow it to wherever it can bring us."

Ichigo still wasn't sure. He rubbed his hands on the pants of his scrubs anxiously, trying to imagine what it would be like to be in that room alone with her, to be under the stare of those violet eyes that had somehow made their way into his dreams…

"We wouldn't allow this if we truly thought it was unsafe," Ryuken said comfortingly, noticing the nervous way Ichigo chewed his lip. "There will be an increased contingency of guards outside the room, ready to intervene at any moment. We will also provide you a headset so that we may speak with you discreetly to help should you feel lost."

"Nothing will go wrong, I promise," Isshin said, squeezing his shoulder.

Ichigo looked into the eyes of the three older men in turn, not entirely comforted by their promises. But he understood this was an important task they were handing him, one that would make that nerd Uryu's head spin should he ever find out it was being given to Ichigo instead of him. He had wanted a chance to prove himself, and what better way than with something that was above and beyond what anyone else could do? Considering these two critical factors, how could he decline?

"If you are certain," Ichigo said, schooling his expression to that of determination, "then I will do my best."

[~]

That afternoon, Ichigo was forced to go through a decontamination shower before redressing and being given a wireless earpiece for private communication. Ichigo had assumed that shower comment his father had thrown at him the other day was meant to be a joke, but as it turned out it was completely serious. He was hosed clean and given new, fresh scrubs to wear for his "interview."

As promised, there were three large men stationed outside the room where the subject was held. Ichigo recognized all three of them as Zaraki Kenpachi, Madarame Ikkaku, and Ayasegawa Yumichika – the new hires who had quickly proven themselves to be the toughest guards in the facility.

Seeing them brought some peace to Ichigo's mind.

He had been given a pocket notepad for notetaking, which seemed silly as everything was to be recorded digitally. His father had explained it would be for his own thoughts, should he have any insight during the interview. Ichigo wasn't sure he would have any unique insight compared to the much more experienced doctors, scientists, and technicians that would be watching, but figured he wouldn't hold back despite this.

He had desired a chance to prove himself, and it was here. Moreso than he had ever thought it would be. He should be ecstatic, right? Yet all he could feel was a damn near crippling anxiety.

He was cleared for entry, and he found the brightly lit room the same as last time. He had to squint his eyes upon entering, letting them adjust to the unending white of the walls, floor, and ceiling. Once his eyes had adjusted, he noticed the woman strapped to the chair, looking as if she hadn't moved an inch since he last saw her. The only difference now were the wireless electrodes on her temples and the exposed part of her chest to monitor her brain and heart activity.

She was asleep, just as she was most of the time. This surprised Ichigo, as he expected her to be fully awake when he entered. Usually, they gave her time to come around before the arrival of the interviewer. Why would they let him in early?

He was about to ask this very question when he noticed movement. He watched as her nose twitched, like how it had the other day, and her fingers began to flex. Her shoulders shifted, straining against the bonds that held her in place. Her eyes slowly opened, and those violet orbs instantly found him.

"Ahh…" she groaned; her mouth uncovered so she could speak. There were angry red lines around her chin and cheeks from the wraps. The haze in her eyes seemed to dissipate quickly as she focused on him, her neck muscles tensing as she tried to buck against the strap around her forehead. It was as if she had forgotten where she was, and it slowly dawned on her that she was still in captivity.

"Good afternoon," Ichigo greeted, trying his best to sound professional despite his nerves. He had been briefed on the script written specifically for him and tried his best to remember everything he was to say, in the order he was supposed to say them. "How are you feeling?"

Her eyes, strikingly violet, were trained on him. Any and all traces of the tranquilizers in her system seemed to be gone now, her attention razor sharp. Ichigo felt exposed somehow, as if she were seeing every part of him with crystal clarity.

When she didn't reply, Ichigo moved on, "I heard you had asked for me. So, here I am."

She said nothing, still.

"Um," Ichigo struggled to remember what he was supposed to say.

"Ask for her name," his father's voice said through the Bluetooth headset in Ichigo's ear.

"Can I ask your name?" he inquired, just as instructed. "Just so I know what to call you while we're talking, if that's alright."

Her tongue darted out of her mouth to lick her dry lips, her eyes never once leaving his as she did so. She continued to say nothing.

"My name is Ichigo," he said, politely bowing his head in introduction. "I was hoping we could talk for a bit?"

When he said his name, her head tilted slightly, held in place by the strap. Her nostrils flared suddenly, and she made a strange grunting noise in the back of her throat.

The noise unnerved him, especially as she continued to remain silent otherwise. Ichigo held up his notepad and pen, trying to mask his anxiety by pretending to be reading something from the blank page in front of him.

"I'm sorry, Ichigo," Isshin's voice said in his ear. "Maybe this was a mistake, after all."

Ichigo felt his heart fall into his stomach. Had he failed again?

Just as he was about to turn around and leave with his tail between his legs, she spoke.

"Ichi…go."

For half a moment he wondered if he'd just imagined her voice. She had said his name slowly, as if tasting each syllable, her tongue once again darting out to lick her lips.

He could practically hear the notes being taken by the group of scientists behind the two-way mirror as he replied, "Yes, my name is Ichigo. What about yours?"

"Tell me your family name," she said, her voice cracking from lack of use.

Ichigo frowned in confusion. "My family name?" He wasn't sure why that was important but offered it anyway: "Kurosaki."

"Kurosaki Ichigo," she breathed his name, as if joyed by it. She closed her eyes, humming in delight. Ichigo had no idea what it meant, and felt his heart begin to race at the sight of the smile that graced her face.

"Y-Yes," he stammered, trying to compose himself. "My name is Kurosaki Ichigo. What's your name?"

She opened her eyes, locking him in place with her stare once more. "You want to know my name?"

He nodded, swallowing at the same time. "Yes, if you please."

She hummed, as if considering whether to tell him or not. After a moment of consideration, she finally said, "My name… is Rukia."

"Holy shit!" Isshin's voice rang out loudly in Ichigo's ear. "You got her name!" He was immediately shushed by someone standing close by, most likely Director Ishida.

Ichigo was just as shocked as his father. In the two weeks she had been there, no one had been able to get even an ounce of information from her. To suddenly have her name was huge.

"Rukia," Ichigo repeated the name, which seemed to illicit a strange reaction from her. Was that a shiver? "Do you have a family name as well?"

She gave him a grin, showing off her teeth. "Kurosaki Rukia."

Ichigo blinked. "Huh?"

"Never you mind," she dismissed him, splaying the fingers of her left hand as if to wave him off. "For now, just call me Rukia."

"Okay…" Ichigo felt a bit uneasy about what she had said but decided to push past it for now. "Rukia, can I ask where you're from?"

"I'm from everywhere," she said, then frowned. "Not here, though. Not from this place."

"What do you mean, 'everywhere'?" he inquired. "Where is your home?"

"Everywhere is my home," she said, still frowning. "Except here. This place is not my home."

"You mean this facility?" He wrote on his notepad: vagabond?

She took notice of his notepad and raised a brow at it. "What are you writing there, Ichigo?"

She drawled his name again, as if trying to get a reaction out of him. What did she want him to do? Did she want him to say something in particular? If so, he had no clue what it could be.

"I'm taking notes," he explained, waving the notepad in the air for emphasis. "I'm a doctor… er, well, I will be."

"A doctor," she giggled, her tone giddy. "He's a doctor."

Ichigo frowned. Was she mocking him?

"Try not to divulge too much information about yourself," Urahara's voice said, taking over from his father. "We're here to learn about her, remember?"

Ichigo wanted to retort with something snide but bit his tongue.

"Okay," he brought himself back under control. He had to maintain his composure, lest he screw this up. He had, so far, gotten more out of her in the last five minutes than anyone had in the last two weeks since her arrival. He needed to keep this going for as long as possible. "Can I ask-"

"I asked for you," she interrupted him. "I asked for the orange-haired man that I had scented before."

"I was told." Ichigo took notice of something she had said. "What do you mean by 'scented'?"

She inhaled deeply, as if to prove a point. "I smelled you that day. It brought me back to life, Kurosaki Ichigo, right when I thought I was dead."

"Why would you think you were dead?" he asked. "We're not here to kill you."

She snorted derisively, her smile fading away. "You people put me here, against my will. You… caged me, put me in these bindings and expected for me to roll over and show my stomach. When I fought back, you hurt me…"

Ichigo remembered the video file from the day she had bitten the man's nose, how the guards had to hit and electrocute her to get her to let go. It's what led to the additional restraints.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, finding himself speaking genuinely. "We were just protecting one of our own."

She met his eye again, and once again Ichigo found himself stricken by her gaze. She was exceptionally pretty, with her smooth skin, round face, and silky hair. Ever since he had first seen her photo, he had been plagued by thoughts of her, against all rational will. Just the night before Ichigo had dreamed of her, dreamed of touching her, of tasting her…

He quickly shook his head, ridding himself of those thoughts.

Her eyebrow quirked curiously, and she gave him a smirk.

"I suppose I can understand that," she acquiesced. "But the fact still remains that I am your prisoner."

"Tell her you're willing to offer her something in exchange for more information," Director Ishida's voice said.

"It doesn't have to be that way," Ichigo said to Rukia, doing his best to appear natural despite the voices telling him what to say. "If you would be willing to cooperate, we might be able to work something out to help you feel more comfortable here."

"Oh?" she tilted her head, as much as she could against the strap. "What exactly are you offering me, if not freedom?"

Isshin, Director Ishida, and Dr. Urahara spoke into his ear in turn, giving Ichigo his script.

"We can lessen the sedation periods, even let you roam the room, should you agree to not harm anyone who comes in here to take samples," he offered.

"Hmm," she hummed in thought. "Would you be the one to take those samples, like last time?"

Ichigo paused, letting one of the voices in his Bluetooth talk to him. "I can be, if that's what you want."

"It is."

"Okay," he nodded, getting the confirmation from Director Ishida. "Then it'll be me."

"Excellent. What else do you offer me?"

Ichigo continued with his script, "If you comply with a few strict rules, we can work out some entertainment for you. A television, maybe even a few books to read?"

"Not one for television," she said, shrugging. Ichigo wrote knows what television is on his notepad. "Books, on the other hand, I think I would enjoy greatly."

"You like to read?" he asked before he could stop himself.

"Oh yes, I love to read. Do you want to know what my favorite story is?"

"Sure," he said. He was immediately reprimanded for getting off track but was unable back down now that he had committed.

"The Three Little Pigs," she said, surprising Ichigo. "I found it so amusing. You people tell this to your children, a story about a scary wolf attacking and eating these poor pigs. Have you ever heard of it?"

"I'm familiar with it," he replied, trying to hear her over the arguing voices of the people in the next room over.

"My people have a different interpretation," she said, and suddenly everything went quiet in Ichigo's earpiece. "The story is about a wolf, starving, trying to survive. He is doing what his nature intends him to do. He found a bountiful feast and was fighting for it, for without it he would die. Does that truly make him a monster? Trying to survive?"

"I... guess not." He had truly never thought about it like that before.

"Exactly." She nodded, satisfied that he agreed with her.

"When you say, your people, what do you mean?" Ichigo didn't even need any of the men in his earpiece to instruct him to ask the question.

She didn't immediately reply. She continued to watch him with those eyes of hers, every so often letting them roam over his body as if studying him the same way he was supposed to be studying her. Ichigo was suddenly overwhelmed with the feeling that she was seeing right through him.

What she saw seemed to amuse her.

"I'm glad you came to see me, Kurosaki Ichigo," she said, ignoring his question. "I look forward to seeing you again. Hopefully soon."

[~]

When Ichigo finally left the room and found himself alone in the hall as the three large guards moved in to sedate the subject – Rukia – he nearly doubled over. He placed his hands on his knees to keep himself upright, his heart hammering violently against his ribcage as he struggled to get his breathing under control. He closed his eyes in an attempt to calm down but was assaulted by the image of her stare and found himself breathless all over again.

"Ichigo?"

He lifted his head to find his father, followed by Director Ishida and Dr. Urahara, jogging down the hallway towards him. Isshin looked worried by the pale, sweaty visage of his son, and moved quickly to help Ichigo steady himself on his feet.

"I'm fine," Ichigo said, gulping down air like he was drowning in it. "I just… got dizzy."

"Come," Ryuken beckoned. "Let's get you some water."

They led Ichigo to the observation room, where there was a group of men and women furiously typing away at computers lined up at the back of the dark space. A few of them looked up as he entered, their reactions to him a mix of revering stares and furtive glances. Ichigo ignored them, his eyes drawn to the pane of glass across the wall opposite the group of scientists.

This was the first time Ichigo had been allowed inside this room – the other side of the two-way mirror. It was where they observed the subject, where they collected and compiled all the data they had on her. Which, until now, had been very little.

Isshin had jokingly described it as a waiting room rather than an observation room, as all they seemed to do was wait for new information to come to light. Ichigo had always pictured it as a dark, gloomy room full of bored looking middle-aged men and women twiddling their thumbs, but as he was sat down in an unoccupied chair the sound of fingers gliding across keyboards echoed in a chorus.

"Everyone is buzzing with excitement," Urahara said jovially as Isshin went to retrieve a bottle of water for Ichigo. "That was amazing, young man!"

Even Ryuken, who Ichigo suspected slept with a plain, stoic expression, had a light in his eye as he spoke, "Truly remarkable. I wonder why she suddenly decided to talk now, and why with you…?" His voice trailed off as he cupped his chin in thought.

"Let's save the theorizing for after we review the tapes," Isshin said, returning to hand Ichigo the bottle of water. He uncapped it and took a generous swig of the cool liquid, letting it calm his fiery nerves. "How are you feeling, son?"

Until Isshin had handed him the water, Ichigo's eyes had been trained on the glass paneling that windowed into the room he had just been in with… her. He watched as the guards wrapped her mouth back up with a new wrap, saying words that Ichigo couldn't hear as the audio feed had been cut. They were most likely warning her to comply, judging by the defiant look on her face. Yumichika, the smallest of the trio, produced a syringe from his belt and injected the sedative into the crook of her arm, placing her once again into a drug-induced slumber.

Before her eyes closed and her head lolled, she cast a suspicious glance towards the two-mirror. Ichigo knew it was a ridiculous thought, but for a brief moment he felt as if she was looking directly at him.

"Are you listening, Kurosaki-san?" Ryuken's voice brought him out of his reverie.

"Oh, uh, yeah," he lied. "Um… could you repeat that last part?"

Ryuken, to his credit, didn't look put out by having been ignored. "I was saying that thanks to you our research has escalated substantially compared to what we had before. We now not only have a name to put to the subject, but we've also obtained hints toward her origin."

"Who are her people?" Urahara wondered aloud. "And the way she spoke. She said she was from 'everywhere'? What could that possibly mean?"

"Are you guys really going to grant her those things I promised her?" Ichigo found himself asking, his eyes returning to her prone form through the mirror. He didn't know why he found it important to make sure they made her happy, but he couldn't resist asking the question.

"Of course," Isshin said, sharing a strange glance between his two colleagues. "We want to make sure she keeps talking to you. There's still so much we need to learn about her. Can't do that if we lose her trust."

Ichigo nodded, and the three men began to talk again about how excited they were over this new development. There were still so many questions that needed answering, more tests that needed to be conducted, but this was a huge step in the right direction.

Ichigo wished to join them in their enthusiasm but instead kept staring at Rukia's sleeping face in the next room over.

[~]

The next time Ichigo was sent to speak to her she was fully awake when he entered the room.

"You're back." There was joy in her voice, despite still being strapped to her chair.

"I am," he said, feeling little electric shocks along his arms at seeing her again. "I brought some books for you to read."

She smiled at him, her eyes never straying from his face even as he placed the books down on the small table by her side. He did his best not to meet her eye, quickly turning on his heel and moving back towards the door to give her some space.

"Am I expected to lift the books with my mind?" she asked as he walked away, and before he could ask, "I very well can't read these without the use of my hands."

"In a few minutes the guards will come in and release you from your straps," he explained, turning to face her again. "You'll be allowed to read for the rest of the day, but you will be expected to be restrained again when it comes time for lights out."

Rukia blew out her cheeks in a pout. "Aw, and here I was hoping I could convince you to read to me."

He felt heat crawl up his neck and over his cheeks. "Sorry, maybe next time."

"I'm holding you to that promise, Ichigo."

She said his name so casually, so personally. She spoke to him as if they were childhood friends hanging out like they always did. It sent a shiver down his spine.

"Enough pleasantries, if you please," Isshin's voice said to him through his earpiece.

He pulled the small notepad from his back pocket and clicked his pen, ready to get down to business.

"Okay, I held up my side of the agreement. Your turn."

Rukia pursed her lips, cooing at him. "I love it when you take charge."

He did his best to ignore her. "Last time we spoke, you mentioned something about 'your people.' Can you please tell me about them?"

She blew a breath out through her nose, looking a bit put off by the question. "You doctors… so impersonal. I thought you were interested in me, yet here you are trying to ask about my family." She sniffed, feigning hurt.

"It's fine, Ichigo," Isshin said. "We can circle back around to that question later."

They had anticipated that she might not be so forthcoming about her people so soon, so the script had been revised to include this possibility.

"Okay," he acquiesced, holding a hand up in apparent defeat. She raised a brow at him in interest. "Let's talk about you then. There's still a lot we don't know that we'd like to."

"Ask away then."

It still shocked Ichigo that she was willing to talk to him out of everyone who had attempted contact. Urahara had tried theorizing that maybe it was an age thing, as everyone who had tried were, at minimum, in their forties. She appeared in her early twenties, same as Ichigo, and could possibly feel more comfortable with someone she felt on even ground with.

Ichigo wasn't sure about that theory, but it was all they had to go on. Her comment about 'scenting' him didn't make much sense to anyone either. Why would his scent interest her?

That was the question that burned at the forefront of his brain, but Ichigo was nothing if not diligent and kept to the script provided to him.

"Last time we spoke you told me your name," he said, looking down at his blank notepad as if he were reading from it. "Rukia. Isn't that right?"

She hummed a low noise in the back of her throat at the sound of her name on his lips. "Yes, my name is Rukia. And yours is Kurosaki Ichigo."

It wasn't a question. She said his name teasingly, his face heating up in reply. It made her smile widen.

"Where are you from again, Rukia?" He said her name again in an attempt to retort but knew it didn't carry the same weight. She seemed to relish it with how her eyes lit up, whereas he was just embarrassed.

How is she doing this to me?

"I am from everywhere," she said, same as last time. "I do not settle down in one place – at least not for too long."

"And why is that?" he inquired. "Are you running from something? Someone?"

She huffed. "I run from no one," she said, attempting to roll her shoulders but was hindered by the straps. She frowned at them angrily. "The world is a large place. To be stuck in one spot for too long makes my skin itch."

Ichigo saw the way she struggled against her bindings and resisted the urge to walk over and unlatch the locks on the back of her chair to set her free. What the hell was wrong with him?

"So, it's just personal preference?" he pushed on, trying to remain focused.

Her attention returned to him. "I suppose so."

He scribbled a quick note down in his notepad: doesn't like to be tied down.

"I'd like to also ask-"

"May I ask you a question?" she interrupted.

Ichigo paused, unsure how to answer. Something like that wasn't accounted for in his script.

"Go ahead," he said, figuring it couldn't hurt to let her ask something in return. He was, in essence, interrogating her, so it only seemed fair to even the playing field – gain her trust.

She gestured with her chin towards the table by her side. "These books you brought me look brand new. Not a crease in any of their spines, except for the one on top. Why?"

Ichigo glanced at the pile of books he'd brought for her to read. There was a total of five books, brought in specifically for her. Urahara had personally compiled four of the titles for her after a brief argument with Director Ishida who wanted to provide her medical textbooks to test her knowledge. Urahara had brought in mostly fantasy books based on her earlier declaration that The Three Little Pigs was her favorite story, such as Aesop's Fables and Harry Potter. They'd been bought fresh from the bookstore in town, which explained their crips newness. The fifth book, on the other hand…

"I brought that one in," Ichigo replied, feeling a bit bashful about it all of a sudden. "It's my personal copy of A Midsummer's Dream by William Shakespeare."

Rukia's eyes widened, darting between him and the worn book.

"You brought it?" she asked softly, evidently shocked. "Just for me?"

He scratched at the back of his neck, unable to meet her gaze. "You told me about your favorite story, so I thought I'd let you read mine. Have you read Shakespeare before?"

She shook her head. "I've heard the name, but I've never read any of his stories. What's it about?"

"Oh," he perked up, always ready to gush about Shakespeare. "It's sort of a fantasy story, but also a romance, but also a comedy. See, it takes place in this land of fairies-"

"Kurosaki-san," Ryuken's voice chided from his earpiece. "Please, do not deviate from the task."

Ichigo winced, realizing he'd gotten too excited and nearly lost himself. He never had the chance to talk to anyone about his passion for Shakespeare, so when she asked about it he had forgotten where he was and who he was talking to.

Pull yourself together, Kurosaki!

"Hn" he cleared his throat, squaring his shoulders as he composed himself. "It's… a good book. I recommend you read it for yourself and find out."

Rukia, who had seemed genuinely interested, suddenly held a sour expression on her face. "I suppose I will."

Ichigo cursed inwardly. Had he offended her?

"Moving on," he said, trying to keep things on track before he was reprimanded again. Her expression remained the same as he spoke. "We've discovered that you have certain capabilities that aren't considered normal. Can I ask how you have them? By birth, or through other means?"

"I don't know what you mean," she said, her eyes trailing off to the side. "As far as I'm concerned, I'm perfectly average."

Ichigo followed her eyesight, finding her staring at her own reflection in the mirror on the side of the room. He wondered if maybe she knew there were people behind that glass watching them and almost asked before realizing that if she didn't know it might just anger her to make the discovery.

"Accelerated regeneration," he recited from the document he must have read a hundred times. "Increased muscular fibers; hypersensitive auditory, ocular, and olfactory senses. Every test we've preformed on you has yielded some pretty interesting results as well."

Not that Ichigo had been made aware of those results. He was still in the dark for at least half of what had been concluded about this woman. His father and the rest of them were not allowed to share their results with a lowly assistant like him, but it was part of his premade script to mention the test results.

"I bet they have," she said snidely, looking more and more displeased by the conversation. "You people have been very thorough in poking and prodding me."

What does that mean? he wondered.

"I'm sorry about that," he said anyway. "It's necessary for progress to be made."

She curled her lip at this. "If you say so."

"You must understand how amazing it is to us these things you have," he said. "How extraordinary you are."

Rukia met his eye once again, this time looking amused. "You think I'm amazing?"

"Of course I do," he said, and then, with a blush, quickly added, "I-I mean we all do, here at this facility."

Rukia sighed, rolling her eyes. "You keep saying all the wrong things, Kurosaki Ichigo. It's a good thing you're cute."

Ichigo sputtered at this, waving his arms in front of him uselessly as he tried to calm his now racing heart.

"Calm yourself, son," Isshin said sternly. "She's toying with you, and you're letting her."

He was right. This whole time she had been teasing, mocking, and playing with him. Both times Ichigo had visited her she had reduced him to a stammering mess, and for what purpose? Did she just get a kick out of messing with him? Was that why she requested him to speak to? He was an easy target due to his lack of experience, and she somehow clocked it at first glance and decided he would be her plaything.

Anger started to rise from within him, and he had to suck in a sharp breath to try and hold it back.

Rukia raised a brow at him.

"Let me ask you one more question, and then I'll leave you to your reading," he said, holding up his notepad.

"Aww, leaving so soon?" she whined. "Things were just getting interesting."

He ignored her, determined to remain in control of the situation. "One of the biggest questions we have is just how you came across these extraordinary abilities. Is it something you and your people did, or were you possibly born with them? Do you have any idea?"

"You people and your questions," she laughed, mockingly. It only stoked the fires of indignation inside Ichigo. "You're a curious bunch, I will admit. But, fine. I did promise to play ball. I will answer this question…"

Ichigo could practically hear everyone leaning forward in the next room.

"I was born this way," she said, grinning humorously, as if curating a show. "My family is just like me, most of whom were born as well."

"'Most'?" Ichigo echoed. "Meaning…"

"Some weren't born, but were made," she said cryptically. "There are conditions that allow someone to gain these… what did you call them? Abilities."

Ichigo quickly jotted this down in his notepad, even though he knew it was all recorded. "What are these conditions?"

Rukia's grin widened, her teeth – particularly her canines – glinting in the overhead light. "If you give me a bit of time, I can show you how…"

"That's enough for now," Ryuken said sharply in Ichigo's ear. "You can leave."

Ichigo frowned, glancing furtively at the mirror. "But-"

"The guards are coming," Isshin cut him off before he could argue.

As predicted, the door behind Ichigo hissed open and Kenpachi, Ikkaku, and Yumichika entered, their faces stoic and indifferent to his presence. He scowled at them.

"I suppose it's time to say goodbye," Rukia said forlornly. "For now, at least."

Ichigo bit his tongue, wanting to say something more. He knew, though, that whatever he did or said would get him in trouble, so he kept his mouth shut and stepped past the guards who were standing aside for him into the hallway. He turned just as the door hissed closed, practically shutting in his face. He had hoped to catch one more glimpse of Rukia but was closed off from her yet again.

Clenching his fists tightly, he stormed his way to the observation room.

[~]

No one looked up when Ichigo entered, so engrossed in whatever was displayed on their individual monitors. He paid them no mind though, as his focus zeroed in on the three men standing in front of the two-way mirror.

"What the hell was that?" Ichigo growled, stomping his way over.

"Good job once again, Kurosaki my boy!" Urahara gave him a thumbs up and a boyish smile. "We got some valuable information out of her once again, thanks to you!"

"We could have gotten more!" Ichigo retorted. "I had her talking, and you guys pulled me out just as it was getting good! What the hell's up with that?"

"Calm down." Isshin placed a hand on Ichigo's shoulder, his eyes never straying from the mirror. "You're making a scene."

"I need to know," Ichigo argued, doing his best to lower his voice but doing a poor job of it. "Why did you pull me out? She was about to tell us how to make more of people like her!"

"That's not our job," Ryuken said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He, too, wasn't looking at Ichigo as he spoke. "We're here to study her, not replicate her."

"But…" That didn't make sense to Ichigo. Wouldn't wanting to understand her include knowing how she was made and how she could turn others?

"Don't worry so much," Isshin said, squeezing Ichigo's shoulder. "We have everything under control. We gained some serious info from your conversation today, and we can't thank you enough."

"You did?" Ichigo's brow knit in confusion. "I barely got anything out of her today, though."

Urahara grinned at him, tapping at his temple. "Don't forget we're not just listening to your guys' conversation; we're also monitoring her brain waves. The more of a reaction you get out of her, the more information we can gather. You get me?"

Ichigo opened his mouth to argue more but couldn't think of anything to say. He hadn't considered that they would get so much from scanning her brainwaves during his talk with Rukia, but to hear that it was enough to cut their conversation short had him feeling… dejected?

The three men continued to not look at Ichigo, and he followed their line of vision to Rukia in the padded room beyond the mirror.

The three guards had done their job briefing Rukia on the rules. She was to be unstrapped but was not to stand or move until all three guards were out of the room and the door was closed and locked behind them. Should she move an inch that made any one of them uncomfortable she would be tased and then sedated once more.

Rukia didn't say a word to any of them, merely staring straight ahead as they undid her straps, starting from her head and ending at her legs. Ichigo was surprised to see the guards were not only unafraid of her – some of the guards had openly admitted they didn't want to go anywhere near her after she nearly bit off that doctor's nose – but that they were also being considerably gentle with her. This was shocking, as Ichigo had on more than one occasion seen the men be aggressive towards the other guards for fun. All three men had only recently been hired but had quickly established themselves as some of the scariest men in the building. To see them so quiet and gentle with the subject had Ichigo's mind whirling.

Once they were done with unstrapping her, the three burly men made their way back out into the hallway without another word. The door hissed as it closed behind them, the locking mechanism loud as it set back into place. The second she could, Rukia burst free of her confinement, tossing aside the straps that had held her in place. She was on her feet and stretching before any of the onlookers could blink, her joints popping as her unused limbs swung in the air.

Ichigo hadn't seen her full profile before. Every photo, every video file he had studied only showed her strapped to that chair. She was shorter than he expected, not even five feet tall by his approximation, and petite. She was wearing loose-fitting white drawstring pants and a plain white t-shirt, which hiked up as she stretched, showing off the lean muscle along her abdomen and biceps.

Ichigo had to force himself to stop staring.

Once she was done stretching, her head whipped around to the pile of books he had brought her. With lightning reflexes, she snatched up the copy of A Midsummer's Dream and huddled in the corner of the room on her haunches, facing away from them and the cameras. Ichigo watched as she began to consume his favorite story.

[~]

A few days went by, and Ichigo hadn't been permitted to enter the room with Rukia since their last encounter. His father had explained that they had a lot of new data they wanted to comb through first before trying for more information, and as such Ichigo was on standby.

He performed his assistant duties to Dr. Kurosaki diligently, as he always did. Mostly what that meant was bringing Isshin coffee and helping him find documents when he needed them. If Ichigo didn't need the college credits and the experience, he wouldn't be caught in a hundred years doing such menial tasks for his goat-faced child of a father. He understood he was getting a competitive head start on his peers, but most of his job there was mind-numbingly boring.

One of the perks, though, was that in reward for his help with breaking new ground on their research project he was now allowed unlimited access to the observation room where he could keep an eye on Rukia. When Director Ishida offered it up to him, he had most likely considered it a trivial reward for his hard work – disproportionate to the actual effort Ichigo had gone through – and didn't think Ichigo would utilize it as much as he did. Surprisingly to everyone Ichigo spent nearly every free moment he had in that room since being granted access.

He couldn't explain why he seemed to care so much about this project. From the moment he had seen her he felt… connected somehow. He couldn't quite place his finger on it, but he felt a draw that always kept his attention on her. She was in his thoughts, in his dreams. He couldn't seem to escape her.

"I smelled you that day. It brought me back to life, Kurosaki Ichigo, just as I thought I was dead."

What the hell did that even mean? Why did his scent wake her when nothing should have? Why did she talk to him and only him? Did she feel the same connection, perhaps? She seemed like she knew something he didn't, and it was driving him nuts that he hadn't been permitted to ask about it any further yet.

"You look like you're about to poop your pants, Kurosaki."

Uryu had somehow snuck up on him while he was lost in his thoughts. Ichigo was once again eating his lunch in the observation room, watching Rukia as she read the books he had brought her. She seemed to have finished reading A Midsummer's Dream and had moved on to Aesop's Fables. It both disturbed and intrigued Ichigo that the book seemed to bring her great joy as she laughed every once in a while at something described on the page.

"Shut up, four-eyes," Ichigo grunted at the skinny man as he approached. "What are you doing here, anyway? I didn't think you were allowed in here."

Uryu seemed irritated by the comment, which brought Ichigo no small amount of satisfaction. "I have special privileges as the assistant to the Director. I'm allowed most anywhere, unlike you who's only claim to fame is this single room."

Ichigo scowled at him, not at all happy to hear Uryu had been granted access to more of the facility than him. Must be nice to be the boss's son, he thought derisively. Although he could imagine some of the other assistants and data entry employees thought the same about him, considering he sat freely in the observation room while the rest of them had to continue typing away at their computers behind him.

"Fuck you, Ishida," Ichigo growled, not having a good comeback. "What do you want?"

Uryu, used to this type of behavior from Ichigo, pushed his glasses up and turned to look through the glass at the subject beyond.

"You've been spending a lot of time in here, I hear," he said. "There are rumors starting to spread."

Ichigo snorted. "And what's new? There are always rumors running rampant around this place."

"I will agree with that, but these ones pertain specifically to you."

"Like I care," Ichigo said, making sure his voice was loud enough so others could hear. He knew the rumors were probably being spread by someone sitting in one of the desks behind him. Hell, it could be all of them for all he knew or cared. "When you have hair like mine, you get used to people talking about you behind your back."

Uryu rolled his eyes. "Don't be so dramatic, Kurosaki. This isn't high school."

"Then what?" Ichigo snapped, starting to grow agitated to be interrupted during his lunch. "What are they saying about me?"

"People are getting worried you might…" Uryu struggled to think of the right words. "That you might be getting obsessed."

Ichigo frowned. "'Obsessed'? How am I getting obsessed?"

"You're always in here," Uryu said, gesturing to his current state. "People are saying you've been eating up overtime to spend time in here as well, which is strange you have to admit."

Had he been eating up overtime? He hadn't even realized. He did suppose he'd been staying late every day to check in on Rukia…

"Is that it? They're concerned because of where I choose to spend my time?"

"That's not all," Uryu said, shaking his head. "Apparently, during one of the rewatching of your last interview, people noticed you getting a bit personal with the subject."

"In what way?" he asked defensively.

"You brought her your favorite book, Kurosaki," Uryu pointed out bluntly.

"I'm trying to establish a peaceful connection with her!" Ichigo yelled, his temper once again getting the best of him.

"Keep your voice down, you damn brute," Uryu hissed at him, glancing back at the prying eyes of the researchers. "I understand what the intention was, but you have to admit it was a bit…"

"A bit what?"

"Personal," Uryu finished, unintimidated by Ichigo's glare. "Unnecessarily personal."

Ichigo didn't really know how to argue that. He hadn't thought it was all that personal, as no one seemed to object when he proposed the idea initially. She had shared her favorite story, so he had thought it would do well to stay on her good side if he shared his as well. Was that really so weird?

As Ichigo contemplated this, Uryu's eyes strayed back to the glass that separated the two rooms, and he gasped sharply. Startled, Ichigo looked up at the shocked look on Uryu's face.

"What?"

Uryu took a few steps back, looking spooked by something. "Look."

When Ichigo turned his head, he was met by the curious violet stare of Rukia standing inches away from the glass. He cursed and stood from his chair to take a step back alongside Uryu, wondering when she had stopped reading her book and made her way over.

She had her head tilted; her brows furrowed as if confused by something. Ichigo tried scanning her face in search of something that could be concerning her, as she must be looking at her reflection in the two-way mirror. There was no way she could know they were standing right there, right?

Everyone in the observation room seemed to have frozen as they watched her. This was the first time she had shown interest in the mirror since being released from her constraints, having spent most of her time reading in the corner. Everyone waited with bated breath to see what she would do.

Rukia's eyes roamed the surface of the mirror, first sizing it by width and then by length. Her lips thinned as she seemed to mull over something in her head, her brows furrowing deeper.

"What is she looking for?" Uryu whispered, as if that mattered. There wouldn't be a way for her to hear them unless they turned on the intercom. Ichigo wanted to point this out but held his tongue.

"I don't know," he said, not caring to lower his voice like Uryu. He received a harsh shushing for it.

Suddenly, as if discovering whatever she was looking for, Rukia grinned. Everyone watched as she leaned forward and fogged the glass with her breath.

"What is-" Ichigo was about to say, but Uryu shushed him a second time as they continued to watch.

Rukia took her time to make sure the glass was thickly fogged by her breath before leaning back. Her grin never left as she reached up and began scribbling on the glass with her index finger, drawing a single message for everyone to see.

Ichigo's mouth went dry when he saw the two simple words she had written.

Hello, Ichigo.

[~]

"Dad, please-"

"No, absolutely not. I'm ending this here and now!"

It didn't take long before Isshin heard about what happened in the observation room. It was all captured on video and included in the daily reports that Isshin and Ryuken had to review each morning. Ichigo had hoped to withhold what had happened for as long as possible because he knew how his father would react, but he didn't make it far the next day before he was called into Dr. Kurosaki's office.

"I can get more out of her," Ichigo argued, trying desperately to convince Isshin. "Please, let me try again!"

Ryuken, Urahara, and Uryu were present as well. They watched silently as father and son argued.

"I cannot believe I thought it would be a good idea to let you get close to that… that…" Isshin fought for the right word, his face contorted in frustration. "My decision is final. You are no longer to go anywhere near the subject."

Ichigo threw his hands in the air, a lump forming at the base of his throat at the idea of not getting to see Rukia again. "Because she wrote my name on the glass? That's nothing! We have no idea what it even means!"

"Exactly," Isshin growled, slamming a fist down on his desk with enough force to shake it on its legs. The other three men flinched, Ichigo did not. "We have no idea what it means! For all we know, it's some sort of threat!"

"Nothing about her behavior indicates that she wants to cause any harm," Ichigo rebutted, and then, before Isshin could respond, added, "at least towards me."

"Need I remind you what she did to Dr. Kurotsuchi?"

Ichigo knew he would bring that up. "She was defending herself. Besides, that creep couldn't possibly look any worse even if you flipped his eyes and mouth around." He shook his head. "She's been locked in that room since we brought her here, strapped to a damn chair and drugged almost 24/7. Hell, how the hell does she even use the bathroom?"

"This is research facility full of doctors and scientists," Isshin pointed out. "We have bedpans."

"I'd try and bite someone's nose off too if that's how I was forced to live!" Ichigo groaned, running his hands over his face. "Just… please, dad. Let me try and talk to her again. There's still so much we don't know!"

"You're acting like we know nothing." Isshin shook his head. "We've had the subject in this facility for three weeks. We've got a lot of data to work with, a lot of it thanks to you I'll admit, so we're okay with putting this unnecessary exercise to bed."

Isshin crossed his arms over his chest, his face set harshly as he stared down his son. For how much of a goofball he could be, Kurosaki Isshin could be very stern when he needed to be.

"Director Ishida." Ichigo turned his attention to the white-haired doctor standing silently by his colleague and son. "Please."

Ichigo knew he wouldn't be able to convince his father. The old man was stubborn as hell – a trait they both shared – and when he made up his mind there was very, very little that could change it. Not even Yuzu's pouting face can move him when he's locked himself in place. Ichigo's only hope now was to convince his boss.

Ryuken, having kept his expression stoic throughout the argument, glanced between the Kurosaki men thoughtfully. He was clearly weighing his words carefully, knowing this wasn't just a professional matter, but a personal one. Whosever side he took he would receive animosity from the other. Ichigo hated putting him in this position, but his options were limited.

"Kurosaki," he said finally. Both raised a brow. "Dr. Kurosaki," he clarified. "I think there might be merit to letting Kurosaki-san here try once more."

"Ishida-" Isshin was ready to argue, but Ryuken held a hand up to stop him.

"Hear me out," he said, his tone even as not to raise any more hairs on the back of the other doctor's neck. "We have gained a lot from the brain scans during Kurosaki-san's visits, and we have also learned a significant amount about the subject that we wouldn't have gotten otherwise. It would be beneficial to let them have another session."

"Our deadline is approaching fast," Urahara chimed in helpfully, at least for Ichigo's case. "The 9th is only a week away."

Ichigo frowned. This was the first time he'd heard the exact date of the deadline that had been placed by the government faction funding the study. What was so significant about the 9th? It was a question he'd have to save for later.

Isshin glared at them for taking Ichigo's side. "Are you two seriously going to fight me on this? He's my son-"

"Exactly," Urahara cut him off, holding a hand up. "Have you considered maybe your personal feelings are getting in the way of our research, Dr. Kurosaki?"

Isshin turned his body fully towards Urahara, his shoulders squared and his jaw muscles tightening. Ichigo recognized the threat immediately, because he had done the same thing in the past.

"Excuse me?"

Ichigo tensed. This might get ugly.

Urahara either didn't seem to notice the threatening undertone in Isshin's voice or didn't care as he continued, "We have a duty to learn whatever we can about this new creature that has been brought to us. It's our job to uncover the truth about this Rukia, for the possible sake of the very future. We, as scientists, cannot let something as simple as emotions get in the way of that. So, I ask again: do you think the fact that he's your son is what's getting in the way?"

Isshin moved quick for a man in his forties. He was out from behind his desk quicker than anyone could react – even Ichigo, who had expected something like this – and had Urahara by the collar of his green shirt with a snarl on his face.

"How dare you!" he barked. "You're insinuating that I put my job before my family? You heartless, piece of-"

"Kurosaki!" Ryuken snapped, grabbing Isshin by the wrist with an ice-cold glare. "Release him this instant."

Isshin met the white-haired man's glare with one of his own. Ichigo and Uryu exchanged glances as well, not sure if they should interfere. The tension in the air continued to thicken to an almost suffocating level until Urahara spoke up.

"If I may," he said calmly, despite being held up by the shirt. You'd think this wasn't the first time he had pissed someone off enough to threaten him with violence. "I apologize if what I said seemed heartless, as you so politely put it, but I'm just being practical. We have an opportunity here, one we ought to not squander. I mean, it's not every day we get an honest to God-"

"Kisuke," Ryuken hissed in warning.

Urahara glanced up at Ichigo and Uryu, who were listening intently for what he was about to say. "Ah, forgive me. Almost spilled the beans, ha ha."

His laugh was ingenuine, as if he'd known what he was doing. Ichigo scowled in response. What had he been about to say?

Isshin finally let him go with a shove. Ryuken let go of Isshin's wrist at the same time. "You're a fool, Urahara."

To his credit, Urahara looked unperturbed by the harsh treatment. "I'm a scientist, and my only desire is to know everything there is about everything. And right now, that consists chiefly of this strange woman that will only speak with young Ichigo here."

"He's out of line, but he's right," Ryuken said, frowning at Urahara before turning back to Isshin. "I understand your worries, truly I do, but I promise you as the director of this facility that your son will be safe no matter what."

Isshin's scowl deepened as his boss and colleague stared at him expectantly. He glanced back at Ichigo, who gave him a beseeching look. He groaned low, running a hand over his face in frustration.

"Fine," he said in defeat.

"Really?" Ichigo blinked in surprise.

Isshin turned to him fully, his stern brown eyes – the same ones Ichigo had inherited – bearing into him. "You're going to get one more shot, and that's it. Do you understand?"

Ichigo straightened up his posture and bowed his head. "Yes, I understand. Thank you."

"We'll begin typing you up a new script shortly." Isshin sat back at his desk's chair, suddenly looking tired. "We'll commence the session tomorrow. Be ready."

Ichigo nodded, and fully bowed to him, Ryuken, and even Urahara.

"I won't let you down."

[~]

"Let him through."

The door hissed open, and once again Ichigo found himself staring down the restrained Rukia.

"Hello Ichigo," she said, her face breaking out in a wide smile. Ichigo could have been imagining it, but it almost seemed like her canines had extended since the last he saw her.

"Remember your script, Ichigo," Isshin warned in his ear. "Do not deviate, even slightly."

Ichigo stepped further into the room, holding, once again, a tray of medical tools. Rukia watched him as he made his way to her side, prepping his needle and first vial.

"Hello, Rukia," he said, giving her a pleasant smile. It was all supposed to be part of the act, part of his script to appear friendly, but his smile was genuine. He had fought to be here, to talk to her, and now that he was, he felt a strange sense of calm overtake him.

She continued to watch him as he produced a tourniquet from his scrub pants pocket and tied it around her upper left arm, just above the elbow. It was a bit difficult, considering the position she was fixed into, but he managed. He noticed, with a hint of unnerve, that whenever he drew close Rukia would inhale his scent through her nose greedily, almost desperately.

"Been too long," she said as he wiped down the crook of her arm with alcohol. She scrunched up her nose at the smell of it, which Ichigo had anticipated considering how hard she had been sniffing the air around him. "I was starting to worry you had abandoned me."

"Not a chance," he said, not looking at her as he searched for a suitable vein. Once he found one, he began taking his blood samples. She didn't even flinch when the needle pierced her skin. "There's still so much we have to talk about."

She chuckled. "Of course. You're still curious about me."

"We all are," he corrected, though she wasn't technically wrong in accusing him personally. "I'm hoping you'd be willing to tell me more about yourself, and possibly even these people you had mentioned before."

Rukia huffed, craning against the strap around her forehead to tilt her head to the side as if upturning it at him. "You certainly know how to make a girl jealous."

She was teasing him again, he could tell. The sides of her lips quirked in a suppressed smile, telling him all he needed to know.

"A good man never gives his girl a reason to be jealous," he quipped, placing three low volume blood vials down on his tray. That ought to be enough, he thought as he removed the needles from her arm and cleaned the area. The hole he made closed instantly, he noticed with interest yet again. "My father taught me that."

"Jealousy is not a bad vice to have," Rukia said, returning her gaze to him. "It's a natural reaction to be unhappy when something that belongs to you is being threatened to be taken away." She smirked at him. "And I am no 'girl,' Kurosaki Ichigo. I am all woman."

Ichigo met her eyes as she said this, and for a moment his eyes flickered downwards to her chest. He turned his head away so she couldn't see the way his cheeks reddened.

"So, I'm yours now, huh?" he teased, trying to give her a taste of her own medicine.

She merely continued to smirk at him.

"Ichigo." Isshin's voice was reproachful.

Ichigo scowled briefly before forcing a smile back on his face.

"Okay, I promise to be quick," he said, grabbing his scalpel to begin taking skin samples. He lightly grazed the outer layer of skin along her arm, doing his best to not cut too deep. He quickly corked the vial once it was full of enough samples. These nicks, just like the needle wound, quickly healed. "Just a few questions, and then I'll leave you to your reading."

"I'd prefer if you stayed, although I'd be happier if I wasn't tied to this damn chair again." She bucked against the chair for emphasis.

"Maybe next time," he said, placing all his newly collected samples in a neat row on the metal tray. He had everything he needed, which meant he could focus on the conversation. "Let's get started, shall we?"

He was pulling out his small notepad when Rukia spoke up, "Wait."

He paused, raising an eyebrow at her. "What's wrong?"

"I will answer any questions you have, but I have one request."

This had him interested, and no doubt had the attention of the men whispering frantically in his ear. "Okay, shoot."

"I want to talk to you," she said, her face hardening. "Not anyone else."

Ichigo frowned in confusion. "You are, though."

"No," she said, her eyes narrowing at him. "You have been nothing but a mouthpiece to the men behind that glass. I will not speak any longer as long as you have that device in your ear where those three voices have been coming through."

Ichigo froze. How did she know he was being fed lines through his earpiece? The Bluetooth speaker was clear and small, blending so well into his ear he could barely see it himself when he looked at his reflection. And how did she know there were three men talking to him through it?

Could she hear them?

"Take that out, and I will tell you everything."

Her expression was serious, not a hint of the teasing cockiness she had displayed up until now. This was probably the first real request she had made since he first started talking to her. How could he say no?

"Absolutely not!" Isshin roared in his ear. "If she refuses to speak to you, then we're ending this right-"

"Dr. Kurosaki," Urahara's calm baritone broke through Isshin's tirade. "Please, lower your voice."

"No, I will not-"

"It's okay," Ichigo said confidently. He reached up to pull the Bluetooth from his ear, casting a glance at the two-way mirror where he knew his father was watching him. "I got this."

He could hear his father still yelling from the device in his hand but ignored it as he gently placed it in his pocket. He returned his attention to Rukia, who had her mouth cocked to the side in a satisfied smile.

"'Dr. Kurosaki,' huh?" she hummed, glancing at her reflection in the mirror. "By the way he spoke, I'm assuming that's your father?"

So she can hear the voices from the speaker. "Yes, that is my father. I'm sure you've met him before. Dark hair, goatee?"

Rukia's brows knitted as she attempted to place the description to a face. "Hm, possibly. My time here has been quite a blur, so it hasn't been easy to remember too many faces. Except yours, of course." She smirked at him, then turned back to the mirror. "Hello, Papa."

Ichigo couldn't hear if there was any response in the observation room, but by the way Rukia's eyes lit up and her teeth clicked together in amusement he knew she could.

"So, it's just you and me now. Just like you asked." He threw his arms open, as if gesturing to the lack of company in the room. "Are you happy?"

"I'm always happy whenever you're here, Ichigo."

He was getting used to her teasing comments. He didn't miss a beat as he held up his notepad and pulled from memory the list of questions he was to try and ask this session. "So, let's start with those people of yours."

"Ah, yes." She breathed in a slow, sad breath. "I suppose it's appropriate, since we're on the topic of family."

His heart started to race. If he could get this information he'd be validated in fighting for this opportunity.

"Could you tell me about them?" he asked. "Where are you all from and where are they now? Things like that."

"I do not know exactly where they are right now," she said, shrugging. "Being trapped here has left me woefully unaware of their comings and goings. For all I know, they could be in America by now. As for where we come from, well… everywhere."

Ichigo made a note: drifters. Gypsies possibly?

"You said before that you were from everywhere as well," he noted, remembering their first session. "What exactly does that mean?"

"That's too broad a question," she replied. "I have not known a single place to be home since the day I was born. Home is my pack, and I go where they go."

Ichigo hesitated. "'Pack'?"

"Yes, my pack." Her eyes began to twinkle as something dawned on her. "You don't know about me, do you?"

Ichigo scowled, once again glancing at the two-way mirror. "No, I don't. Which is why I'm here to learn what I can."

She laughed, loud and obnoxious. Her chest heaved as she threw her head back and filled the room with her laughter.

"Oh, this is too good!" she breathed. "You're in here with me, not even knowing what you're talking to!"

"What-" He was about to ask the question that had been plaguing him since day one, ask the very question he thought the whole point of the project was to discover, when the intercom hissed to life.

"Move on to your next question," Ryuken's voice commanded.

Ichigo felt a wave of frustration wash over him – heat rushing down the skin of his face to his chest. He had to suck in a quick breath to stop himself from lashing out, from arguing with the disembodied voice of his boss.

Rukia stopped laughing.

He struggled to compose himself, forcing his frustration back before it overwhelmed him. He took a few more calming breaths in order to settle his racing heart before speaking again.

"I'm sorry," he said, keeping his head low as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. Even though all he saw was his own tanned face in the mirror, he knew behind it the three men in charge were staring at him disapprovingly. "Let's get back on track," he said, turning back to Rukia.

"Yes, let's," she answered, her eyes narrowed at the mirror.

Ichigo had small list of simple questions to ask. Chiefly among them was about her people, but he figured he could try and focus on one of the other questions for now to try and get himself back into gear. "You-"

"I finished reading your book," she cut him off, still not looking at him. "The one you gave me."

He paused, taken by surprise that she had interrupted him so sharply. He glanced over at the small pile of books on the floor in the far corner of the room.

"Is that so?" he inquired, not wanting to admit he had watched her do so already. "What did you think of it?"

"Overly complicated," she said, her eyes finally meeting his again. "I was not a fan of the weird way he wrote everyone's lines."

"It's old English," he explained. "William Shakespeare was an author from the 17th century. Everyone talked like that back then."

"Everyone used to be so dramatic," she huffed. "No offense, but I prefer The Three Little Pigs more."

Ichigo wanted to argue further, to defend his favorite author, but held himself in check. He could still feel the ball of frustration bouncing around in his chest, and if he wasn't careful it was going to burst forth.

"Everyone has their preferences, I guess," he said, trying to remain neutral.

"You remind me of the final pig, Ichigo," she said, surprising him.

"I do?"

"Yes," she giggled. "You're working so hard, just like the little piggie. It's adorable."

"The moral of that story is that hard work pays off," Ichigo said knowingly, puffing his chest out. "So, I'm going to take that as a compliment."

"Oh, it was meant to be, I promise."

He looked at the way she continued to smile at him. Once again he was struck by the feeling that she was looking right through him, at something only she could see. What could possibly be going through that mind of hers?

"Anyway, back to what I was saying before…"

"Do you believe in fate, Ichigo?"

Was she playing with him? Trying to provoke him? Because, so far, it was working. "I thought I was the one who was going to ask the questions here."

"Right, sorry," she giggled again, clearly entertained by his reaction. 'Go ahead."

"Okay, good." He cleared his throat, about to continue with his script, when-

"You didn't answer me though," she said.

Ichigo's heart spiked in speed. He was growing more and more frustrated by the minute. He knew, rationally, she was toying with him, trying to get a rise out of him now that he didn't have someone in his ear to calm him down, but it didn't stop him from needing to calm himself with a few slow breaths.

"I'm sorry, what was the question again?"

"Do you believe in fate?" she repeated. "In inevitability?"

"As in things that happen for a reason and how we can't stop them?"

"Exactly," she said, exaggerating the word playfully.

"No, I don't," he answered immediately.

"Oh." She pouted at him. "Why's that?"

"I just don't," he said, maybe a bit harsher than intended. "Anyway-"

"I do," she said, once again ignoring him. "My people do, as well. Fate has laid out our paths in this life with care, and we cannot deny it. We are brought to where we need to be, even if we don't understand why until after."

"Do you believe it was fate that brought you here, then?" he challenged, growing increasingly irritated. "Was it fate that put you in those restraints?"

"Yes," she answered simply. "I did not understand why I was captured and kept as a prisoner. I was angry at the world for doing this to me, wondering why it would do so when I knew I didn't deserve it. But everything happens for a reason, and I am trusting that my reason for being here will come to fruition soon enough."

That was the final straw for him. He had held his temper in check as tightly as he could, kept himself composed for as long as possible. But hearing her words tipped him over the edge, and his skin flared with heat as his frustration took control.

"That's total bullshit," he exploded.

Rukia's eyebrows shot up. "Oh? Is it?"

"There's no such thing as fate," he growled, clenching in his fists. The notepad in his hand crumpled between his fingers, the spine nearly bent completely in half. He didn't care. "There's no reason behind why things happen – they just do. As fucked up as things are, you can't possibly believe there's good that can come out of it."

"Good can be found anywhere," she argued, her eyes widening with each rise in his tone.

"Don't give me that!" he barked, now fully yelling. Her mouth rounded into an O shape as he spoke, "Tragedy can't be explained away as being fate. There's never anything good that comes from losing someone, or from suffering. If there's some road map of the universe out there, I fucking hope it burns for what it's done to the world – for what it's done to me."

"And what has fate done to you, Kurosaki Ichigo?"

He couldn't stop himself now. His anger had grown to such a height he couldn't possibly reign it in. He pulled his right sleeve up to reveal the skin under his arm and up to his shoulder, where a long-since healed series of small scars shined pink in the light.

"It was a drunk driver," he said, memories flashing through his mind, fueling his anger. "My mother… she shielded me from him with her body. We skid across the road, her arms protecting me. My arm got torn up though, because I tried reach up to protect her as well, but I failed. She died that night, and for what? What reason did fate have for taking my mother from us?"

Rukia's eyes lingered on the scarred skin of his arm and shoulder, her eyes still wide. For a moment, he believed she was stunned by his proclamation. He thought he had stumped her with his argument, but when he looked closer he realized that wasn't the case. Her eyes were wide with something he hadn't expected, and it took him a moment to identify it.

It was excitement.

The door behind him hissed open, and in came the guards. Ichigo jumped when he felt their hands on his shoulders, pulling him backwards out of the room. He yelled in defiance, trying to break free of their grasp, but the three men were much, much stronger than him he found and he could do nothing but be carted away from Rukia and her silent smile.

[~]

He wasn't even fully through the door when Isshin rounded on him, his face red with anger.

"What the hell was that?"

Ichigo knew he had screwed up. It wasn't even a debate. He realized the second the guards had him out in the hall and marching towards the observation room that he was in a world of trouble. Staring down his furious father only confirmed this.

"I…" He didn't know what to say. He had finally calmed down, and the realization of what he had just done was still slowly dawning on him. "I…I'm sorry."

"Sorry isn't good enough," Isshin said, looking ready to explode. He was clearly holding himself back for the sake of the strangers in the room, but Ichigo knew whatever he was getting now would only multiply when they were alone. "How could you let your emotions get the better of you like that?"

"Like father, like son," Urahara said, giving a sly smirk. Isshin turned to glare at the blond doctor.

"Kisuke, you-"

"Enough, everyone!" Ryuken barked, looking fed up. "I'm growing weary of everyone yelling all the time!"

The whole room fell silent. Ryuken rarely raised his voice, even under the most intense situations. Ichigo had heard from his father how he hadn't even flinched when Rukia bit Dr. Kurotsuchi's face. To see him so frustrated now made Ichigo's guilt all the worse.

"I'm sorry," Ichigo said a second time, putting more force behind his voice. "I don't know what came over me."

"She played you," Isshin said, shaking his head. "She was trying to get a rise out of you, and she succeeded."

"She really enjoys messing with you, Kurosaki-san," Urahara said, cupping his chin in thought. "Her brain activity was… interesting just now."

Ichigo's brows furrowed. "How so?"

Urahara gestured to one of the monitors on the side of the glass mirror that had a live feed from the transmitters on Rukia's head. Ichigo regularly forgot about them, as they were mostly covered up by either the strap or her hair. Ichigo stepped closer as Urahara rewound the feed, clicking away at the keyboard and focusing in on a specific set of images.

"You see this activity here?" he said, pointing to a collection of spiked lines across the screen. Ichigo knew about MRIs and basic brain scans, but his knowledge was still in development so he couldn't quite place the exact images on the screen. "This is the results from her hypothalamus scan," Urahara said, noting Ichigo's confused look.

Ichigo recalled the name. "Okay, but what do these results mean?"

"It could mean a few different things," Urahara said, shrugging nonchalantly. "She could be hungry, thirsty, or…"

Ichigo raised a brow. "Or?"

"The hypothalamus controls a variety of basic functions," Ryuken said, reading the results a lot more efficiently than Ichigo could. "Considering the situation, and her attitude during these scans, we're surmising she felt a wave of arousal."

Ichigo's throat dried up and he nearly choked. "S-She what?"

"She was horny, Ichigo," Isshin said bluntly. "She got a rise out of you, and it made her horny."

"My, my, so crude Dr. Kurosaki," Urahara said scandalously.

Isshin cast another glare at him before turning back to Ichigo. "Do you understand now? This is some sort of strange obsession she has with you, and I do not like that it is progressing. Previous scans saw similar activity, but this is the most potent we have seen it."

Ichigo's eyes drifted unconsciously to Rukia in the other room. She looked pleased despite still being strapped to her chair. The guards were in there collecting the samples he had left behind, Kenpachi warning her about making any sudden movements before he began the process of releasing her, electric baton in hand. She barely paid them any mind, her eyes trained directly in Ichigo's direction behind the mirror.

He swallowed thickly.

"This is starting to get out of hand," Ryuken said, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. "We were wrong to let the boy in there again."

This brought Ichigo back to full attention. "W-Wait, what are you saying?"

"We were wrong to ignore Dr. Kurosaki's warnings." Ryuken adjusted his glasses on his pale face. "I'm officially pulling the plug on your involvement, Kurosaki-san."

[~]

"You were lucky not to be fired outright," Uryu said, possibly thinking it was a comforting thought. "Given the circumstances, they'd be within their right to let you go."

Ichigo grunted while munching on his granola bar, not at all appeased by Uryu's backwards way of trying to make him feel better. "They might as well have fired me…"

It had been two days since his incident with Rukia. As expected, Isshin had really let him have it when it was just the two of them, and Ichigo could do nothing but remain quiet and accept his berating. At the end of it, it was explained to him that not only was he not allowed to speak with Rukia again, but he was also to have his privileges revoked. So, no more hanging out in the observation room, no more access to the edited files about the study, and no more participation in the meetings pertaining to the study. Ichigo was relegated back to gofer duties for his father, and his father alone.

"I totally blew it…"

"It's probably for the best," Uryu said, taking a small sip of his water. "The rumors about your obsession were starting to get really out of control. Mind control was on the table for a while there."

They were currently taking their lunch break together in the cafeteria. There were a sparse few other assistants and scientists roaming around, discussing various topics ranging from their current projects to their weekend plans. Ichigo had noticed a few of them throwing odd looks in his direction, most of them not having seen him in a few weeks. Now that he had been banned from his spot in the observation room, he was forced to eat his lunch in the cafeteria with the rest of them.

Their stares only soured his mood further.

"Who exactly are you hearing these rumors from, huh?" Ichigo asked as he finished his granola bar. Typically, his sister made his lunch for him, but he had forgotten it at home – his mind so unfocused – and he was forced to buy what he could from the vending machines in the far corner of the cafeteria. "You don't talk to anyone but me."

A suspicious pink tint coated Uryu's cheeks at the question. Ichigo raised a brow at this.

"Inoue-san told me," he said, looking anywhere but at Ichigo.

It took a second for Ichigo to recognize the name. "Orihime? The lunch lady who tries serving red bean paste on bread?"

Uryu immediately became defensive. "Yeah? What of it?"

Ichigo stared at his friend/rival in surprise, noting how his cheeks reddened further the longer he stared. A grin spread across Ichigo's face as realization hit him.

"I didn't know you guys were that close."

"W-We're not," Uryu said, crossing his arms over his chest and turning his head away. "We just… she's been keeping me company during lunch since you've been goofing off with your new friend."

"Uh huh." Ichigo wasn't the least bit fazed by the comment, instead grinning wider. "She's been keeping you company, huh? Helping to make sure my buddy isn't so lonely while I've been gone, huh?"

"Shut up, you damn carrottop!"

"Who the hell are you calling carrottop, four-eyes!?"

"My, you two are loud."

Ichigo and Uryu were practically forehead to forehead as they yelled at each other, their faces set in matching snarls. Before their shouting match could escalate – as it usually did – they were interrupted by the amused laughter of Dr. Urahara Kisuke.

"Dr. Urahara, sir," Uryu stood and bowed to their superior, a firm believer in kissing ass. Ichigo, on the opposite side of the spectrum, remained seated.

"No need for such honorifics," Urahara said jovially, a cup of coffee in his hand. "It's break time, so we can all relax a little. Eh, Kurosaki-san?"

He was clearly referring to the scowl on Ichigo's face at the sight of the blond-haired scientist. He knew it wasn't directly Urahara's fault that he had been banned from seeing Rukia again, but he was there when it happened and had done nothing to oppose it, making him just as guilty as Ryuken or Isshin in Ichigo's mind.

"Is there anything you need, doctor?" Ichigo asked, wanting more than anything for the older man to walk away and leave them alone. Even before the incident Ichigo hadn't been very fond of him. He always seemed to be hiding something behind a veil of good-naturedness. Unlike his father, who was genuinely a goofball when not hard at work, Urahara struck Ichigo as smarter and more devious than he let on.

"You wound me so, Kurosaki-san," Urahara said, clutching his chest dramatically with feigned hurt. "I can't come say hi to two of our best and brightest upstarts in between projects?"

"Show him some respect, Kurosaki," Uryu chastised, before turning back to Urahara. "Would you like to join us for a few moments, sir?"

Ichigo shot Uryu with a look of reproach but was ignored as Urahara grinned at them both.

"Don't mind if I do!"

He pulled back a chair and sat down with the two younger men, happily sipping from his coffee as Uryu met Ichigo's now heated glare. Uryu just shrugged, not in the least bit fazed by Ichigo's wrath.

This was Uryu's revenge for teasing him.

Goddamn him!

"So, how is everything, my fellow knowledge seekers?" Urahara asked, breaking the silence before it could become too uncomfortable, though Ichigo suspected the man had never felt uncomfortable in his whole life.

"Good, sir," Uryu answered dutifully.

"Delightful," Ichigo replied, deadpan, then took another bite of his granola bar.

"I see you're still unhappy about Ryuken-san's decision to exclude you from the Big Bad project, eh Kurosaki-san?" Urahara remarked cheekily.

"Of course I- the what project?"

Urahara placed a hand over his mouth. "Oops, let that secret fly…"

"S-Sir!" Uryu stammered, looking panicked. "Isn't information like that supposed to be private to anyone but those involved in the project?"

"Very true, Ishida-san," Urahara said, not looking in the least embarrassed by his slip-up. "Although, I'm sure I can be forgiven sharing simple details like that. It's just the project title, after all."

Ichigo's scowl deepened. When he had first been allowed access to Rukia's file, one of the first things he had noticed was that the title was blacked out. He had thought that was strange, as usually the simple title wasn't considered private information. Hearing the title out loud now, after everything else he'd learned…

"Urahara-san."

The blond-haired scientist raised a brow at the young man. "My, you look pretty serious there, Kurosaki-san."

Ichigo had his scowl in place, his jaw firmly set as he held Urahara eye. "If I ask you a few questions, do you think you could answer them honestly?"

"Kurosaki!" Uryu hissed. "You're getting out of line here!"

"It's okay, Ishida-san," Urahara said calmly to the bespectacled assistant. "I can answer a few questions, though I'm sure you understand I can't get too detailed if they pertain to the study."

By the growing smirk on Urahara's face, Ichigo had a feeling he wouldn't have to worry about that.

[~]

Dr. Kurosaki Isshin was typing peacefully away at his computer when Ichigo stormed into his office, a deadly scowl on his face.

"And what's the meaning of this?" Isshin returned his son's scowl with one of his own. "I've told you before you have to knock first before you enter my office. I could be naked in here for all you know."

Ichigo, despite his anger, gently closed the door behind him. When he turned back to his father, his eyes were ablaze.

"She's a werewolf," he said, accusingly. "A fucking werewolf."

Isshin jumped to his feet at the first mention of the word, his eyes wide with shock. "Who told you that?"

Ichigo shook his head. "That doesn't matter."

"It was that bastard Kisuke, wasn't it?" Isshin gritted his teeth in frustration. "What the hell is his game?"

"Don't change the subject," Ichigo growled, stepping closer to the desk that separated them. "Tell me the truth: is it true? Is Rukia a werewolf?"

Isshin met his son's eyes, looking into the raging amber before grunting in resignation.

"Yes," he admitted softly. "That's what we believe."

"Fuck," Ichigo groaned, running his hands over his face in disbelief. "A real life, fucking werewolf…"

"What exactly did Kisuke tell you?"

"He said you guys knew from the beginning what she was," Ichigo said, remembering what little Urahara had said in response to his questions. "He said the project was titled Big Bad."

"That was his idea, the asshat." Isshin sighed, rubbing his temples. "Thought he was being funny. Just made it so we couldn't disclose the title to those outside the circle otherwise people would start making assumptions."

"You let me go in there with a fucking werewolf?" Ichigo hissed. "A goddamn creature of the night?!"

"Those are vampires," Isshin corrected.

"I don't care!" Ichigo yelled, and then with a bewildered look said, "Wait, are vampires real too?"

Isshin threw his hands up. "At this point I'm willing to believe so."

Ichigo groaned, pulling at his orange hair in aggravation. "I have such a headache…"

"You must have suspected," Isshin sighed, placing himself back down into his chair with a weary look on his face. "The signs were certainly there, even if we tried to cover them up."

Ichigo had indeed suspected. Her obsession with scent; her enhanced healing and hearing capabilities; her love for the wolf in The Three Little Pigs… Ichigo wasn't an idiot. But he had been too skeptical of the concept to allow himself to think the word before now. He was more willing to believe aliens than werewolves, for Christ's sake!

"How do you know for sure?"

"She was found outside of Tokyo covered in blood," Isshin explained. "There had been a string of recent attacks, and the authorities linked her to two murders that had occurred the night before."

Ichigo paused, stunned to hear Rukia was linked to murder. He forced it aside, determined to learn more.

"Okay… so she killed people," he said, his tongue feeling like ash with those words on it. "How does that make her a werewolf?"

"The bodies were found in the woods," Isshin said, looking as if recalling the information pained him. "They were torn apart. Half-eaten. Claw marks all over what was left of them. They were found the same morning she was discovered, the blood she was covered in matching the DNA tests from the bodies. Wanna take a guess when the murders occurred?"

It didn't take long for Ichigo to take a guess. "The full moon?"

Isshin nodded. "Full moon." He sighed. "She killed one of the police trying to restrain her when she woke up. Tore his throat out with her teeth. Initial tests showed wolf DNA mixed in with her genome, and it was discovered quickly that she could partially transform outside of the moon-"

"She can transform at will?"

"Only partially," Isshin corrected. "It's why we keep her sedated and restrained. But, recently, she's starting to resist more the closer we get to the 9th…"

Realization hit Ichigo like a semitruck. "The deadline is the next full moon."

Isshin nodded. "We have two days until officials from the military arrive to check in on our progress and to witness her full transformation."

Ichigo could feel his heartrate increase with every new tidbit of information he received from his father. He was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Rukia – the short, raven-haired beauty that had haunted him ever since her arrival – was a werewolf. He felt like he was living some poorly written story…

A thought occurred to him. "You think it's because we're getting so close to the full moon that she's become resistant to the sedatives?"

"Her tests have shown a progressing shift in her DNA each time we collect from her. Each day we get closer to the 9th, she becomes stronger. We were shocked she started resisting the sedation, as we had tried matching her metabolism with stronger meds, but it only seemed to progress faster after meeting you."

"Why me?" The question had plagued Ichigo since day one, and Urahara had just shrugged when he had asked him. "Am I just the guy she saw first after waking up and decided to fuck with?"

"No," Isshin said, running a hand through his dark, spiky hair. "She seems to have grown a real attachment to you. An obsession that we can't explain. Look…"

Isshin began typing on his keyboard, beckoning for Ichigo to sit down. He did as he was told and watched Isshin turn his screen around for Ichigo to see a video of Rukia still strapped to her chair.

"Is this a live feed?"

"No." Isshin pointed to the bottom right of the video to show the timestamp. "This is a recording of yesterday's attempt to communicate with her. Our first time without you. Watch."

Ichigo watched as Rukia, strapped to her chair, twisted and turned her head the best she could as if looking for something. The door to her room hissed as it began to unlock, and a smile spread across her face. That smile, however, immediately turned into a frown as a blond-haired, gloomy young man that Ichigo didn't recognize stepped into the room, large notepad in hand.

"We thought maybe bringing in another young face might yield the same results," Isshin explained as the man stepped further into the room, the door closing behind him. "We had hoped her attachment to you was out of solidarity of age, but then…"

"Who are you?" Rukia's eyes narrowed to slits at the sight of the young man entering her room.

"My name is Kira Izuru," the young man said calmly. He was following the script given to him, Ichigo could tell, doing his best to appear calm and collected in front of Rukia. But his eyes betrayed him, as there was a hint of fear behind them. "Nice to meet you, Rukia-san."

If Ichigo could see it through the video, then Rukia certainly noticed it right away in person.

"Where is Ichigo?" The question was asked harshly, as if she was insulted.

"I apologize," Izuru said. "Unfortunately, Kurosaki-san has been relieved of duty for the time being. I'm his replacement if that's okay with you."

Ichigo scowled at this. Isshin noticed and said, "We thought maybe telling her you were gone would help her to open up to Kira-san."

"It is not," Rukia hissed, her eyes hardening. "Bring him to me. Now."

Izuru flinched under her glare but did his best to mask it under the guise of checking his notes. "I apologize again, Rukia-san, but Kurosaki-san is not here. I don't know where he is."

"You're lying to me," she growled. "I can hear your heartbeat. Bring me Ichigo, this second!"

"Y-You can hear my heartbeat?" Izuru was visibly shaken by this.

She began to thrash against her bindings, gnashing her teeth together. Typically, with the positioning and tautness of the wraps, she shouldn't have much mobility or capability to struggle against them, but somehow she was flexing hard enough to put strain on them.

"Bring me Ichigo!" she roared, her features growing feral and her voice echoed with something… bestial. "Bring him to me! Bring me Ichigo now!"

Izuru yelled out in fright when, finally, her struggles proved fruitful, and she ripped her left arm free of her constraints. The strap tore at her wrist first, and with her lower arm free she was able to tear through the strap on her bicep. She roared, her voice now fully masked by that of a beast, and her eyes…

Ichigo's breath hitched when, even on the video, he could clearly see her once vibrant violet eyes glowing a molten gold.

"Let me out!" Izuru begged, turning and banging his fists against the metal door. It began to open, the guards on the other side ready to intervene.

"You think these chains can hold me?" Rukia's voice buzzed in the video, full of rage and hatred. She reached up to tear off the strap holding her head in place, and snarled, "I will have what is rightfully mine, and even in these chains you can't stop me!"

The guards descended on her as Izuru ran from the room, terrified and most likely never to return. Kenpachi was the first to reach her, jabbing her with a fully ignited electric baton. She wailed, glaring angrily at the gigantic man. She gnashed her teeth together as Ikkaku and Yumichika joined in restraining her. She lashed out with her hand splayed open, and it was then Ichigo noticed the claws sprouting from her fingertips. Kenpachi was able to dodge her slash and reapply his baton's electric assault against her neck.

It didn't take long for her to finally be subdued, her head lolling to the side and her arm falling to her side limply. She moaned in pain, causing Ichigo's heart to clench, despite the horrific sight of her.

It was when the guards started reapplying her bindings Isshin stopped the video.

"Jesus…" Ichigo gasped, releasing the breath he'd been holding.

"Do you understand now?" Isshin asked, his jaw set. "This woman is dangerous, and she is obsessed with you. It was a mistake to let you in there to begin with, and I am so sorry I did that to you."

Ichigo didn't know what to say. He now had a visual of Rukia's lycanthropy, and it seared into his mind as if applied by a hot poker. Those glowing eyes, those claws… did he see fangs in her mouth at the end there too?

"Ichigo?"

He snapped back to reality, swallowing the lump forming in his throat. "Yeah, sorry. That just…"

"I understand," Isshin said softly, looking sympathetically at his oldest child. "I shouldn't be telling you any of this, but I want you to understand I'm not excluding you for no reason. It's for your own safety, son."

Ichigo nodded, not knowing what else to do in response. He needed time to process all of this. Those eyes…

"What's going to happen after the 9th?" he asked after a bout of silence. "After the government comes?"

Isshin shrugged. "I don't know. After we report our findings, and after we observe a full transformation, Director Ishida and the officials are going to have some big, fancy meeting to decide that. Dr. Urahara and I are supposed to be there as well, but…"

"But?"

Isshin sighed, shaking his head solemnly. "After the full moon, I'm putting in my resignation."

Ichigo's eyes widened in shock. "You are? Why?"

"I put your life in danger," Isshin said, and for the first time Ichigo noticed the dark rings under his brown eyes. "I asked my son to engage with a monster, barely even considering the ramifications. If anything had happened to you, I wouldn't be able to face your mother in the afterlife, and after what we saw in that video… I don't think it's right for either of us to continue being here."

"Dad…"

"Maybe we'll open a clinic downtown or something," Isshin chuckled dryly. "You and me, running our own practice. Yuzu and Karin can be our helpers. Yuzu is great with people, so she can be our receptionist, and Karin is sharp as a tack, so she can do triage. A family business, ya know? Doesn't that sound great?"

Ichigo wanted to argue, wanted to point out that this, all of this, had been Isshin's life's work. He had spent the better part of the last fifteen years working under Ishida Ryuken at this facility and had on more than one occasion said it was fulfilling work. To hear him talk of quitting…

Then again, the work they had done until now had been simpler than this. It had been black and white work compared to this gray blotch. Studying psychology and running drug trials were nothing compared to a real-life werewolf.

"It does sound pretty cool, Dad," Ichigo acquiesced softly, suddenly feeling just as exhausted as Isshin looked. "I don't think I'd mind that."

"Then it's decided," Isshin said, slapping his hand on his desk jovially. "After the full moon, the Kurosaki men are moving on to bigger and better things! Nothing can stop us when we put our minds to it!"

Ichigo couldn't help but laugh at this. He was still unsure about everything, but as it all stood there was nothing he could do. Maybe walking away was the best option. Some distance between him and Rukia might be the solution to his problems.

"Just two more days," Isshin said assuredly. "And we're gone."

"Yeah," Ichigo said, smiling. "Just two more days..."

[~]

The afternoon of the 9th, Japanese government officials showed up with an array of men and women in black suits. They all wore sunglasses and had badly concealed gun holsters strapped to their hips and looked as if they were expecting someone to jump out at them at any given moment.

Director Ishida welcomed them respectfully and showed the officials to one of the main conference rooms to conduct their business. Ichigo glanced the progression of guards down the hall from his father's office door, noting how all of them looked grave and ready for battle. When he tried to walk away, determined to stay out of their way, he accidentally bumped shoulders with a red-haired man with tattoos.

"Sorry," Ichigo said quickly, bowing his head.

The man said nothing, just glared at him. Another one of the men in black, a tall man with long black hair and piercing gray eyes, placed a hand on his shoulder and led him off. Ichigo watched them go, wondering if it was part of the job description to be an uptight asshole.

He had been instructed to carry about his day normally and say nothing to anyone who may try and ask him questions. As much as he wanted to pry and be nosy, he promised to be on his best behavior and did as he was told.

"God knows what they're going to do with her," Uryu whispered conspiratorially to Ichigo later in the day. "From what I heard, they're going to try and replicate her DNA to produce an army of super soldiers."

Ichigo snorted; arms full of documents that needed to be filed away for data entry later by one of the interns. "Did you hear that from Inoue?" Uryu began to sputter, and before he could retort Ichigo added, "And that's dumb. This isn't some manga, four-eyes."

Uryu gave a huff, his cheeks still tinted pink. "Whatever, Kurosaki. I'm just curious what they plan to do with her."

Ichigo didn't want to admit that he shared his colleague's curiosity, but he couldn't help but wonder what Rukia's fate would be after he and his father left the facility.

As his father had instructed, Ichigo had written up his resignation letter the night before. The two of them planned on giving their notices in the morning and would finish the day as their last. Ichigo had suggested they stay another week or two to observe what would happen, but Isshin was adamant they leave immediately. The only reason they weren't already gone was because Isshin was contracted to at least see the transformation through.

Ichigo suspected his father was just curious to see it happen, rather than being held to a sense of duty.

Ichigo knew he wouldn't be allowed to watch the transformation as well and had made his peace with that. He had to start mentally cleansing himself of thoughts of Rukia, for he knew he would never see her again. Once they were gone Rukia's fate would be in the hands of the government, and whatever befell her was none of Ichigo's business.

Even if, he hated to admit, he couldn't stop thinking about it.

"Kurosaki Ichigo?"

Ichigo and Uryu glanced up to find one of the new guards – Ayasegawa printed on a label across his left breast – approaching them.

"Yes?" Ichigo raised a brow at the tall, thin man in black combat uniform. Out of the three guards who had been assigned to Project Big Bad, Ayasegawa Yumichika was the least intimidating. He had medium-length dark hair framing his feminine face and a chin-length braid bouncing against his cheek as he walked. He wore elongated lashes, flapping over his purple eyes. Eyes that vaguely reminded him of Rukia…

Dammit, he needed to cut that out.

"I've been sent by Dr. Kurosaki to retrieve you," Ayasegawa said curtly.

Ichigo furrowed his brows in confusion. "He did? What for?"

Ayasegawa shrugged, looking unbothered. "Didn't say. Just told me to grab you, so if you'd please…" he gestured for Ichigo to follow him.

Uryu shot Ichigo an odd look, but Ichigo merely shrugged at him. They both knew all available doctors were supposed to be prepping for the transformation tonight, so to hear Ichigo's father wanted to see him was strange. Maybe he had changed his mind about letting Ichigo be present for the transformation?

"Mind putting these away for me?" Ichigo asked Uryu, handing him his pile of paperwork. "I'll sort them after I'm done."

"Better make it quick then," Uryu said, stacking the pile of documents on top of his own. "Clock-out is in an hour."

Ichigo frowned. Was it really that late in the day? He shrugged off his surprise and followed the guard towards whatever it was his father wanted from him.

[~]

It was getting dark outside. The time was drawing near, and everyone's skin seemed to prickle whenever they glanced at the clock. No one knew exactly what would happen when the moon hit its apex in the sky, or even if they had to wait that long to see results, but it was universally agreed among everyone that something spectacular would occur.

"Are the cameras all recording?" Ryuken asked one of the technicians manning a desktop in the observation room, looking every bit the calm and collected man he had always been despite the pressure of having a few dozen government officials in his building.

"Yessir."

"Is the EEG online?" he asked next.

The technician tapped at a few keys on his keyboard and then nodded when he saw the green light. "Headset operational, sir."

"EKG scanner?"

"Yessir."

"What about-"

"Relax, Director-san!" Urahara said, slapping a hand on Ryuken's back with a wide, humorous grin. "Everything is working as it should be. You can stop pestering the poor kid."

Ryuken glanced at Urahara out of the corner of his eye for a moment before returning his cold gaze to the young technician. "Keep me posted should there be any anomalies in the system, understood?"

The technician affirmed his understanding and went back to typing away on his desktop. Ryuken, along with Urahara, rejoined the group of men standing by the glass that separated them and the room where Rukia sat soundlessly, severely medicated.

"She's fully under, correct?" asked Agent Tsukishima Shukuro, one of the lead liaisons for the government sent to observe Project Big Bad's progress. He was a tall, lanky man with chin-length, wavy dark hair and a scar that ran over his left eye. He was pale, and held a stern, stoic expression that rivalled Ryuken's. If it weren't for the age difference and different hair colors, you'd be hard-pressed to distinct the two men apart.

"That is correct," Isshin said, checking her vitals on a handheld tablet. "But we can't be certain for how long. She's been showing stronger resistance the past week."

"From what I read," said Agent Ginjo Kujo, Tsukishima's partner and fellow government liaison, "she's been pumped full of enough meds to kill a normal man."

Agent Ginjo was a lean man with shoulder-length black hair slicked back with an inordinate amount of hair gel. Isshin could smell it despite having Agent Tsukishima between them. Between the two agents constantly asking questions, and the numerous other nameless men and women filtering about the facility, Isshin found himself growing more and more irritated by the second. He did his best to hide his current sour attitude, but he could tell from Ryuken's stern glare that it was showing on his face.

"That is also correct," Isshin said, doing his best to focus on his tablet rather than let his growing temper get the best of him. "It takes a lot to keep her under. She metabolizes it so quickly, we're not sure what a lethal amount would have to be for someone like her."

"You mean something like her," Ginjo snorted. "Don't forget, doctor, she's not a person."

Isshin bit his tongue, a scathing remark held back behind clenched teeth. This Ginjo person really was getting under Isshin's skin. Or maybe he was just tense knowing he was so close to the end of his career, having written up his resignation letter in full just the night before after his conversation with Ichigo.

He hadn't told anyone yet, but he was certain there would be a blowout with Ryuken the second he did. As much as he didn't want to abandon his friend, his duty as a father came first.

Just make it through this, and you're home free.

"How do her readings look?" Ryuken inquired, startling Isshin out of his train of thought. "Any abnormalities yet?"

Isshin shook his head. "Not yet."

"Twenty more minutes," Urahara said, grinning mischievously. "Get ready everyone. We're about to see some shit."

Isshin rolled his eyes. The man had been way too excited about this project from the get-go. He was ready to put the whole supernatural business behind him, if he was being personally honest.

"Speaking of which," Urahara turned to Isshin. "I'm surprised your boy hasn't tried to butt in for this little show. Any idea where he is?"

"Why would someone try and do that?" Agent Tsukishima asked, raising a brow at the two of them. "Who are we referring to?"

"Why, Dr. Kurosaki's son had been a huge help in our progress in this study," Urahara said, sounding as if he were proud on Isshin's behalf. "I had thought maybe he'd be present today, given his contribution."

Isshin shot Urahara a withering glare, but once again held back the onslaught of rude comments he had prepared in the back of his throat. "We agreed it would be best if he remained distant from this project from now on. He's most likely getting ready to end his shift soon and go home."

"Oh? So he's not coming?" Urahara held an odd expression. Something akin to disappointment, Isshin guessed.

He shook his head, tapping away at his tablet. "No, he's not."

[~]

"Where's my da- I mean, Dr. Kurosaki?" Ichigo asked Ayasegawa as they entered one of the many offices lining the east wing of the facility. They had traveled a ways from where the guard had picked him up, and in the back of his mind Ichigo noted how they weren't too far off from where Rukia resided, but they had taken a decisive turn away from the observation room where he had expected to be headed. Ayasegawa gestured for him to enter the room first, and when Ichigo looked around all he saw was an empty office.

"He should be on his way," the guard said. "This is where I was told to bring you."

"By him?" Ichigo inquired, inspecting the room. It looked like it hadn't been used in quite some time. A thin layer of dust coated the desk, and the light began to flicker once he flipped the switch. Why would his dad want to meet him here?

"Huh?" Ayasegawa didn't seem to hear him.

"Was my dad the one who told you to bring me here?" Ichigo restated the question, turning to face the shorter man. Something was starting to seem off, and Ichigo's shoulders tensed as he stared at Ayasegawa suspiciously.

"No, he wasn't," Ayasegawa said simply, seemingly undisturbed by Ichigo's glare.

"Then who-"

Before he could finish his inquiry, Ayasegawa's hand shot out and, with the force of a hammer, chopped him on the side of his neck – perfectly on his brachial plexus. The nerves in his shoulder and neck flared white hot, and Ichigo felt the pain swim instantly up to his brain and, before he could even try and breathe through it, felt his world grow dark.

[~]

They had ten more minutes, according to their timers, until the full moon would be fully visible in the sky outside. The tension in the room had grown so palpable that Isshin suspected all he needed to do was cough to make everyone jump. It was an amusing thought amidst a torrent of stress, one that he reveled in for only a moment before returning to his work.

"Are we sure she's even going to change?" Agent Ginjo asked bluntly. "I mean, are we just wasting our time here? She's still asleep."

"Have you accounted for the possibility that she may be unresponsive without direct contact with moonlight?" Agent Tsukishima asked eloquently.

"We could be here all night and see nothing!" Ginjo continued to complain. "You guys don't have any hard evidence this is even going to happen."

Isshin rolled his shoulder, adjusting his white lab coat. It was a needless movement, but he knew if he didn't direct his growing agitation towards something, he'd start swinging at the two annoying men. Neither of them noticed the way he shifted his weight between feet or how he kept scratching at his neck, but Urahara did, and the infuriating man gave Isshin a wide grin of understanding.

"If I didn't know better, Dr. Kurosaki," Urahara hummed, seemingly holding back a laugh, "I'd say you were nervous."

"Shut up, Kisuke," Isshin hissed, unable to stop himself.

"Dr. Kurosaki," Ryuken warned, and Isshin cursed under his breath. He needed this whole event to be over with before he really lost it.

"Five minutes until full moon!" called one of the techs, and everyone in the room flinched.

"Estimated, of course," Ryuken said studiously. "To answer your questions, Agents, we are not sure of anything. This is our first time witnessing this event, just like you, so we're just as curious how it all works. Hopefully tonight will provide the answers we seek."

"How then can you be certain that we're even about to witness anything at all?" Ginjo asked, looking put out by Ryuken's response.

"All of our tests prove that the subject's anatomy is being affected by the phases of the moon," Ryuken explained calmly, able to keep his composure in the face of Agent Ginjo's bluntness. "As we left the last full moon behind, her tests showed a decline in activity. But, as we grew closer to this one, her tests proved more and more interesting. We are certain that, at the very least, she is at her most powerful this night."

"If that is the case," Tsukishima remarked, meeting Ryuken's eyes with a cold stare, "how can we be certain that she won't escape?"

"That room was specifically prepared for her arrival and this event," Ryuken said, gesturing to the room beyond the window, where Rukia remained immobile in her chair. "The glass before us is bulletproof; the walls reinforced steel behind all that padding you see, and the door leading in is operated by at least two layers of machine-operated metal thicker than you and I standing back-to-back. I can guarantee you, Agent, that there is absolutely no chance of her escap-"

"Sir, the door is opening!" one of the techs yelled out.

Everyone jumped as the metal door to the white-padded subject room began to hiss. Wheels began to spin and levers turned as the door pushed outward, and a single figure made its way into the room.

"What's happening?" Agent Tsukishima asked, confusion being the first emotion to display on his face since his arrival.

"Is this part of the experiment or something?" Agent Ginjo asked, looking a bit disturbed as well. "Because with it being so close to showtime, I don't like that door being open."

"What's the meaning of this?" Ryuken turned to the tech that had yelled out. "Who authorized that entry? That door is not to be opened without my express permission!"

Isshin knew something was wrong immediately. All the techs began looking frantic, each one in turn defending themselves as Ryuken turned on them all to find the culprit of who opened the door. The Agents began speaking into their earpieces, placing an alert out amongst the government guards throughout the building. No one was fessing up, claiming that the door seemed to open on its own – which, Isshin knew, was impossible. The door could only be opened by someone in the observation room, and so far no one wanted to admit it was them. The only other people who could open that door were-

"My, my," Urahara said, sounding calmer than Isshin felt. "Isn't that one of the guards?"

He was right. It took Isshin less than a second to recognize the abnormally tall, scarred man walking into the room. He was distinct enough that Isshin had took notice of him the second he had been hired just the month prior, brought in specifically for his and his crew's impressive resume to personally guard the room containing the subject of Project Big Bad.

"Zaraki Kenpachi!" Ryuken stormed to the microphone and yelled impatiently at the guard in the other room. "I demand you exit immediately and return to your post!"

The large man, still in his uniform, turned to the glass. He wouldn't be able to see them, just his reflection, but he would know they were there watching him. He stared at his own reflection for a moment as Ryuken barked orders at him to leave and relock the door and then grinned manically.

"Sorry egghead," Kenpachi said, his voice rough and mocking, "I can't do that just yet."

"What is the meaning of this!?" Ryuken roared, his voice louder than Isshin had ever heard it before. Isshin heard the agents calling their men for backup, most of them stationed elsewhere in the facility. The ones who had placed themselves around the room ran into the hallway, aiming to grab Kenpachi and remove him forcefully.

Kenpachi had maybe twenty seconds before the men reached him, which meant he didn't have a lot of time, Isshin surmised. The dark-haired man turned to the sleeping Rukia and, with a grin, leaned forward.

"It's time, pup."

As if awoken by his voice, Rukia's eyes shot open, glowing a dark yellow. She looked up at Kenpachi, her head constrained by the straps around her body, and smiled.

"Took you long enough," she said, her voice low but still discernable through the speakers in the observation room. "Did you do as I asked?"

Kenpachi grunted, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Yumichika took care of it."

"Excellent," Rukia sighed in satisfaction. "Now free me. They're almost here."

"Why is no one responding?!" Agent Ginjo screamed into his earpiece. "Where the fuck is everyone?!"

"Director Ishida," Agent Tsukishima turned to Ryuken. "We've lost contact with our men."

Isshin watched Ryuken's face turn ashen at the news. Isshin knew from years of working with the man when to spot when he was panicking, as rare as it was, and right now he was positively freaking out.

Kenpachi made quick work of the straps holding Rukia in place, using a key to unlock the main lock behind the chair that held all the straps together. He stood to his full height behind her just as the men in black stormed into the room, firearms held high.

"Put your hands up!" one of the men yelled, gun trained on Kenpachi. "Or else we'll shoot!"

Neither Kenpachi nor Rukia seemed interested in following the command. Rukia began to unhook herself from all the wires connected to her body, looking annoyed by the gizmos and gadgets that were being used to monitor her brainwaves and vitals. Kenpachi moved around the chair, his scarred face twisted into an excited smirk.

"You boys are pretty unlucky," he said. "I've been feeling pent up, stuck in this damn building for a month. I'm ready to cut loose, and you lot just so happen to be in my way."

"Do not move any further!" the lead agent barked, holding his gun higher for emphasis.

"Do you feel that?" Kenpachi asked, reaching a hand up to run over his face. "Oh, man! It's time! It's time! It's time for some fun!"

When Kenpachi dropped his hand, the men flinched. His eyes, wild with bloodlust, were glowing the same yellow as Rukia's.

He launched himself at the man who had been yelling at him, laughing manically. The man in black was able to clip his shoulder with a single round from his gun, but it wasn't enough to stop the behemoth as he fell on top of him with a ruthless chomp at his throat. The man yelled out in terror as Kenpachi tore his throat out with his now elongated teeth, his voice quickly drowned out by the gurgle of blood filling his lungs.

"Open fire!"

Isshin watched as the men tried to fight off the wild monster known as Zaraki Kenpachi, but none of their bullets or fists were enough. Kenpachi tore them all to shreds, his teeth and nails sharpening to knife-like points. His body rejected the bullets that hit him, pushing them out after only a moment of living inside his body and his skin healing over almost instantly. The entire time they fought, Kenpachi continued to laugh.

"We need to evacuate the building," Ryuken said, quickly moving to one of the monitors. He typed in a sequence of numbers, and immediately the whole facility blared with an alarm that shook Isshin's skull.

"This is not a drill," Ryuken's pre-recorded voice echoed throughout the facility. "Please evacuate immediately."

Everyone in the observation room began to panic. All the techs jumped from their chairs and began scrambling about, yelling in fear and confusion. Ryuken moved to try and shepherd them to an emergency exit at the back of the room but had difficulty getting his voice to reach them as the chaos ensued.

Isshin, unable to move from his spot, watched Rukia calmly remove herself from her seat. Her eyes ceased to glow as she stretched and flexed her limbs. She sniffed at the air, as if searching for something, and then turned to the glass. Her eyes somehow found him, and she grinned.

"Let's go, Tsukishima!" Agent Ginjo shouted, pulling his gun free of its holster and running towards the main door. "We have to help!"

"Ginjo, stop!" Agent Tsukishima hissed, trying to stop his partner.

Agent Ginjo held his gun tightly in one hand and used the other to open the door, ready to join the fight. He froze, however, when he was met by a bald man with red makeup around his glowing yellow eyes.

"Howdy," said Madarame Ikkaku. "Pleasure to eat you."

He opened his mouth, his jaw popping as his gums split apart and fangs replaced his human teeth. Agent Ginjo, in his shock, didn't have the time to undo the safety on his gun and take aim before Ikkaku lunged forward and took a large chunk out of his throat.

"Ginjo!" Agent Tsukishima screamed, rushing to his partner's aid.

Isshin didn't know what to do. He still couldn't move – most likely in shock, he thought rationally – and everyone seemed to be dying around him. Kenpachi continued his assault in the room in front of him, and Ikkaku tore apart the agents who tried to stop him from entering the observation room. Down the hall, now that the door was open, Isshin heard a collection of howls approaching.

"I believe you ought to evacuate as well, Dr. Kurosaki," a voice said, slicing through the cacophony of noise around him. "I recommend you go now, before, in the confusion, you get killed as well."

Isshin turned to the owner of the voice, finding Urahara looking at him calmly. The blond-haired doctor smiled softly at him; his eyes focused solely on him despite the chaos around them.

"Kisuke?" Isshin coughed out, his throat dry.

"Please," Urahara said, placing a hand on Isshin's shoulder and urging him towards the emergency exit. "I do not want your children to lose their father."

His children…

Ichigo!

The thought of his son possibly still in the building brought Isshin back to his senses. He had to find him and get him out of there!

He spun on his heel and ran to the emergency exit, knowing that it led to one of the hallways that brought everyone out to the parking lot. If he could make it out, and then run to the front of the building…

I'm coming, son!

[~]

Consciousness came to him in layers. The klaxon of an alarm was the first thing his mind could register through the sudden, painful throbbing that radiated from the base of his skull to the crook of his neck. He struggled to pull himself through the fog, his eyes only just barely managing to open with Herculean effort.

Ichigo found himself lying on the floor of an empty office. The lights were off, but with every ring of the alarm the room filled with a red light that shone through the cracks of the closed door. He was thankful for the dark as he was certain any kind of bright light would double his difficulty focusing his eyes.

"This is not a drill. Please evacuate immediately."

The sound of an electronic voice was the next thing he registered, and it took him a moment to recognize it as Director Ishida's voice in the prerecorded emergency alarm.

How long was I out for? What's going on?

Ichigo pulled himself to his feet, albeit clumsily. His head hurt so badly that it made him stumble, not to mention the darkness didn't help him avoid the desk that slammed into his hip as he tried to step forward. Thanks to these deterring factors, it took Ichigo a full minute to make it to the office door.

When he tried to twist the doorknob, he found it immovable. He frowned, struggling to pull the door open, knowing that it couldn't possibly be locked from anywhere but inside. Not unless someone had a key.

Did someone lock him in?

"What the hell is happening?" he wondered aloud, still trying to force the door open. He tried slamming his shoulder against it, but it still wouldn't budge. He took a step back, ready to charge the door, when a voice from out in the hall screamed.

"Monsters!" they said. "They're monsters!"

"Oi!" Ichigo shouted, trying to get their attention. They didn't sound too far away. "I'm locked in here! Can you help? Hello!"

The sound of running footsteps drew closer, and Ichigo felt relief washing over him at the thought that someone was coming to help.

His relief, unfortunately, turned into horror when he heard the person yell once again.

"Oh my god! Get away from me! Please no!"

There was a vicious snarl in answer to the person's pleas, and the woman – because Ichigo could now determine the owner of the voice was female – screamed shrilly as whatever had snarled at her attacked.

There was a sloshing sound as something hit the ground – hard. The woman's screams were drowned out by wet gurgles as whatever attacked her gave short bursts of grunts and growls. Eventually, the woman's voice disappeared altogether, leaving nothing but the sounds of squelches and animalistic snorting. Soon after, the grunting started fading away, as if leaving.

Ichigo hadn't seen a thing, had merely heard it, but his mind conjured images so horrific it made his stomach curl. Whatever made those noises hadn't been human, that was an easy assumption, and whatever it was had just killed whoever had been screaming.

Or maybe not!

The woman could still be alive, just hurt. Despite the sudden silence, hope blossomed in Ichigo's chest and drove him to take a step back and resume his pounding against the locked door.

The door was thick oak wood, bucking back against Ichigo's attempts. His shoulder felt as if it would dislocate with every tackle, but he fought through the pain and continued his assault until, finally, the door broke off one of its hinges and gave him the opening he needed. With one final push, he broke his way through the door and into the hallway.

The hall was illuminated in red, the emergency lights flashing in conjunction with the alarm, and was empty. With sweat forming on his brow, Ichigo turned left and right, looking down the hall in both directions for signs of the woman who had been attacked. He couldn't see anything in the low lighting and grit his teeth as he opened his mouth to call out, "Hey! Where are you?"

There wasn't an answer – at least not one he could hear over the alarm. He cursed aloud, trying to remember which direction he had heard the voice coming from.

"Is someone there?" a voice suddenly called out, frightened.

Ichigo nearly jumped at the sound of it. "Y-Yes! I'm here! Where are you? Are you hurt?"

"I'm down the hall," the voice replied, coming from his left, followed by a pained grunt. "Please, come help me…"

"It's okay, I'm coming. I'm going to he-"

As Ichigo jogged towards the voice, his foot slipped across the floor from under him. He caught himself just in time with a hand on the wall, having to take a second to calm his erratic heart.

I need to calm down and figure out what's going on here.

When he pulled his hand away from the wall, he oddly noticed that it was sticky and wet. He frowned, trying to see what it was that had caused his hand to come away like that, but struggled in the flashing red light. There was definitely something on the wall, and looking down he noticed it dripping down to the floor, where there was large puddle of…

The smell hit him all at once, and Ichigo knew instantly what it was that he was looking at.

Blood!

He had slipped in blood, and now it stained his hand from a splash of it on the wall. It had been hard to see in the dim lighting, not to mention the matching colors, but now that he was right on top of it he couldn't look away.

"Are you coming? Hello? Can you help me?"

Ichigo's mind whirled with horror at the sight of the blood. It was sprayed across both walls and even the ceiling above him. There was so much blood, too much blood. Nobody could lose this much and survive…

"Hello?"

He'd been so distracted he hadn't noticed something off about the voice calling out to him. Now, though, staring at the grisly scene around him, he realized with horror what was wrong with it.

The voice earlier had been a woman's. This voice was a man's.

The sound of a footstep made Ichigo jump. He took a step back as a figure came slowly from around the corner of the hall.

"I thought you were coming to heeeeeeeeelllp meeeee…"

It was a tall man with red hair, falling loosely around his shoulders. He had bold black tribal tattoos starting from his forehead down his bare chest, disappearing under the hem of his pants, which was the only piece of clothing he wore. His chest, arms, and face were dripping with blood, his eyes glowing a bright yellow that shone through the red light staring directly at Ichigo.

"Holy fu-"

The man's face distorted, his cheekbones and chin popping forward with a sickening crack! He opened his mouth to reveal a row of sharp fangs, more poking through the empty space in his gums as his face pushed out. The man, his head reshaping, gave a bestial roar that shook Ichigo's very bones before lunging at him with hands adorned with claws.

Ichigo just narrowly dodged the swipe at his throat, his reflexes thankfully quicker than his brain. He spun on his heel, the sound of the blood under his shoe wet and gross, and took off as fast as he could away from the mutating man.

"I will eat your heart for what you did to her!" The man's voice was barely human anymore, each word said with a mouth that shouldn't have been able to form words. He gave chase, the sound of his footsteps heavy behind Ichigo.

Ichigo raced down the hall as fast as his legs would carry him, his breathing labored as panic started taking over. He didn't know where he was going, or how he would shake this bloodthirsty monster, he just knew he had to run, or he would die.

He could hear the red-haired monster man growing closer and dared a glance back to see his suspicions were correct. The muscles in the man's face and arms were pulsating grotesquely as they reached out for Ichigo, little russet-colored hairs sprouting along his shoulders and torso. He howled as their eyes met, and Ichigo felt as if a fire had poked him in the ass at the sound of it, urging him to run faster.

Ichigo felt the little hairs on the back of his neck rise as the man's clawed hand neared. They were inches apart, and Ichigo, without having to even look, knew he was seconds away from being caught.

"Rargh!"

There was a heavy thud, and Ichigo suddenly felt like he could breathe. He turned to look over his shoulder to see the man had doubled over, his feet tangling together under him and sending him rolling across the ground. His muscles continued to convulse, his feet and ankles bending at odd angles with sickening cracks, disallowing him to chase Ichigo any further as his metamorphosis progressed.

This was his chance. Despite his burning lungs, Ichigo ran as fast as he could towards the next bend in the hall, hoping to at least get out of sight before the man could get back to his feet and continue chasing him.

If I could just find somewhere to hide, I could- there!

A short distance after the bend, Ichigo spotted a door to one of the many offices used in the facility. He heard the distorted yell of the changing man behind him and knew this would be his only chance to hide. He quickly yanked at the doorknob, praying it wasn't locked, and nearly cried out in joy when it opened. As quickly and as quietly as he could he closed the door and pressed himself against the wall.

He struggled to get his breathing under control to not make as much noise, his heart hammering violently against his ribcage in a heavy metal staccato. He waited and listened, hoping against hope that the monster wouldn't find him.

Outside the door, where the alarm still blared and the red lights still shined, Ichigo heard the heavy thudding of the man's footsteps. He was grunting and growling as he went, his body sounding heavier than it did when Ichigo last saw him. He heard the man snort as he passed by the office, as if struggling to breathe, and he wondered if he was trying to sniff him out.

Oh shit, if he can smell me…

There was a pause a ways down the hall, the sound of the man's footsteps halting. With the distance Ichigo couldn't hear much over the alarm, but he could imagine the man was sniffing the air. If he was what Ichigo suspected him to be, then it wouldn't be long before he was found. He could do nothing about it though, except pray he wouldn't be found.

The man suddenly howled in pain, forcing Ichigo to cover his mouth to stifle the startled yelp that threatened to come out in response. There was a loud bang as the man slammed into the wall, the vibrations reaching Ichigo where he pressed himself in his hiding spot, followed by the pounding of his feet as he ran off in search of his prey.

Ichigo held his breath for a moment longer, making sure the sound of his footsteps were long gone before exhaling in relief.

"I lost him, somehow…"

Ichigo let himself fall back on his ass to let his already aching legs relax. He took a moment to just breathe, closing his eyes and letting his arms fall at his sides. It wasn't lost on him that it was pure luck that had saved him, and he thanked whatever deity was out there keeping an eye on him for it.

With a moment to finally think, the man's words hit him.

"I will eat your heart for what you did to her!" he had said.

What we did to 'her'? Does he mean…?

There was only one answer, and the idea that the facility was under attack made Ichigo's stomach plummet.

Rukia had mentioned her family, and how they were like her. It made sense they'd come for her, and what better time than when they were at their strongest? But there should have been security, both from the facility and from the government. Were they not enough to stop this invasion?

An image struck him from earlier that day. The man with the red hair tied loosely behind his head walking with the government officials, bumping into Ichigo and glaring at him hatefully before being pulled away by another one of the guards. This realization froze Ichigo's heart in his chest.

They had infiltrated from within!

There were certainly more of them out there, not just the one beast roaming the halls, and they had walked right in under everyone's noses wearing black suits and sunglasses. Was it the entire government detail, or just a select few that had mixed in with the others? There was no way of knowing just how many of them were out there right now tearing apart the facility staff in search of their kin.

What do I do?

He was trapped in this office. If he tried to leave he ran the chance of running into one of the beasts if not the same one who had chased him before. But if he stayed it was possible one of them would find him and he'd have nowhere to go but the corner. Either way his chances for survival were in flux.

As he debated what to do, footsteps echoed in the hall outside the office. Ichigo's breath hitched as he pressed his back against the wall, his ears perking up as he listened for whoever could be out there. Did he dare call out for help? No, that was a dumb idea. Not after what had happened last time he had tried it. He could do nothing but listen as the footsteps drew closer.

From under the door, Ichigo could see a shadow emerging in the flashing red light. It, along with the quick footsteps, found the door and pulled at the door handle. Ichigo heart jumped right into his throat at the realization that they were coming in, and he had nothing to defend himself with when they spotted him.

As quickly as he could, he pulled himself up to his full height just as the door opened and a figure pushed its way into the office. Ichigo threw his fists up, ready to fight despite knowing it would be futile against one of those monsters and held his ground as the figure turned to him.

"Ichigo!"

Ichigo immediately recognized the voice, and in a flash of red saw the stubbly features of his father staring back at him.

"Dad!"

They threw themselves at each other in a hug, both relieved to see the other.

"I've been looking for you," Isshin said, gripping Ichigo's shoulders. It was as if he expected if he let go Ichigo would disappear with how tightly he held onto him.

"What's going on?" Ichigo asked, keeping his voice as low as possible, lest there be perked ears nearby. "Are we under attack?"

Isshin nodded gravely. "Yes. There were some hidden within the government detail, and also some hidden within our own staff. They came for Rukia and are now hunting down anyone not lucky enough to have evacuated in time. I passed by a few of them on my way here, and I happened to recognize a few faces… even if they weren't fully the same."

Ichigo remembered the distorted features of the red-haired man who had chased him and shuddered.

"What about Rukia?" The question came out before Ichigo realized he had even thought it. "Did they get her?"

Once again, Isshin nodded. "She's out there with the rest of them, hunting down and killing whoever they find. I think it's revenge for kidnapping one of their own, which is all the more reason for us to hightail it out of here."

Isshin let go of Ichigo finally and moved to the desk, flipping on one of the battery-operated desk lights and rummaging through the drawers in search of something. Ichigo was about to inquire as to what he was looking for when Isshin made a noise of triumph and pulled out a snub-nosed revolver pistol.

"Holy crap, how'd you know that was in there?"

Isshin gave Ichigo an odd look. "It's my desk, why wouldn't I know it was there?"

Ichigo blinked in surprise. He scanned the office around him and realized, with a start, that he had hidden himself in his father's office without even knowing it.

What were the chances?

"I brought this from home a month ago when I first learned that I would be involved in this project," Isshin explained as he loaded the gun. "I had hoped I wouldn't need it, but it looks like without it we're not gonna get out of here."

"How did you get past all of them?" Ichigo asked, doing his best to block the light from shining towards the door with his body. In the dim lighting, the lamplight would be a shining beacon that signaled their location. "How did you see them, but they didn't see you?"

"Your old man is pretty sneaky," Isshin said, grinning cheekily. "I was able to remain hidden whenever one of them came by. I didn't know where you would be, but I figured the best place to check first was here in my office. Thank God you were here, because I didn't know where I was going next."

"Yeah, thank God," Ichigo said half-heartedly, still amazed it had worked out the way it did. It was a one in a hundred chance that the office he hid in would be his father's, especially considering he hadn't been sure where in the facility he had woken in to begin with. Why had he been unconscious and locked in that office? His memory was a little fuzzy in that regard still.

Isshin must have seen the troubled look on Ichigo's face, as he called out, "Hey, look at me."

Ichigo met his father's determined gaze.

"We're going to get out of here, I promise," he said. "I know this is scary, and we're probably about to see some pretty bad stuff out there, but we will get out. We're going to make it home to Yuzu and Karin, and we're going to start that clinic we talked about. Okay?"

Ichigo nodded. "Okay…"

"No, look at me and say it with conviction."

Ichigo saw the determined look in his father's eyes, the once silly man now a hardened warrior ready for battle with gun in hand. Despite the fear prickling his skin, Ichigo felt a sudden wave of resolve wash over him and solidify deep in his chest.

"Okay."

This time he meant it.

[~]

Isshin led the way, gun in hand, and Ichigo followed close behind as they ran through the halls toward one of the emergency exits. According to Isshin, who had made his way outside and circled back around to reenter the building in search of his son, the main doors were already barricaded and locked. Isshin had to sneak in through the running crowd to make his way back inside and had made sure to map the way back in his mind for their escape based on where he'd seen the creatures.

"You're kind of a badass, huh Dad?" Ichigo had said after Isshin explained the plan to him.

"Never once tried to hide it, my boy."

So far, the path had been clear as they ran towards the exit. There weren't any signs of the monsters attacking the facility, and other than the still blaring alarm it was fairly quiet in every direction. It gave Ichigo a sense of confidence he hadn't felt before, the thought of making it out finally settling in now that his father was with him.

I had nearly given up back there…

"C'mon, not much further," Isshin said over his shoulder. "It's just through the cafeteria."

They continued to run, keeping their eyes and ears peeled for any signs of danger. Despite his confidence, Ichigo's heart still hammered against his ribcage painfully. The adrenaline rush of fear really spiced up Ichigo's nerves, and he was certain that once they were clear he would pass right the fuck out for a solid day or two to recuperate from this mental and physical nightmare.

"Stop!" Isshin hissed, planting his foot down to stop his momentum. Ichigo followed obediently without a word, the two of them pressing their backs against the wall as something rumbled from around the corner.

Isshin held his weapon up, inching his way toward the edge to poke his head around to see what they were up against. The second he saw it he recoiled, practically slamming his head back against the wall in shock.

"What?" Ichigo whispered, unable to hold it in. "What do you see?"

"There's two of them," Isshin replied, his face turning a ghostly white. "They're… eating."

Ichigo was about to ask what he meant by that when he realized what he meant, and his complexion paled to match his father's.

There was a loud snort, and something wet-sounding plopped on the ground. Ichigo felt bile rise to his throat as his mind whirled with images of what it could be. Sometimes not knowing could be just as bad as knowing, as the mind could imagine some horrific things.

"We need to keep moving," Isshin said. He gestured to the other end of the hall. "When I give the signal, you need to keep your head down and run as quietly as you can to the other side. We can't let them see or hear us, otherwise we won't make it."

"There's not another way?" Ichigo asked desperately. Did they really have to take such a dangerous risk? "Can't we backtrack and go around?"

Isshin shook his head. "No, this is the quickest way there. Going around only increases our chances of being caught."

Ichigo cursed under his breath. He was right. The longer they remained in the facility the greater the danger. The sooner they got out the better, and this was the quickest way.

"Okay, I'm ready."

Isshin nodded, tentatively poking his face around the corner once again. His shoulders tensed and his legs bowed as he prepared to run. Ichigo followed suit, crouching low and keeping his eyes forwards towards the other side of the hall. They just had to pass by the intersection and keep moving without being noticed. Not too hard, right?

Isshin's hand shot up and waved forward, signaling for Ichigo to run. As instructed, Ichigo dashed as quickly and as quietly as he could across the intersection, doing his best to ignore the smell of blood that wafted from down the adjoining hall. Once fully across, Ichigo pressed himself against the wall, covering his mouth to stifle the large gulps of air he instinctively took in as his nerves flared.

Their eyes met from across the way, and Isshin tilted his head in question. Ichigo gave him a thumbs up to show he was okay and waved his hand to beckon him over.

Isshin's fingers tightened around the handle of his gun, his chest rising and falling as he prepared himself for the dash. He peaked around the corner once more, and his mouth moved as if counting. When he saw his opportunity, he pushed off the wall and raced across the way to meet Ichigo.

"Ah, ah, ah."

Isshin was blindsided as a brown cane flew in front of his face and wacked him across the forehead. His head jerked back from the attack, his legs flying out from under him as his body's momentum carried him in two different directions – head back and legs forward. He landed flatly on the ground, a thin line of blood forming on his forehead as he groaned in pain.

"Dad!"

They had been so preoccupied with the creatures that they hadn't noticed someone coming from the opposite direction. From within a shroud of darkness stepped forward a white coat wearing man with a brown cane swinging around his wrist as if he were out on an evening stroll. Ichigo recognized the blond hair and gray eyes immediately.

"Dr. Urahara?"

Urahara Kisuke continued to spin his cane, a genial smile on his pale face. "Ah, Kurosaki-san. I was hoping I'd run into you."

With all the commotion, Ichigo heard the two beasts down the hall rouse. He was still hidden around the corner so he couldn't see them, but he could hear their feral snarls as they began to approach.

"Woah boys!" Urahara said, holding his hands up. "Take a whiff. I'm on your side."

Ichigo's eyes widened at his words. What did he mean?

The sound of wet stomps grew closer, and from the edge of his vision Ichigo saw two long snouts round the corner. They were caked in blood, rubbery lips dripping with a mixture of the crimson substance and spittle. The creatures were on all fours, tumbling forward as four sets of claws clicked and clacked against the floor. They stopped just before Ichigo could see their full forms; their glowing eyes locked on the defenseless Urahara.

They sniffed at the air, just as Urahara had instructed. The beast on the left, the one closest to Ichigo, gave an agitated snort as if angered by what it smelled. The one on the right seemed less annoyed and lowered its gaze to the prone Isshin on the floor.

"Ugh…" Isshin rubbed at his forehead, having dropped his gun in the fall. "What the hell just happened?"

"I'm dearly sorry, Dr. Kurosaki," Urahara said, stepping closer to stand over him. "I couldn't have you two escaping just yet; such is my task."

Isshin looked up at the man towering over him, and his eyes widened as the fog began to clear. "Kisuke!"

"I tried telling you to run, Isshin," Urahara said, foregoing formalities. "I only need to contain your son, but since you're here it seems I must manage you both. Such a pain, really."

Isshin glanced at the two beasts growling at him, their mandibles dripping with saliva. He noticed, just as Ichigo did, how they weren't paying Urahara anymore mind and were now just hungrily staring at Isshin. When he turned back to Urahara and noticed his unafraid appearance, Isshin's face contorted in rage as realization hit him.

"You let them in," he said through clenched teeth, moving to sit up, but the beasts both snapped their jaws at him, and he remained on the floor. "You fucking bastard!"

"Crude, as usual," Urahara sighed, shaking his head. He tucked his cane under his armpit and his smile faded away, replaced by a thin frown Ichigo had never seen worn by the scientist before. "But yes, you are correct. I helped these new friends of mine infiltrate our facility to retrieve their packmate."

"Why?!" Ichigo blurted out, gaining the attention of the beasts. Their large heads snapped toward him, their glowing eyes wide with unveiled rage and hunger. Ichigo's mouth dried under their glare.

"I suppose you deserve an explanation," Urahara said. "But we do not have a lot of time. So, I'll make it quick, and I ask you do not interrupt me. Understand?"

"You-!" Isshin growled but was silenced as one of the beasts once again gnashed their fangs at him.

"I am a scientist," Urahara began, letting his eyes meet Ichigo's. "My job… no, my desire is to uncover the truth of our world. So, imagine my surprise when this new bombshell is dropped on us a month ago." He gave a short laugh. "I mean, werewolves, am I right?"

The two beasts – the werewolves – snorted in unison.

"I wanted to learn as much as possible from Rukia-chan, our newly acquired subject, but there's so much red tape when it comes to experimentation. I tried suggesting we take more extreme measures to learn what we could from her, test out that healing factor of hers. An autopsy offers a lot of info as well, if we ever reached that point. But I was quickly passed over for Dr. Kurosaki's proposal to keep her locked up, to try and communicate with her-"

"It was inhumane!" Isshin retorted. "What you were suggesting wasn't experimentation, but torture! We'd have become worse monsters than them!"

"Advancement is not without sacrifice!" Urahara shouted back, losing his temper. "You and the Director held this project back from day one. It nearly drove me mad! But that all changed when we hired those new guards…"

Ichigo scowled. New guards? Did he mean Kenpachi and his crew? Were they involved in this?

Like being struck by a runaway truck, the memory of Ayasegawa leading Ichigo to that secluded office and knocking him out crashed into his mind. He had said his father was looking for him but instead had just locked him in that office. But why? If they were out to kill everyone, why spare him?

"They approached me, sensed that I would listen," Urahara continued, running a hand through his messy blond hair. "They offered me a deal. If I helped them infiltrate the facility and rescue Rukia, they would allow me to accompany them back to their home to study them. How could I refuse?"

"You helped kill hundreds of people for that?" Ichigo said incredulously.

"You're a fucking psychopath," Isshin spat. "You sold us out for what? Knowledge?"

"Knowledge is the ultimate power," Urahara said, waving off their accusing glares. "It's not money, it's not authority. The one true resource of this universe is knowledge. Those who know more, those who think more, are the true victors – the true innovators. Without knowledge, our world is doomed to die. So, yes, I did it for knowledge; did it to uncover the secrets of this world. Can you really blame me?"

"Yes," the Kurosaki men said in unison.

"Said by the unimaginative." Urahara rolled his eyes. "I do not require your approval, merely your presence."

"And why is that?" Isshin demanded. "Why not just let these monsters devour us whole right now?"

The werewolves growled at the insult.

"Contrary to what you think right now, I do not take pleasure in having my colleagues murdered," Urahara said. "But, I will admit, it would be easier for me if the both of you were removed from the equation. Unfortunately for me though I have been instructed to keep you both alive."

"Instructed by who?" Ichigo inquired, a little voice in the back of his head whispering the answer before hearing it aloud.

"Why, Rukia-chan of course," Urahara said, grinning at Ichigo, who felt his gut twist at the answer.

"R-Rukia…?" Ichigo swallowed thickly.

"She made sure everyone knew that they weren't to leave until you were found and brought to her," Urahara said, then shrugged. "I don't fully understand it, but I'm nothing if not obedient when it suits me."

"Why? Why does she want us alive?"

Urahara's gaze flickered away from Ichigo to something down the hall briefly before meeting his eyes once again. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"

Ichigo frowned at Urahara's mischievous grin and jumped when Isshin's breath hitched when he followed Urahara's line of sight down the hall behind the werewolves.

Soft, slow footsteps echoed in between the klaxons of the alarm. The werewolves turned their heads at the sound, escaping Ichigo's sight from around the corner, and gave soft whines at whoever was approaching.

Ichigo felt all his blood run cold as a familiar voice called out to him.

"I foooooound you~"

"Ichigo! Run!" his father screamed at him. "Get away from here now!"

"I can't leave you!" Ichigo shot back.

"Don't argue, just run!"

Urahara lunged at Ichigo with his cane, and once again Ichigo's body moved faster than his mind could keep up. He jumped back just out of reach of Urahara and his cane and spun around to make a run for it.

"Don't touch my son!" Isshin roared, snatching up the gun on the ground nearby and centering it on Urahara. Ichigo couldn't see if the following gunshot hit its mark but judging from the pained yelp from Urahara it at least hit some part of him.

"Damn you, Kurosaki!"

"Run, Ichigo! Run!"

Ichigo did as he was told, even though every instinct inside of him screamed at him to turn around and save his father. He knew, ashamedly, that there was nothing he could do, and running away like his father told him to was his only option if he were to survive.

Please don't die!

"Oh, Ichigo," Rukia's voice trailed after him. "No matter where you run, you cannot hide from me."

Her words chilled him down to his bones, but he ignored her and continued running as fast as he could. His body was nearing its limit, having run for his life too many times now, but he pushed through the fatigue and ran on pure adrenaline.

He didn't know where he was going, the confusion and dim lighting making it hard for him to determine where he was in the facility. He knew the closest emergency exit was through the cafeteria like his father had said, but which way was that from here? If only he could get his bearings, he'd be able to orientate himself.

There was another gunshot, startling Ichigo, followed by bestial howls of rage. There was shouting that Ichigo couldn't make out from his growing distance, but he knew it was his father fighting back against the monsters. The desire to turn around and join the fight once again washed over him, but he resisted it, instead focusing on the pumping of his legs and the direction they were taking him.

He ran as fast and as hard as he could for what felt like two hours, but what couldn't have been more than two minutes. He took random turns, followed the long hallways all the way to their ends, and stumbled his way back from a dead end. He cursed whoever built this damn building to be so big and winding. He couldn't find himself in these endless series of hallways.

He could hear them close behind, gaining on him. Their heavy, bounding footsteps shook the floor beneath him, their inhuman howls echoing all around him. It spurred him on, his desperation growing with each passing second.

Finally, after an eternity of running, Ichigo spotted the familiar double doors leading to the cafeteria. He nearly cried out in joy at the sight of them. Making a beeline, he nearly tore them off their hinges as he burst through.

Once inside, he struggled to find something to set up a barricade. He knew a simple lock wouldn't stop those creatures from getting in, so he needed something to reinforce the doors. He ran and snatched up a few of the upturned chairs, most likely tossed aside in the rush to the emergency exit and lodged them under the door handles. For added measure, he pushed one of the round dining tables in front of the doors as well. It might not do much, but it could help buy him those precious few seconds he needed to escape.

Once he felt the entrance was adequately blocked, Ichigo turned to run to the exit in the back. He knew that it led to one final hallway that had the emergency exit at its end. If he could just make it there he could call for help and maybe, possibly save his father.

Ichigo had barely made it halfway across the cafeteria when a voice called out to him.

"Little pig, little pig," a singsong tone echoed from behind the cafeteria doors. Ichigo couldn't see anyone through the glass, but he knew they were close. "Why are you running from me?"

It was Rukia.

Ichigo was frozen on the spot, his legs refusing to move. He could feel hot fire running up his hips, making it hard to move. Was it his exhaustion finally catching up to him? Or pure fear? The sound of Rukia's voice stopped him in his tracks. Why? Why couldn't he move?!

"Pig, pig, would you let me in?"

A shadow was cast over the glass, and suddenly the doors exploded inwards. The chairs and table flew across the floor, nearly crashing into Ichigo if it weren't for him jumping out of the way. He landed on his side, his already sore shoulder taking the brunt of the fall. He groaned as his head spun, his vision doubling for a moment before his focus returned and he was met by a horrific sight.

Rukia placed her leg back down, having kicked in the doors. She stepped into the cafeteria, and under the red light Ichigo could see the glow of her yellow eyes. Her mouth, neck, and hands were covered in splotches of blood, as were the gray medical scrubs she wore. Behind her were the two werewolves from before, except now they stood on their hind legs and walked like humans.

This was the first time Ichigo had seen the fully transformed beasts in their entirety. They were each well over six and a half feet tall, broad with sinewy muscles under tuffs of dark fur. Their snouts were long and full of sharp teeth, their hands hooked with knife-like claws. They walked awkwardly on legs that bent at the heels, their appendages designed to operate both in bipedal and quadrupedal forms. Their ears were long and pointed aside their heads, their eyes feral and glowing. They obediently followed behind Rukia as she walked, their rubbery lips peeled back menacingly.

When Rukia spotted Ichigo on the floor, she smiled with a fang-filled mouth and raised her clawed hands beckoningly to him.

"There you are."

Ichigo pushed himself to his feet and tried to run. He knew it was futile, but figured he'd rather die trying than resign himself to death on his back.

He made it two steps before a hand grabbed him by the back of his shirt's collar and yanked him backwards.

"Where are you going?"

Rukia was far stronger than Ichigo could have imagined with her tiny body. She pulled him back so forcefully he lost his footing and fell on his ass. When he tried to stand she placed her foot on his chest and pushed him fully down on his back, holding him place with the force of an elephant on his chest.

He was fully trapped.

Rukia tsked at him, her fangs poking out between her lips as she smiled at him. "You can't escape me, Kurosaki Ichigo."

"What the hell do you want with me?!" he yelled at her. "If you're going to kill me, just fucking do it!"

A large foot stomped heavily by his head, and he craned his neck to look up at the burly werewolf standing over him with a vicious snarl.

"Calm down, Renji," Rukia said to the werewolf. "He's only human. He doesn't understand yet."

The werewolf – Renji, she called it – huffed, flicking its ears back in agitation.

"You gave Renji quite the trouble he tells me," she said, returning her smile to Ichigo. "He tried capturing you earlier, but you got away. Hurt his pride a little."

Ichigo looked back up at the werewolf, whose fur was a deep maroon color. He realized, with horror, that this was the man who had killed that woman and chased him to his father's office.

"God…"

The werewolf, relishing Ichigo's fear, gave a low series of rumbles in its chest. It almost sounded like it was chuckling.

"Renji should have been able to scent you down, but," Rukia said, giving a quick admonishing glare at the werewolf, "the fool stuffed his nostrils with so much blood in his frenzy he couldn't smell worth a damn."

Renji huffed again, turning his head up in indignation.

The other werewolf, a jet-black monstrosity that was leaner than its counterpart, growled and Renji clammed right up.

"What don't I understand?" Ichigo asked, ignoring the exchange.

Rukia, with her bloodstained hand, pointed at Ichigo. "What you are. What we are."

"W-What are you-" Ichigo was about to ask but was interrupted as Rukia suddenly pulled her foot off him and fell to her knees, straddling him.

He gasped, his face burning as he felt her weight on top of him. She leaned down to press her face into the crook of his neck, hands on either side of his head, inhaling deeply. He stiffened, fully expecting her to take a chunk out of him, to begin tearing into the flesh of his neck and shoulder. Instead, she continued to breathe in his scent, moving her face around his neck and chest as she sniffed him greedily. Her hair tickled the skin of his face, and he shivered at the sensation of her moving around on top of him.

"Yes!" she moaned, her eyes flashing as she pulled back with a euphoric smile. She cupped her cheeks, the blood on her fingers further staining her face. "It really is you! I knew it!"

"M-Me?" Ichigo didn't know what was happening, but he suspected he wouldn't like it.

"I had to be sure," Rukia said, placing her clawed hands on his chest. His pulse quickened when he felt their sharp tips begin to dig into his collarbone. "All of those drugs had dulled my senses, but I could still smell it. Fate brought us together at last, my Mate!"

The two fully transformed werewolves howled, the sound coming from deep within their chests. Somewhere from within the facility came a cascade of responding howls, the number of them shaking Ichigo's core.

"M-Mate?" he choked. "W-What does that mean?"

"We're fated to be together," she said, leaning down so that their faces were inches apart. "Everything happens as it should, even my capture. All the humiliation, the torture, the torment I withstood in this prison was all worth it to meet you – my fated life-Mate!"

"Isn't that sweet?"

Rukia's bloody smile faded as she leaned back to look at the owner of the voice. Ichigo, still pinned down by Rukia's weight, craned his neck to see an injured Urahara stumbling into the cafeteria, his white lab coat stained red around his left shoulder, which he cradled against his chest. It took some effort, but Ichigo was able to see the lump of mass being dragged behind Urahara in his other hand.

"Dad!"

Isshin was unconscious, a bloody red welt forming on the side of his head where no doubt Urahara had cracked him with his cane – which seemed to have been left behind. Urahara dragged him along slowly, his pained groans loud as he struggled to pull along Isshin's dead weight with his injured shoulder.

"I see you're still alive," Rukia said, her tone less enthused than her words may imply.

"It'll take more than a bullet wound to take me down," Urahara said between breaths. Sweat was spilling freely down his forehead and cheeks, his face an ashen color as he continued to lose blood. "Although, I will admit, I am at my limit."

Rukia waved a hand and Renji stepped towards Urahara, who greeted the werewolf with a sardonic smile.

"Well, hello big guy."

Renji leaned down and grabbed Isshin by the arm, relieving Urahara of his burden. Renji dragged the unconscious Isshin towards Rukia and Ichigo, dropping him unceremoniously on his face.

"You bastard!" Ichigo yelled, struggling under Rukia to break free and reach out for his father. Rukia pressed down on his midsection with her weight, keeping him in place.

"Don't worry, he's alive," she said. "I can hear his heart."

Urahara laughed. "That's right. I just knocked him out. Which, I will say, was not an easy task with a bullet in my shoulder. It's a good thing I was able to wrench this away from the man before he put another in my head."

Urahara reached into his coat pocket and produced Isshin's snub-nosed pistol. He held it up with his good hand, waving it around for Ichigo to see.

"I made sure to instruct my pack to not harm him, as well as you, my Mate," Rukia said, leaning down to whisper in Ichigo's ear. "You two are part of our pack now. No harm will ever befall you again."

Ichigo bucked against Rukia, trying to knock her off him. She held steady, her thighs squeezing his sides tightly to remain where she was.

"I refuse!" Ichigo growled, still struggling. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about with this Mate shit, but I will not join your fucked up monster squad!"

Rukia gave a laugh, a melodious sound that clashed with the nightmarish sight of her blood-stained face. "You don't have a choice, my beloved. Fate has brought us together, and scarcely does it let us part. Everything that has happened up till now has done so for us to meet. My capture, my imprisonment, your involvement, your very survival in these halls while my pack tears apart this building was all for this moment. All for us to be together at last…"

She placed her hand on his cheek, and Ichigo could feel blood smear across the skin of his face as she dragged her claws gently down to his neck. He tried pulling away from her, but she placed her other hand on the side of his head to hold him in place, and grinned.

"You don't understand it now, because you are only human," she said, her eyes beginning to glow a harsher shade of gold, "but soon, you will. Once you're one of us."

She opened her mouth, baring her sharpened canines. Ichigo tried to pull away again, but his efforts were futile as she gripped his head in place and plunged her teeth into his shoulder. He screamed, feeling her fangs sink deep into his shoulder, blood oozing from the puncture points and staining his shirt. He punched at the side of her head to try and dislodge her from his shoulder, but she held firm as she clamped her jaw tighter, her bottom teeth drawing more blood from the wound.

"Get off of him!"

Something flew over Ichigo's face, moving too fast for him to register. It slammed into Rukia, ripping her mouth away from his neck and tearing away a decent chunk of his skin with it. He yelled out in pain, his hands flying to cover the bleeding wound. His vision swam as heat raced up and down his body, the pain so intense he could pass out right then and there. But he fought through it, determined to survive.

"Well, that was quite heroic, wasn't it?" Urahara's tone was amused.

Ichigo fought to turn his body on its side, the sound of someone struggling catching his attention. He forced himself to focus through the pain, catching sight of Rukia smiling up at his father as he tried to fight her on the ground.

"Don't you dare ever touch my boy!" Isshin wailed, his bleeding face wild with rage. He balled his hand into a fist and swung down at Rukia's face. She easily turned her head, letting it slam into the ground beside her. Isshin yelped as he quickly pulled his hand back, his knuckles red from trauma.

The two fully transformed werewolves stepped into view, moving to aid Rukia. She held a hand out to stop them.

"No, don't. I got this," she said to them, still grinning up at Isshin who tried to swing at her again. She dodged this one as well, letting his fist once again slam into the ground.

"Fuck!" Isshin cursed, his knuckles now bleeding.

"Let me be the first to formally welcome you to the pack, Papa," she said, sincerity in her tone despite the situation.

Isshin tried and failed again to punch her.

"Dad!" Ichigo called out, trying to pull himself up to help. If he didn't do something soon, he'd-

"Not so fast, young man." Urahara stepped in front of Ichigo, blocking his view of the fight between his father and the werewolf woman. Ichigo glared up at the man who still cradled his injured arm, the very gun used to injure him held aloft in Ichigo's face. "Please do not strain yourself. You're bleeding."

"So are you, shit-heel," Ichigo ground out.

"Not the smartest move," Urahara said, jiggling the gun, "antagonizing the man with a gun."

From behind Urahara, Isshin suddenly flew backwards, waving his arms wildly. He slid across the floor on his back, groaning as he clutched his stomach where he'd been kicked.

"Don't you dare point that thing at my Mate!"

Urahara spun around as Rukia roared, her voice tinged with something monstrous. It echoed throughout the cafeteria, vibrating Ichigo's skull and causing his heart to clench painfully. Something was elicited from deep inside of him at the sound of it, an emotion Ichigo couldn't quite place. It caused heat to rise through his chest and into his head. It was as if his body was reacting to the sound of her anger, and he couldn't stop himself from crying out in response.

"I'm sorry," Urahara said quickly, tossing the gun aside. "I was just trying to stop him from running away, I swear!"

The two werewolves began to circle them, their glowing eyes of molten gold trained solely on Urahara.

"Ahh…" Rukia moaned, falling to her hands and knees. Her shoulders rose as the muscles in her back shifted, the sound of shredding meat loud as she shook her head violently. "I'm at my limit holding back the wolf…"

The jet-black werewolf fell forward, catching itself on its hands as it stalked closer to Rukia in a quadrupedal gait. It pressed its snout to the side of her face comfortingly, and she cast a soft smile in its direction.

"I know, Nii-sama," she said. "I just need a bit longer, then we can escape."

Nobody was looking at Ichigo, nor at Isshin for that matter as they all focused on the writhing Rukia. Isshin pulled himself up to his haunches, meeting his son's eye as a wordless conversation passed between them. Ichigo glanced at the now unattended gun tossed aside by Urahara as a show of submission, closer to Isshin than it was to him. Isshin spotted the gun, and nodded at Ichigo as his hint was taken.

Rukia moaned again as she fought back her transformation, the bones in her face cracking as they fought to press forward into a snout. The other werewolf, the one called Renji, looked sympathetically at his packmate, and Urahara kept his eyes on the stalking maroon-colored wolf. The opportunity presenting itself, Isshin made his move.

Ichigo watched as his father ducked his head low and sprinted for the gun on the ground. The movement caught everyone in the room's attention, but no one could react quick enough to stop him from snatching up the gun and pointing it at Urahara.

"Wait, don't-" Urahara tried to plead, but Isshin already had the hammer pulled back and his finger on the trigger.

The gunshot was loud in the secluded space. The cafeteria was large enough where the sound was able to carry a bit as to not totally rupture their eardrums, but it still roared loud enough to disorientate the werewolves. Ichigo had the foresight to cover his ears, allowing him the freedom to watch the bullet tear through Urahara's forehead and out the back of his skull. With wide eyes full of shock, Urahara flew backwards to the ground, blood and brain matter scattering across the floor behind him. He convulsed one last time, as if trying to fight off the oncoming throes of death, before going completely still.

"Serves you right, you asshole!" Isshin shouted in triumph.

The two large werewolves spun on Isshin, shaking off the disorientation and roaring angrily at him. Isshin quickly pulled back the hammer again and fired another shot at the oncoming duo, hoping for another headshot but instead only nicking Renji's shoulder.

"Duck!" Ichigo yelled, and Isshin did as his son commanded, letting Renji fly over him as the large wolfman lunged for him. Isshin fired another shot into the werewolf's behind, perfectly puncturing the area under his tail. Renji squealed, rolling on the ground in pain as blood sprayed from his ass.

Now that's gotta suck, Ichigo couldn't stop himself from thinking.

Isshin's lucky streak finally ended though as the black-furred werewolf pounced on him while he was distracted. Isshin fired another shot in an attempt to ward off the oncoming beast, but the bullet went wide. He tried to fire again but found the chamber empty of all six bullets.

Isshin, now unarmed, didn't let that discourage him. He swung his fist at the werewolf's snout, connecting with its left nostril with as much strength as he could muster. Its head snapped to the side from the force of the punch but maintained its balance and turned back to him with an enraged look in its glowing eyes.

"Stop!" Ichigo cried out, trying to pull himself up. The pain in his shoulder was still debilitating, but seeing his father in danger allowed him the energy surge he needed to at least get on his feet. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough, as the werewolf gripped Isshin by the throat and lifted him off his feet into the air.

"Augh!" Isshin choked as he flailed about, trying to struggle against the werewolf. It didn't seem the least bit disturbed by his attempts, holding him high with a gurgling growl in its mouth.

"Let him down!" Ichigo ran on shaky legs towards his father, fully intending to ram his body into the beast's side to free him. Before he could reach them, something wrapped around his waist and pulled him back.

"Enough!"

Ichigo's world spun as he was tossed to the ground. He cried out in pain, his bleeding shoulder flaring with pain as he rolled. All the air in his lungs was fully expunged, leaving him a breathless, pain-addled heap on the floor.

"I-Ichigo…!" Isshin gasped, still held aloft by the throat.

"This… argh, has gone on long enough!" Rukia's voice snarled.

Ichigo lifted his head to find Rukia partially transformed. Black fur was starting to sprout along her forearms, her skin turning an ashy gray as veins bulged along her neck and forehead. Her jaw was distended forward, her lips unable to meet as new fangs started sprouting from her gums. Her ears were now pointed, poking out from under her hair, giving her an almost elven appearance. Her knuckles popped as she held her hands up, her claws growing sharper and curling into hooks. She panted as the transformation rocked through her body, but her features contorted as she fought against it.

"Jesus…" Ichigo breathed.

Rukia snapped her head in his direction, and he flinched. She moved quicker than he could keep up with, falling to her hands and knees and crawling to him, his heart clogging his throat as he tried to scramble backwards away from her. She grabbed him by the ankle and yanked him towards her, his body sliding under hers easily. She placed her hands on either side of his head once again, her face inches from his as her breath fanned over his cheeks, and smiled sadly.

"I see now…" She paused, panting as something shifted in her side. "I see now that I can't force you to understand just yet. You need time to process your instincts, and as much as it pains me, I realize now that I need to give you the space to do so."

She placed her clawed index finger against his chin, and Ichigo held his breath as she trailed it down his throat and around to the wound on his shoulder. He winched when she wiped her finger across the blood that covered his sweaty skin. She placed the bloody finger into her mouth, savoring the taste of his blood with a satisfied hum.

"I've given you the gift," she said softly. "It will take time for you to fully realize it, and once you do you'll understand. I'll come for you, and by then you'll know what I speak of when I say that no matter what you do, you belong to me."

She closed the distance between them and pressed her lips roughly against his. The taste of blood flooded his tastebuds as she forced his lips apart with her tongue, and he felt his head swim as she forcefully explored his mouth.

Images flashed across his mind under her kiss. How many nights had he dreamt of having her for himself? Unbidden, he remembered each time he'd dreamed of kissing those lips of hers, of tasting every inch of her skin. He'd dreamed of taking her away from this damned building and having his way with her out in the woods countless times, only to awaken the next morning feeling ashamed of himself. Maybe now, as she pressed herself against him outside of his dreams, he could understand what she meant by fate bringing them together…

All too soon, Rukia removed herself from him. She groaned as her transformation ravaged her body, her resistance finally breaking. She howled in pain as her body twisted and morphed, the once lithe form she inhabited changing into a large, lupine body. Her clothes tore apart as her mass doubled, her face and limbs extending and her legs bending at the ankle and knee. Her voice changed as her vocal cords shredded apart, her screams of pain changing into howls of primal rage.

The woman they'd kept locked up for a month was gone, replaced now by a monster once thought to only exist in fairytales.

Ichigo could do nothing but lie there, darkness threatening to take him as he watched her transform on top of him. His lips still burned from her kiss, as did the wound on his shoulder. His eyes began to grow heavy as his senses dulled, the world around him starting to fade away.

Before unconsciousness took him, he heard a voice speak to him. Whether or not it was out loud or in his head, he wasn't certain, but the darkness engulfed him before he could understand its words.

[~]

Ichigo woke with a start.

There was a bright light that blinded him when he opened his eyes, and for a moment he wondered if it was the path to Heaven that obstructed his vision. The following pain that radiated throughout his body told him that he was indeed not dead, just somewhere too bright for his newly awoken senses to handle.

"Ahh…" he moaned, his mouth dry and tasting oddly like saline. He tried to move his body but found it heavier than normal. Pain shot through his neck and head when he tried to move his right arm, and he hissed as something seemed to pull at the appendage with his movement.

"Hey, hey, don't move," a voice said gently.

The bright light grew easier to see through, and with effort Ichigo opened his eyes fully to find Isshin standing over him with a bandage around his head.

"Dad…?"

Isshin smiled softly. "Yeah, it's me, son."

They were in a hospital room, Ichigo was able to finally see. He had an IV drip connected to his left arm, and his right was propped up in a sling – which explained the tug when he tried to move it. The bright light was coming through the open window, the mid-morning sun blaring directly onto his face and into his eyes. He squinted against the sun's rays, wondering briefly how the hell he'd gotten there.

"What happened?" he asked weakly, his throat sore. "I'm so thirsty…"

Isshin quickly moved to a bedside table, collecting a cup of water with ice in it. He held it up to Ichigo's lips, helping him take slow, steady sips to soothe the ache in his throat. Ichigo sighed, satisfied.

"Hope you don't mind your dad's backwash," Isshin quipped, chuckling softly. "I'm not supposed to be in here, but I snuck my breakfast in with me."

"Where are we?" Ichigo asked.

"Karakura General Hospital," Isshin answered. "We were brought here two days ago. You gave us all a scare, that bite mark on your shoulder was so nasty. Thankfully you pulled through the surgery and just needed some rest. Which brings us here."

I've been out for two days? The realization shook Ichigo.

"What happened?" he asked next. "Those monsters…"

Isshin's face turned dark, his eyes casting downwards as he spoke, "What's the last thing you remember?"

Ichigo struggled to sift through the fog in his mind. "We were in the cafeteria… you were being held up by one of them. Ru-" his throat suddenly clenched when he tried to say her name. "S-She was on top of me… and that's it."

"Yeah, that did happen," Isshin sighed. "You passed out, and they let us go. I can't explain why but they just walked away. They signaled to the rest of their pack, and they all ran out of the facility together. I carried you out of the building and met with the ambulances as they arrived, and they brought us here for treatment."

"What did you tell them?" Ichigo inquired. "I can't imagine they believed you when you said we were attacked by werewolves."

"I didn't say a word to them," Isshin said. He shook his head. "The government was close behind. They impeded everyone's statements, making sure this got covered up as quickly as possible. It's being labeled a gas leak, which is why some of the survivors are talking about monsters running around killing their coworkers."

Ichigo's eyes widened at this. "But that's bullshit!"

"I know." Isshin scowled, clearly having been grappling with this for the past few days. "But what are we to do? Nobody would believe us if we told them the truth. Ryuken says we're better off just leaving it be."

Director Ishida survived? Thank goodness…

"How many people died?" Ichigo asked quietly, afraid of the answer.

Isshin hesitated for a moment, debating whether to tell him or not. Finally, solemnly, he said, "Thirty-six."

Ichigo felt his heart sink. Thirty-six people died because Rukia had been taken there and held against her will. Those werewolves tore through that building in search of her, and they remained longer in search of him.

"God…"

"Ryuken and his boy survived," Isshin said, hoping it would comfort Ichigo. "Thankfully Uryu had clocked out before the invasion started, so he was unharmed."

It did make Ichigo feel better to know his friend made it out unscathed. But so many people hadn't, and Ichigo felt the weight of that like a stack of bricks on his chest.

"You can't blame yourself, son," Isshin said firmly, having seen the look on Ichigo's face. "They were going to kill as many people as they could find anyway. You had nothing to do with that."

"Yeah, but they would have just left if not for the fact they were searching for me," Ichigo argued. "They stayed longer, found and killed more people before Ru- she called them off. If it weren't for me, less people would have died."

"You can't place that blame upon yourself. If anyone is to blame it's us for thinking we could imprison something we didn't understand." Isshin took his son's hand, squeezing their palms together. Ichigo wasn't sure who it was meant to comfort. "We thought we could get away with something as heinous as experimenting on a being beyond us. It's no wonder she wanted revenge, and thanks to that bastard Kisuke she got it."

The image of Urahara lying on the ground with a bullet hole in his forehead crossed Ichigo's mind, and he suddenly felt sick.

There was something else she wanted, Ichigo remembered. Something she had clawed her way through the facility for. Something she had easily gotten…

Me.

Something she had said suddenly came to Ichigo, something he didn't fully understand.

"I've given you the gift. It will take time for you to fully realize it, and once you do you'll understand."

What gift was she talking about? And what was he supposed to understand? Everything she had said, right from the beginning, confused him. Mates? Fate? Belonging to each other? What could it all mean?

"We're lucky, ya know," Isshin said, still holding Ichigo's hand. "I just had a concussion, and your wound seems to be healing nicely. Better than expected, in fact. The doctors are in shock how quickly you're healing. Said you'd be going home in no time."

Ichigo felt the pain in his shoulder throbbing still, but noticed how, with each passing second of him being awake, the pain seemed to dull and fade away.

A gift, huh…?

Yuzu and Karin weren't far behind his father, crying when they saw their big brother awake and alright. After a round of tests and check-ups, Ichigo and Isshin were released from the hospital to rest at home together a few days later. Neither talked about the events of that night again to anyone, not even each other. It was best if they forgot about the whole tragic incident, they agreed.

Throughout the following days, in between the sleepless nights and horrible visions cast in his mind whenever he closed his eyes, Ichigo remembered words he didn't remember hearing out loud. Words said by a voice that haunted him every waking and dreaming moment. Words that felt etched into his very soul, leaving him weak and helpless and intrigued.

I will come for you, my Mate. Know that I will be watching you until then. Now, rest. You're going to need it…

END

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

This story has been a long time coming.

Roughly 10 years ago a music video came out from one of my favorite bands In This Moment for their new song Big Bad Wolf. It's since become one of my favorite songs by them. I was inspired, back then, to write a story about a captured werewolf but couldn't quite pin down a good enough story to write. I knew it had to have romance, as of course I wanted it to be IchiRuki, but what was the angle? Was it tragic? Was it hopeful? I just couldn't figure it out. I shelved the idea, having already written a story about Ichigo and Rukia falling in love as werewolves in captivity together and not wanting to repeat ideas.

Years passed, and I'd nearly forgotten the idea altogether. Until I went and finally saw In This Moment live. They were absolutely amazing, and despite it being an older song by that point they played Big Bad Wolf. I was once again inspired but still struggled to figure out what the story should be… until it finally came to me, taking shape into what you see written above.

I wrote this story in its entirety in 2023 but hesitated to post it. I was worried this wasn't one of my best, and the "repeat ideas" fear haunted the back of my mind (still does, I admit). But, after almost 2 years of debate, I've decided to post this story for everyone to read. The reason being, simply put, this story holds a special place in my heart for its history. Rereading and editing this story the past week has felt like visiting an old friend. I was reacquainting myself with who I was all those years ago when I first saw that music video and got inspired to write even more werewolf IchiRuki for you guys. Even if it's not the best thing I've ever written, I'd be remiss if it did nothing but take up memory on my computer forever.

I hope you guys enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you for taking the time to check it out, and for sticking with me through this super long afterward!

R&R!