The Quincy's spiritual pressure was impressive for a boy his age, thought the wary scientist as he observed the vast amounts of ratii swirling around the boys thin frame. How he had managed to keep such a low radar in the world of the living was astounding.
"I will defeat you, you psychopath! Then, when you're dead, I will take Orihime far from here. I will protect her with every last ounce of strength I possess." Spoke the usually mild mannered boy, every syllable echoing from him shaking with rage.
"To be fair, I haven't even touched her yet.. All I've done is give her a high dosage of hallucinagens to keep her quiet." His lips twitched into a triumphant grin as he continued. "All she's done is scream for the orange haired soul reaper to save her. Not a bratty half baked Quincy."
As the Captain had thought, it seemed to pain the young man internally. Externally, he remained as cold as ever, his eyes fixed on Ashisogi Jizo's hilt on the Captain's hip.
The captain proceeded, finding it absolutely delightful to see the way humans behave when they hear something they refused to believe, even though it were completely obvious to them.
"If I were to take you in as my test subject, I'd let her go free. I'd rather a person who can take a syringe without bursting into tears and screeching like a banshee."
The Quincy remained silent for a moment before he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, his expression never changing as he finally spoke.
"Rot in hell, you twisted bastard."
Mayuri cackled and without missing a beat, pulled out his zanpakuto and swung it in a wide arc, his sharp blade making contact with Ishida's flesh. The boy however, refused to go down. The Quincy used his bow as a shield while sneaking in a few shots of his arrows.
Ishida was weakening at a tremendous pace, blood sliding down his chest thickly and soaking the black fabric below. He could manage approximately 3 more arrows in this state, the searing pain of the wound making him grit his teeth.
"So brave, yet so idiotic. " Mayuri retorted, watching with a twisted smirk curling onto his face. "You're only going to die here if I run you through.. What a shame."
Uryu lost his balance momentarily, coughing up quite a bit of blood as he hunched over. He groaned, sinking onto the cold floor.
"Least I'll die protecting someone who meant a lot to me." The spectacled teen said, his voice cracked.
The scientist merely rolled his eyes and aimed a blow to the Quincy's rib, which earned him a nice, low moan of pain.
"Foolish boy. I told you before, if you agree to be my test subject, she'd go free. Are you deaf?! I'm not interested in a whiner."
The boy's blood coated lips opened, and when nothing came out, he merely nodded and pressed a hand over his bloody chest.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Nemu Kurotsuchi had sensed her Captain's spiritual pressure erupting and fading before she arrived to a particularly gruesome scene. A young man lay on the white tiled floor, blood covering half his body while her Captain remained unscathed, her heart giving a light jump of pleasure at that. She was a loyal subordinate, and she would prevent any threat she could to keep him safe.
"Nemu! Release that pesky woman and clean this mess up." Mayuri snapped, gesturing to the half conscious boy.
"Right away, Master Mayuri." She replied unemotionally, digging under her lieutenants badge to pull out a small glass bottle of antidote to her Captain's awful blade.
"G-go away.."
"Would you prefer death instead?" Nemu asked, raising a slender eyebrow before she forcefully jammed the bottle to his bloody mouth.
"Keep quiet and save your strength. Master Mayuri always keeps his word even to those like you who are undeserving."
The Quincy was astounded by the sheer strength she possessed as she forced the antidote into his system, crushing it in her hand once it was done like it was nothing more then a twig.
Nemu bent lower and scooped Ishida up, his eyes drooping as the medicine and pain finally dragged him under and carried him towards the laboratory rooms for further examination, the lights seeming to dim in comparison as they moved deeper into the barracks.
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[Four hours later]
The sudden sunlight made Orihime's eyes flutter open, confused as to her whereabouts. She glanced around and found that she was on a rooftop, her pins tucked into her lovely copper hair.
Was I dreaming or something?, The girl wondered as she got to her feet and tried to zero in on Ichigo's spiritual pressure.
She felt relieved when she felt it was nearby, maybe three or four miles due west. Ganju's and his were close together so maybe those two were working together.
Her pouty lips formed into a small smile just for a second, reassured her dilemmas was just a nightmare her mind had conjured up. Uryu was probably scouting out up ahead, and didn't want to wake her.
The girl hummed, carefully leaping to the next rooftop in hopes that's where he had gone. Strangely, his spiritual pressure seemed to have evaporated because she couldn't feel him. Not even slightly.
This new information troubled her very much. She could always trace and feel him, even when he was at home or asleep.. What could have happened to make Ishida-kun disappear?
"No..." The girl whispered to herself, dread coursing through her body...
Was Uryu Ishida.....dead?
Where could he have gone?
Will she ever find out what happened? Read the next chapter to find out!
