Disclaimer: If you haven't noticed, this is a Fanfiction website. As in, I don't own anything. Characters, etc. belong to Tite Kubo.

Warnings: M/M, yaoi, slash, gayness; minor violence; profanity; non-serious spoilers for Bleach anime episode 145 and manga volume 28 chapter 244, canon-divergence

Rating: M

Pairing(s): 8Quin (Szayelaporro Granz/Uryuu Ishida)

Summary: Szayel captures Uryuu as a test subject. His fascination with the Quincy grows, and he gets more than he bargained for. Uryuu, on the other hand works to understand the Octava's motives, leading him to question his own thoughts on the matter.

Act I Scene I: Ask a Question

The glinting of golden eyes was framed by white as they took in the trembling figure before them. It didn't matter to Szayel that he hadn't captured the red headed shinigami. After all, shinigami were a dime a dozen, even if it was a bankai user. Besides, he had already fully analyzed the power type; it no longer held any interest. The resident genius of Hueco Mundo knew that in his weakened condition the pathetic idiot (Renji Abarai, if he recalled correctly; which he always did) would be no match for anyone he stumbled across. Killing that heathen would've been an exceptionally boring waste of the Octava's precious time. So, no. The Espada hadn't failed. He had gotten the true prize. Szayel had taken the Quincy.

Alive, might he add. Intact, for the most part, too. His reputation as a genius was truly well earned. Que suerte, indeed.

Looking at him now, the Quincy didn't seem nearly as dangerous as his reputation would lead someone to believe. But, Szayel had seen him fight, and he fought well. No match for his brilliance of course, but quite formidable to any lesser foe. He was going to be very entertaining to research. His newest fascination had better be; what, with all the trouble required to take him alive. At the moment though, the black haired boy lay shaking and unconscious in the corner of a cell in Szayel's lab.

"That just means there are things in this world that you don't know about, doesn't it?" The Quincy's mocking words from their earlier encounter echoed in the arrancar's mind. Szayel's grinned widely as he took an admiring look at his newest test subject. Those words had gotten to him, though he didn't care to admit it. Szayel found it fitting that the one who had uttered those words would provide the wherewithal for unlocking that information. The pink haired scientist readjusted his glasses before walking away, laughing to himself. He had some experiments to plan.

Uryuu Ishida had suffered before. He had felt a wide variety of pain ranging from the excruciating to the vaguely aching. Right now, he was more uncomfortable than anything else. He had a throbbing headache and his body was sore all over. Since he was used to the pain, the thing Uryuu found most disconcerting was the lack of knowledge regarding his surroundings and circumstances. He prided himself on knowing more than anyone else, he had known more his whole life. This lack of understanding was the only thing really bothering him.

Once his head stopped spinning, Uryuu deemed it time to determine his location. Prudence demanded he first listen carefully for any presence other than his own. He heard nothing and his splitting headache didn't allow for the archer to check for another's reiatsu. Deciding he was alone, Uryuu slowly opened his eyes and looked around cautiously through disheveled ebony bangs. His vision was hazy, but blinking a few times seemed to clear it. Apparently, his glasses had been left on then. Perhaps his friends had taken him back to some sort of hospital? The room certainly had the cold and clinical feel.

While this was a comforting thought, it became clear that this couldn't be the case. For one thing the room was completely bare with no discernible light source. Along with the lack of furniture, there wasn't even evidence of a door. Uryuu pulled himself up into a sitting position, wincing at every twinge of pain this sent through his body. He saw no apparent avenue of escape. It appeared as if the solid metallic gray cube had been built with him already inside.

Uryuu decided the best course of action would be to gather his thoughts. Panicking now would get him nowhere. Taking comfort in having a plan to follow, the Quincy set upon untangling the warped threads of his memory.

Alright. He recalled feeling Rukia's spiritual pressure disappearing. He could only hope that his friend was alive. He had then followed the immense flare in spiritual pressure. Uryuu remembered the fight, if it could really be called that, against the incredibly disturbing Octava Espada. Afterwards, Szayelaporro Granz, as he'd introduced himself, had left Uryuu and Renji in order to change his clothes of all things. The Quincy had seized the opportunity to grab his friends and escape, but they'd somehow become separated as if the building itself was conspiring against them. The next part was disconcertingly fuzzy, but at some point Uryuu blacked out. The next event his recollection had to offer was the discomfort of waking up on the hard floor of this strange room.

His train of thought was interrupted by a condescending disembodied voice, "Good morning, sleeping beauty. You remember me, right? We're going to have so much fun together. Tell me, are you in any pain? I'd adore some more sensory data for your file. Granted, I have the statistics, but perception is important too."

"Bastard," spat Uryuu. "When I get out of here, I'm going to kill you."

"Excellent, you are in pain. How severe is it? I would prefer a quantitative answer, but I can work with qualitative information if necessary." The scientist's questioning continued.

"Not anywhere near as much pain as you'll feel when my friends come for you." The Quincy threatened angrily.

The arrancar scientist gave an amused chuckle. "Yes, I'm sure the shinigami are just dying to help the poor little Quincy. You do remember that you're mortal enemies, right? Besides, I'm the only one that knows you aren't dead. By the way, I must thank you for your earlier suggestion. The sekkiseki rock you recommended has allowed me to entirely conceal your spiritual pressure. Not that I couldn't have done it on my own, of course."

"You're lying! I'll teach you a lesson once I break out of here." Uryuu cursed internally. The Espada's needling was really getting under his skin, and it was dangerous to lose his levelheadedness in this dire situation.

"You're going to be a real handful, aren't you?" The smug arrancar replied with mock affection, glad to see his provocation was having the desired effect. "I heard you were the smart one, but clearly not. When are you going to understand that you won't be leaving? Not only is your body in no condition to fight, but the walls of your prison are calibrated to your reishi. I confiscated all your auxiliary weapons, very nice ones if I do say so myself, and removed any trackers or monitors on you, both physical and reishi-type. You can't win."

Uryuu looked down. He realized that his only option was to wait. The question was whether he'd be able to survive what the Espada had planned for him.

Seeming to notice the raven haired boy's capitulation, the scientist offered a closing remark. "Good boy. It seems we'll get along quite well with each other. I would enjoy the intermission and rest if I were you. I'm studying your natural healing process, once you're better we can begin testing; and I'd hate to waste any time unnecessarily. Sleep well, muñeco."

Szayel was satisfied with the way the experiment was going. While he usually hated any form of disrespect, the angry fire burning in the Quincy's blue eyes was captivating. And it was so easy to provoke such interesting responses from the normally calm and collected boy. The genius hadn't even done anything yet and the child had already proved far too intriguing for his own good. Once Szayel's curiosity had been peaked, he would not rest until it was satisfied. What other reactions could he draw from the Quincy? He couldn't wait to find out.

Translations:

Que suerte - how fortunate

Muñeco - doll (a bit of a joke since it's a popular Spanish pet name and is also a power of Fornicarás)

A/N: In all honesty, I can relate to Szayel a good deal. The reason I'm writing this is I find both characters fascinating and I think that, given the chance, they would definitely be able to click. I probably had too much fun writing their banter. As far as writing goes, I'm intentionally avoiding the use of Uryuu's actual name when writing Szayel-centric parts and vice versa. I'm using this to show their developing relationship, as they don't really see each other as people. As the story progresses, I'll integrate their names as their relationship grows. As a closing thought, it is my firm belief that attractive people with glasses ought to bang each other.