Chapter 26

Ulquiorra paced back and forth in his room; his eyes glued to the floor yet looking past it. He felt betrayed upon seeing that baby. He felt angry. He didn't want to feel any of these emotions towards Mizuki; but he couldn't deny them. As of right now, he wanted to kill two people; Mayuri and Grimmjow. But he knew Grimmjow would have never meant to do something as this on purpose. That thought made him hold back his anger towards him. Unfortunately it was obscenely difficult. His possessive nature made him feel as though there was nobody who truely was on his side. A dark, disgusting emotion called jealousy was blocking his reason and clouding his judgement.

"Mizuki... Mizuki... Mizuki..." Saying her name was keeping him from storming out of the room and going on a rampage. It reminded of him of the friendly, innocent face he had fallen in love with. While doing so, it was also reminding him how far away she was from him now. She was completely different now. Mayuri had tortured her beyond repair and was scarred deeply; perhaps more deeply than he could repair by himself. He missed how she was; how she was completely different from all others. He missed his Mizuki. The transformation she was going through was horrifying and making his heart pulse with pain. In a way, he blamed himself for what was happening to her. He blamed himself for not being strong enough, for not being fast enough, for being inferior to the problems that had presented themselves. His heart changed emotions with each beat. Anger, fear, passion, rage, jealousy, and sadness; they all were present in his soul. He fell to his knees by the window and hid his eyes in his hands.

"Mizuki...!" His head swam with mixed thoughts. Dry tears pushed against his eyelids. His back shuddered with intense emotion, Ulquiorra was struggling to make sense of it all. Mizuki had become two different people. The one who was most dominate right now was a Mizuki he feared. She contained all the venom Mayuri had injected into her body. She was the one who was digging a hole for Mizuki by killing many people. The most submissive what Ulquiorra's Mizuki. The Mizuki that was frightened and wounded. She was the one he fell in love with and wanted to protect. Now she was under attack by her own body. If he didn't rescue Mizuki soon, the vampiric side would take over, and his love would be lost. His Mizuki was under attack. That phrase repeated in his mind over and over again. He soon felt rage overcome him. His body shook with rage instead of grief. He glared into the sky with pulsing red eyes. His fangs glistened as he bared them with a deep growl. He stood on his feet, an intensely pissed off aura surrounded him. His Mizuki was under attack.

Urahara and Yoroichi sat in front of the room of monitors with sullen faces. They had sent Grimmjow back home with Zangetsu. The baby was in a crib next to Yoroichi. He cooed softly in his still sleep every now and then. Urahara finally broke the long silence.

"We must call the elders and report this," He said calmly. Yoroichi looked at him with a puzzled face.

"Call the elders? This the first time I've heard you suggest that." He sighed and looked sadly upon the monitors.

"This situation has escalated beyond what we can handle by ourselves. It's too much to handle..." Yoroichi scoffed.

"You're joking right?" Urahara looked at her with sad eyes. Her smirk faded and turned into a sad frown.

"Damn... I suppose you're not..."

"We need to get help immediately... before Mayuri can do anymore harm to Mizuki's mind. As of right now, anything can permanently keep her in this state of mind. The vampiric venom has manifested into another state of mind due to Mizuki's fear. This is out of my reach..." Yoroichi looked at him in shock.

"Out of your reach? You're the best researcher we have! How is this out of your reach?" Urahara sighed.

"I can't do anything that is legal because she still retains a human mind. If I did, I would be afraid of hurting Mizuki. The Mizuki we all want back. If we could in fact take out every essence of this other side of her, it would cause a great deal of pain and would leave her feeling... incomplete. This would involved taking apart her mind and soul. If this were on a vampire, it would be different because we can handle pain much differently than humans, hell, we can stand having half our minds being taken out." He rested his forehead on his palm. His body sagged with fatigue and stress. He had been worried about this for a while; but it was obvious that he had refused to show it openly. Yoroichi peered at the baby.

"What about him? Will he be able to stay with Mizuki? Or do we have to keep him away from her altogether?" Urahara shook his head.

"That's beyond me... the laws concerning children that break the vampire's code are not of my concern. I haven't studied up on it enough to know any good loopholes that would keep the child close to Mizuki without argument. Ulquiorra has stated that he claimed Mizuki before anyone. As we've seen, Mayuri is a 'man-made' vampire, one born out of artificially injecting venom. Mayuri has known her longer than either Ulquiorra or Grimmjow. The real question is, was he a vampire before he came here; before Ulquiorra met Mizuki, or was this just after he appeared here? If it's the latter, Ulquiorra will be pleased and it will make things a little easier. If not... Ulquiorra will be the one punished... And Grimmjow could face the rest of his years in a camp or chained to a wall. Then Mayuri will be released without question... and only if he wishes to keep the child will Mizuki hear it again. That's to say if he really wants it..." Yoroichi groaned and gently rocked the crib with the tip of her finger.

"We could try to raid the house again ourselves. Mayuri is weakened and he wouldn't be expecting it at all. We could use the excuse of rescuing those lackeys of Grimmjow's." Urahara shrugged.

"That's iffy... I was informed recently by our dear Grimmjow that a few of those lackeys are vamipres. Which, he didn't say. But a majority, he told me, were human. But the codes are incredibly strict. If vampires are known to be in a group and are lead by a vampire to attack anyone, anyone at all, can be punished. It doesn't matter if humans were involved, whether they followed against or by will is waved away. The leader, Grimmjow, will be blamed because he put human lives at risk. If he were just another lackey and a human had lead this group without him really doing anything, it'd be completely different," He said with an exhausted tone. Yoroichi closed her eyes.

"I suppose we do need help..." She perked and made a worried face.

"I almost forgot something important!" She said. Urahara glanced at her and ran his hand through his hair.

"What?"

"Mizuki's condition!" She began typing away on a keyboard and pulled up a small screen. Urahara rose from his chair and looked at what she had.

"Ulquiorra told me she had some sort of sickness that directly affected her lungs. Now as a human these symptoms would be very visible. But as a vampire, obviously, the sickness would be cured. Now it puzzled me, so I looked into it. She's half and half, technically. Her body can't simply void itself of the disease because the venom is not a dominate presence. That disease is still in her body!"

"What are you getting at?" Yoroichi pulled up a video and turned to Urahara.

"I've collected as much data as I could about what she has based on what Ulquiorra has told me and what he showed about what gave her that disease." She began to play the video. The flower Mizuki loved was blooming on the screen. Yoroichi pointed to it.

"That is what gave her the disease. The pollen is highly dangerous to humans but only irritates vampires. Once a human inhales the pollen, it goes to the lungs; directly. None of it is diluted or anything. The poison attaches itself in various places and begins to eat away at the tissue." The video showed a pair of lungs beginning to shrink due to little yellow dots growing larger and larger. Urahara rubbed his chin.

"I'm going to guess that this condition is getting worse and worse as we speak?" Yoroichi nodded.

"I suspect that each time Mizuki slips into this vampire stage, the venom acts as a damn rather than an antidote. It holds back the bacteria eating away until the regular Mizuki comes back." The video showed a red line holding back a swarm of yellow dots all over the lungs.

"Of course when that happens... the venom disappears... and the dam breaks." The red line disappeared and the yellow dots swarmed the lungs and appeared to become more aggressive. Urahara's eyes widened.

"I see... they become more agitated and are faster in decomposing her lungs. And they don't slow?" Yoroichi shrugged.

"I hope, but I am not sure. I only managed to get a few good blood samples that were Mizuki's from a few scenes we went to. I am hoping this is completely wrong... but..." Her face turned into one of sadness. Urahara tapped her shoulder excitedly while looking at the screen. A small grin was on his face.

"This... this is it... you need to keep this close, Yoroichi-san. This is what's going to allow us to raid Mayuri's house once more."

"How so?"

"If a sickly human is under the direct care of a vampire, the vampire is responsible for all health problems. Seeing as how Mizuki's condition is getting worse, Mayuri isn't following the code. We can convince Ulquiorra and Grimmjow to state this as a reason for attacking Mayuri. He hasn't been taking care of her and has been abusing her. This is also a terminal illness... it's something you don't just overlook." Yoroichi smiled.

"Is this enough to break the partner code?" Urahara's smile broadened.

"What good is a partner who can't even keep you healthy?"

Mayuri rubbed his bruised neck and slammed the door shut behind him. Aporro was dragging the last lackey outside to the shed as he came to the kitchen area. He sat at the dining table and grumbled to himself. Again, a terrible mood had taken him. Fresh blood was on his hands; this time it wasn't his. His throat had managed to heal quite quickly and only left a few nasty bruises from Mizuki's attack. Aporro came back in and rinsed his hands off in the sink. The house was a wreck. It seemed almost unlivable.

"So what did you do with Mizuki this time?" He asked while he scrubbed the dirt and blood off his skin. Mayuri hissed and kept his eyes towards the window.

"She's being punished. That's all." Aporro turned the water off and yanked a towel from the broken cabinet above him.

"I don't know if punishing her is the best, Mayuri." The vampire's eyes glared at him from across the room with intense hate.

"How the hell do you know what's best?"

"I'm just saying... perhaps Mizuki won't improve with you punishing her like you do. I can only imagine the pain she goes through with you." Mayuri snapped.

"She's happy with me!"

"Really? Have you really seen her cry, Mayuri? She's in pain almost all the time. What you're doing to her now probably isn't helping her. Have you ever thought of talking to her? Actually talking to her?" Mayuri flipped his chair and stormed over to Aporro. He dug his finger into his chest and brought his face close.

"Mizuki is happy. I am helping her grow. She is turning into the perfect Mizuki that I love. She accepts all of this! What she did to me... she was growing! Growing! That's all! She isn't in pain, she learning!" He growled. Aporro frowned and shook his head.

"You've no idea how her mind words, Mayuri. You've no idea..." He walked away from him with a disappointed look on his face. Mayuri glared at his back and look at his hands. The blood somewhat bothered him. He frowned and began cleaning it away in the sink. It came off slowly, as if it were clinging to him.

"Mizuki is happy... she's just been a little naughty thing, that's all. I'm teaching her... I'm helping her," He muttered to himself.

A drop of blood fell to the floor to join a puddle of it's brothers. Another drop followed, then another, and another. Chains clinked against each other as she shifted slightly in pain. Her hands were locked in a pair of steel 'gloves'. They were too tight and had small spikes in them. They were digging into her flesh relentlessly, no matter how still her hands were. Around her neck was a similar device. Small spikes were drilling into her throat and drawing blood. The worst was on her face. It was a human muzzle. It clamped her mouth shut by applying pressure to the top of her head and bottom of her chin. Three thin spears went through her lips to hold them together. She could barely breath through the pain and blood collecting in her mouth. Her body was aching. Her mind was swirling. Mizuki felt as if she were dying. She opened her eyes to look out. She didn't know how she got into this situation. All she remembered was Mayuri beating her and finally chaining her to the wall in these contraptions. She had done something; but as of right now, she didn't care to figure anything out. The pain was unbearable and it was all she could think of.

Why...? Why is there so much pain... It hurts..! I can't breath!

Stop complaining.

What? No... no not you... go away!

Shut up! I told you to go away, and you ignored me. Look what happened! All because of that blue haired idiot!

Stop it... stop it!

Guh...

Mizuki closed her eyes and inhaled deeply through her nose. It still hurt. Her chest felt horrible. Every time she breathed, she felt as if iron claws were scraping against her skin.

What happened? Why did this happen?

...

Answer me! You were talking before!

You told me to shut it.

Please... I don't know what happened...! It was silent for a little while. Mizuki bowed her head; the spikes drove further into her flesh. She whimpered in pain.

Alright, I'll tell. I played a little when you were napping. Grimmjow came to get you. Obviously he didn't, but he did get the baby. When Mayuri was about to kill Grimmjow, you stuck your nose in and forced us to bite Mayuri's throat. That's why we're down here. You pissed Mayuri off and now we're in pain.

Grimmjow is ok, though? Yes? He made it...?

Yes, he did.

Ah..! He isn't dead...! A small tear rolled down Mizuki's cheek. She felt relieved. Grimmjow took the baby away; the baby was safe.

You know... that means that Ulqiuorra will see the baby. And it will be right next to Grimmjow...Mizuki shifted a little in surprise.

No! I... oh no... He... Ulquiorra..!

There's nothing special about him, why do you even care? It's pointless! Just die already so I can't get the fuck out of here! Mizuki closed her eyes and let the tears fall. The physical pain was fading and was replaced pain in her heart.

Ulquiorra... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry...

Just keep saying that. Just keep saying that for no reason. You'll soon see how it really affects you.

Urahara heard the sound of Ulquiorra coming down the stairs. He turned with a small smile spread across his lips. As the pale vampire entered the room, Yoroichi quickly left, shielding the infant from his sight. She didn't want him to see the baby and feel anymore pain than he was already experiencing. Ulquiorra stood before Urahara with a rather dark look and glowing red eyes.

"Urahara-san." He tilted his head down and kept his shining eyes on the miserable man.

"You seem to have something on your mind," He said. Ulquiorra made no notice to the comment.

"I am going to get my Mizuki back. If I shall be disobeying the law, then I shall disobey the law. I cannot let that sick man have her while I am still here, alive and well. Mizuki should not be tortured anymore, and I intend to take her away from that Hell before she is truly taken away from me forever. If you and Yoroichi-san wish to stop me, I only ask that you do so once Mizuki is away from that bastard." His tone was unwavering as he kept his unmoving eyes on Urahara. He flipped his fan in front of his face and fluttered it delicately. A faint smile was still on his lips. He stood and slowly began to circle the young vampire.

"I see... young love does blind one's judgement, doesn't it? I thought you were the analytic one within your little family, but here you are proving me wrong. I am disappointed. Your request is very noble... very noble indeed. However..." He snapped the fan shut and put it against Ulquiorra's chest.

"I refuse to follow through with it." Ulquiorra's eyes flared. The blonde vampire raised a finger to stop him and smiled broadly.

"Because... There is no need for such a request. Yoroichi-san and I have found a marvelous loophole in Mayuri's actions. It puts the claim rule to the side quite nicely. So, Ulquiorra-chan, we will be preparing to take back your dear Mizuki-chan and Mayuri shall be either killed or captured for the elders to deal with him." A wave of relief washed over Ulquiorra's face. Happiness seemed to fill his heart. His arms clapped around Urahara out of pure joy as he pulled the older vampire in for a tight hug. He gave a shuddering sigh of bliss and released him from the embrace.

"Urahara-san...! I... I am eternally in your favor!" He whispered. He left the room. Urahara smiled widely, then it slowly faded.

"You are happy now... but there is still the matter of you accepting that baby..." He muttered under his breath.