Chapter Five

Human Souls

Kisuke sighed as he sat at the computer and stared at the results. Several of them were dying, and he had no idea what to do. Apacci had taken desperate turn for the worse last night. Now, he wasn't sure how to handle it. She wasn't the only one, though. Szayel hadn't left Illfordt's side since around two am. His own traits were beginning to degrade, and Kisuke had noticed that he kept hiding something. The DNA he was infused with was a squid. More than once Szayel had been able to manifest tentacles, or expressed ink from less than desirable locations. He heard the phone buzz and picked it up. He smiled. Sajin.

"Sajin, how are you?" he asked.

"I just wanted to say I'm coming up," he said, his voice obviously from a speaker. That was the only way that he could use a phone with the alterations to his body.

"You don't have to call ahead, Sajin. Your condition isn't going to scare anyone, I promise," Kisuke sighed. The man was scared to death of frightening someone. For a while he insisted on wearing a bucket with holes in it over his head. Finally, Kisuke had convinced him to stop.

He was quiet for a second. "I know."

The phone cut off and Kisuke sighed. Sometimes he wished he could just reverse what was done to these people. But he couldn't. There was a light knock at the door and he looked to see it was Ichigo. Kisuke smiled, unable to help it. He was so different from the rest, and he sensed internal strength that he didn't think the young man knew he even had.

"Ichigo, would you want to come greet one of our friends with me? He has a horrible fear that people will be scared of him, and it would be best to meet him face to face quickly, for his sake," Kisuke said as he stood and walked around the desk.

Nodding, Ichigo smiled a bit. "Sure, what happened to him?"

Kisuke walked toward the door but saw that Ichigo was still not entirely steady on his feet. He was worried about the readings on the MRI. Quite worried. Whatever was happening to Ichigo's brain was becoming worse. He reached for his hand, and to Kisuke's surprise Ichigo took it. Then he felt him leaning on him significantly. That wasn't a good sign. "Um, so did you end up talking with Grimmjow?" he asked as they walked to the elevator. Sajin wouldn't come up unless Kisuke went down to get him. He understood it but still.

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, I told him stuff. I wish I hadn't because he got mad at my… Well, I guess he's my ex, now, huh?"

Kisuke smiled. "Yeah, I think so. It doesn't sound like he was good for you, Ichigo."

"Now that I think about it, isn't it odd to have someone stay with you for middle and high school? I mean, none of my other friends stuck with their boy or girlfriends that long. Especially since he always said he hated being with me." Ichigo's hand trembled a little.

"He hated being with you?" Kisuke asked. "Why would he say such a thing if you were together?"

Ichigo shook his head as the elevator doors shut and they rode it down to the next level down. "I don't know, I mean, he would call me names all the time, bad ones, and when we… Ah, it wasn't nice when we were together, but my friend Keigo said that wasn't how it was supposed to be. He said he'd slept with a guy before and it should be good for both, but…"

The doors opened and Ichigo stared because the creature in front of him was huge and looked like a dog with a somewhat humanoid body. "Ichigo, this is Sajin. He's one of our people with severe changes to his body. His DNA was spliced with a wolf. He was one of two infused with wolf DNA, but unfortunately, he was…" Kisuke stopped because Ichigo stepped over the threshold and grabbed one of Sajin's fur covered hands and pulled with a huge grin on his face.

"Well, come on, aren't you coming upstairs with us?" Ichigo asked, now completely ignoring Kisuke.

Sajin stared in what looked like pure disbelief and stepped into the elevator, ducking his head as he did so. "Ah, hello," he said gruffly.

"You have such pretty fur," Ichigo told him as he took his hand and rubbed Sajin's hand against his face with a grin. "Feels so soft."

Sajin swallowed audibly and looked at Kisuke. "Sajin, this is Ichigo. He's subject 0."

"Oh, you found them?" Sajin asked, still watching as Ichigo snuggled against his furry hand.

"Do you have fur all over or just here and your face?" Ichigo queried as they arrived at the floor. He pulled Sajin's arm to get him out of the elevator now. "I want to see, take off your shirt. Is your chest furry too? I bet it's warm," he continued, leading Sajin to the common area and pushing him to sit on the floor in the pile of pillows that the lazy one named Starrk was sprawled in. Starrk also had spots of fur under his chin and on his chest.

Sajin glanced at Kisuke who just smiled at him. How could this soul be so pure? He had no fear of Sajin even though some of the others had taken a long time to get used to him. Now Ichigo had divested the large man of his shirt and was carefully looking over the fur on his chest and shoulders. Finally, he seemed satisfied and crawled into Sajin's lap, putting his arms around his chest and burying his face in his shoulder.

"Hmm, you smell nice, like water lilies. You mind if I nap on you? You're warm and comfortable," he muttered and before Sajin could say anything, Ichigo had fallen asleep on him.

"What is he, a cat?" Sajin mumbled, looking up at Kisuke.

"No idea actually, but I'm leaning toward something not mammalian. He's got regenerative capabilities," Kisuke explained.

"Kis-Kisuke!" he heard and turned to see Renji running from the elevator full tilt.

"Hush, Renji, Ichigo is asleep…" he began.

"Grimmjow, he's gone."

Kisuke gasped. "What? What happened?"

"We were down in the computer hall, and he was looking up something. He jotted it down on a piece of paper and got up. I asked where he was going and he just said he'd be back when he was finished giving a lesson in manners, whatever that means," Renji explained.

"Abirama," Kisuke gasped and took off to his office. The name had sounded familiar when heard it. It had been years. Renji was on his heels and watched as Kisuke pulled out a stack of files and flipped through them. "Redder…" he muttered. "Fucking hell."

Renji cocked an eyebrow. Kisuke never cussed so it was no wonder he was surprised. "What is it?"

"He's one of you, Abirama Redder. Group C. Eagle DNA was used on him. If Grimmjow went after him, he's going to be walking right into Aizen's area…"

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Grimmjow woke up with a headache and a sore jaw. He blinked, feeling the strain of his arms pulled up over his head and he looked up at a man with wavy brown hair. He wore a suit and tie, and at first glance looked like your average businessman. Beside him was that fucker Abirama. His long, smooth black hair laid at odd angles yet. His eye was black, and a large bruise spread from his collar up his neck.

"Well, if it isn't Grimmjow, one of the miracle three," the man that Grimmjow recognized vaguely from a long time ago. "I don't think you'll remember me much, you were small when I saw you last. Dr. Sōsuke Aizen, and you were in those drug trials. Imagine my surprise when you walked right in a business I owned to start yelling at this one."

"Fucking bastard broke my goddamn collarbone before I got him down. He was going on about the little faggot."

"I'm going to kill you if you keep talking about him like that," Grimmjow growled, lip curling in anger.

"Ichigo?" Aizen asked with a frown. "Did you lose him?" Aizen turned and glared at Abirama now.

"What? No, I didn't… I mean, he was at the dorms… And I haven't talked to him today…" Abirama stammered.

"That's cuz Kisuke Urahara has him now, dumbass," Grimmjow smirked.

Aizen turned and glared at Abirama. "You let Ichigo get taken by Urahara."

"I didn't let him do anything! You told me to make him think he was making the choices and coming to me on his own! I couldn't force him to live with me!" Abirama snarled back at him.

"You are incompetent. The only reason you are still Ichigo's handler is because getting that boy to trust anyone else is impossible," Aizen said with a sigh. "You are useless if Kisuke has him now."

"Look, I'm sorry I…"

Abirama didn't finish. Grimmjow tried to say something but it happened too fast. Aizen pulled a handgun out of his jacket and shot the other man right in the temple. For a second, Abirama's face changed to one of shock, but then he crumbled. Grimmjow's ears felt like someone had tried to stab both of them, and his head was ringing from how close that shot had been. Aizen sighed and turned to leave. He said something but Grimmjow couldn't hear it with the ringing in his ears.

Time slowed down and he really didn't know how long he waited, but eventually a man came down with silver hair and a smile. His eyes were hidden under the fringes of his bangs. He had a long knife in his hands and was twirling it.

"Mah, Boss said make ya bleed, and make ya talk. So ya gonna tell us where his pet project went with Mr. Urahara. We'd rather raid the right holding…" he said and approached him. "Mah name's Gin, nice ta meetcha."

Several hours later, Grimmjow watched the silver haired bastard leave. He looked down to realize that there was a drain in the floor. That was probably for the best since he'd bled a whole lot. He didn't scream though. He definitely didn't talk. There was no way they were getting Ichigo's location out of him. He was going to protect the cub whether he knew it or not. He felt unconsciousness slide and let it this time. A nap sounded good.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

"Mah, why'd ya have to shoot eaglet?" Gin said as he put his knives away. He was covered with blood all over his white suit.

"You should wear black, Gin. Instead of that white." Aizen wasn't really looking at him. "And I shot him because he was useless. His only purpose was to watch Ichigo and he lets him get taken back to Urahara's. Though I suppose I captured Grimmjow. That one was surprisingly slippery. I'm surprised that Urahara was able find him. He was using several aliases."

Gin pulled off the bloody jacket, dress shirt, and suit pants and put them down the incinerator shoot nearby. "I suppose, Boss. But mah feelin' is that this ain't over yet." He turned, in a pair of boxer shorts now and walked back to where Aizen was sitting.

"I'd say. If he has all of them, that might be in our favor though…" Aizen mused.

"Why is that?" Gin asked, sliding onto Aizen's lap, straddling him while hooking his arms around his neck.

"If Urahara figures out hogyuku on his own, I can just steal it."

Gin smirked. "Ah, Boss, yer growin' down thar 'gin. Wanna have another go 'round?"

Aizen slipped both hands around and gripped Gin's ass. "Hmm, you know, we aren't sure how this will harm you with the effects accelerating. If we don't figure this out, you're going to be dead just like the ones that already died."

"Ah, mah Boss, ya won't let that happen, right? Ya like me too much," Gin said, his tongue flicking out now, forked at the end.

Aizen sighed. "Gin, you take this too lightly. Your changes are accelerating. We haven't got much time."

"Yah, yah, so let's enjoy what time I do have. Mah time is mine, yah? So then we should have fun while I can. If I die in yer arms than that's all I wanna have happen. That's tha way to go. Being fucked senseless by tha man ya love more than yer own life," Gin said, moving in and nuzzling into Aizen's neck. "I'm okay with that."

Gin pretended not to notice Aizen's tears when he closed his eyes.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Scrambling to figure out what to do was easier said than done. There wasn't a lot to go on, except they knew that Grimmjow had found a business that Abirama worked at. Then, several hours after they began, the news that Abirama had been found dead crossed Kisuke's desk just as Jūshirō and Shunsui arrived.

"Jūshirō, how are you feeling?" he asked.

"So far, I'm breathing well today," the white haired man answered. His partner, the hale and muscular Shunsui had one arm around the more fragile man as usual. Kisuke smiled. They were perhaps one of the more unique pairs that had come of the experiments. Shunsui's entire life was dedicated to taking care of and providing for Jūshirō. There was no one more in love with someone than that man.

"I want you two to meet with Ichigo, he doesn't know what's happened…"

"What's happened?" Ichigo's voice came from the doorway. He was standing, with Sajin, his hand loosely held. "Something has happened? Where's Grimmy?"

"Ah, Ichigo, come in, we need to talk. Ah, this is Jūshirō Ukitake, and Shunsui Kyrouku. They're some of those that were in early trials. Jūshirō here is a half success." He took Ichigo's hand from Sajin and pulled him into the room. He gave a nod to Sajin who returned it and left. "Sit," Kisuke said and led the orange-haired boy to the sofa. Jūshirō followed and sat down beside them. Shunsui grabbed the office chair and straddled it backward to watch.

"Half success?" Ichigo asked, looking at Jūshirō.

"Yes, I'm alive, so that's the successful half," he said with a smirk. "I had drug-resistant tuberculosis and was dying. Kisuke tried to save me with the hogyuku formula, but instead of curing me, it left me with a permanent type of TB, but it won't ever kill me. Somehow I regenerate some of my illness."

"Ichigo has a regenerative factor," Kisuke confirmed. Ichigo turned to him with meshed brows. "I've narrowed the DNA to some sort of manipulated lizard. It isn't normal, Sōsuke did something to the DNA to change it, but some sort of lizard, maybe a kimono dragon if I'm not wrong."

Ichigo nodded. "But, what's happened?" he asked, going back to the whole reason he'd come in here.

"Ah, it seems that Grimmjow got out and went after Abirama…" Kisuke said with a sigh.

"What?" Ichigo said standing up. "I have to go stop him!"

"Wait, there's more," Kisuke said as he grabbed Ichigo's wrist. "Sit, please."

Ichigo sat down, confused. "What more?"

"Abirama's body was found a little while ago."

"What? Grimmjow wouldn't kill him!" Ichigo gasped.

"No, Grimmjow didn't kill him," Shunsui confirmed. "Sōsuke Aizen did. He was shot in the head, executed. My guess because you got away from him."

"Wait, what are you talking about? Abirama didn't know this Aizen guy." Ichigo looked between them, brows scrunched in a very dedicated scowl.

Kisuke glanced at Jūshirō. Shunsui was a liaison to law enforcement. Jūshirō was the primary person that worked on keeping track of the subjects that Aizen still had under his control.

"Ichigo, Sōsuke has apparently been using Abirama to keep an eye on you without your knowledge. The place Grimmjow went, where Abirama works, is owned by his company. He was using Abirama because he was one of the subjects. His DNA was spliced with eagle DNA, and he had very sharp eyes because of it. That's why he let you live alone. He lived in the building across from the dorms, right?"

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah…"

"He didn't need to be near you to spy. That's why he stayed with you. He was put in that school by Aizen to stay close to you," Jūshirō explained. "Why he didn't have eyes on Grimmjow and Ulquiorra, I don't know, but it seems that both of them were good at covering themselves, or he simply didn't look very hard for them. I rather thing the latter."

"So… So, Abirama is dead… Where's Grimmjow?" Ichigo asked, starting to panic.

Shunsui sighed. "I'm sorry, but Sōsuke has him now. We don't know for sure which location, but that's the game with Sōsuke. He's been trying to locate this facility for a while. Well, actually he's tried several times but he's never been able to do it. And we've moved many times."

"But what will he do to Grimmy?" Ichigo asked with frantic eyes.

"Torture him into revealing where you are. You're the one that got the most complete formula, and he's going to want you back." Kisuke put a hand on his back gently.

"I don't…" Ichigo started, eyes going wide and he shook his head. "N-n-ng…n-no…" he muttered as he threw his head back.

Kisuke gasped catching him as he fell backward. His body started to thrash, worse than his previous seizure. "Shunsui, help me get him into the exam room!"

Almost three hours later, and several doses of high powered sedatives, Kisuke managed to drop into a chair next to the bed. Szayel, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Retsu Unohana, and Shunsui also looked exhausted. Mayuri was another scientist, though one that had continued experimentation on himself since the initial trials had cured him of chronic acne, but he was disfigured in the process and now wore various Kabuki style masks to cover his face. Retsu was a doctor that the trials had been supposed to cure her of endometriosis. Instead she was rendered infertile, but had gained the ability to diagnose others at a touch.

Mayuri spoke up first. "That's not a seizure. Whatever is happening to him is going to kill him if this doesn't stop," he said as he got up and left.

Szayel chewed his lip and looked at Kisuke. "What the fuck is with the way his eyes looked during it? They were black."

"Broken blood vessels?" Retsu suggested. Her power had been useless.

"I don't know," Kisuke said with a sigh. "The formula is doing what it is supposed to do, what it is trying to do, I don't know."

"Trying to split me in two." The voice was Ichigo's but not Ichigo's.

Kisuke stood up and saw that Ichigo's eyes were still black in the sclera, but now were gold in the iris. He smiled, and stuck his tongue out, but it was blue. "What is this?"

"The other me," the higher pitched voice said. "Might ask Shinji about the 'other' that he and a few others have like this," Ichigo's eyes fluttered and closed again. Kisuke reached over opened one, now seeing his eyes were normal.