DISCLAIMER: Bleach and all related characters, settings, and plots are property of Tite Kubo and the companies which have produced it. I do not claim to own any of those things, and I do not make any money from this writing.

"Damn it!" Ichigo yelled, slamming his fists down on the metal door to the room they'd locked him in.

Minutes ago he and Orihime had joined up with the rest of the rescue group. Minutes ago he and Orihime had learned that Captains Unohana, Kuchiki, and Komamura were coming to get them home safely. And minutes ago, Aizen had sent in the remaining Espada to distract the captains and recapture Orihime; but this time they took him, too.

One second he had been joking with Rukia, and the next he'd been sonido'ed into Las Noches and thrown in here. The door was closed before he could even say a thing to Orihime, who was being dragged down the hall by another arrancar.

Ichigo whirled away from the door and paced to the other side of the room to look out the window. It was too high to see the white sand of Hueco Mundo; he could only see the moon. If he strained his ears, he thought he could hear clashing swords in the distance.

The young redhead turned back to face the door and attempted to take out his hollow mask. Zangetsu was taken from his sometime before he was put in the room. He raked a clawed hand over his face- nothing. Ichigo shouted in frustration, but it made sense that he could no longer bring out the mask. He had used too much energy in the fight with Grimmjow, and now his strength was waning.

How the hell could he let this happen? His friends had gotten badly beaten for nothing. Orihime was still a hostage of Aizen, and now so was he. They had come away from this battle worse than they had been going into it.

Ichigo walked to the door again and ran his hands along the seams. There was no handle that he could see, but there had to be some way out from the inside.

The door suddenly opened, and Ichigo barely jumped out of the way in time not to get smashed against the wall. Brown eyes met red-gold as Ichigo tried to identify who it was that stood in the doorway.

The man, taller and slimmer than Ichigo, had shoulder-length pink hair and wore what looked like the standard white outfit of Aizen's followers. Glasses were perched on his nose, and as the young boy watched, the man pushed them back up in a dignified manner, a slight smile on his face. Half-lidded eyes watched him lazily, yet at the same time, Ichigo could see a certain sharpness there.

"Hello, Kurosaki Ichigo," he said almost cheerfully, shutting the door behind him as the shinigami stood frozen like a rabbit in front of a snake.

"Who are you?" Ichigo questioned roughly, muscles tensing defensively.

"Aporro Granz Szayel, octovo Espada. I have something for you, from Aizen-sama," he said, the expression on his face never changing.

"Yeah, well you can just shove it up Aizen's - shit!" he yelped and slapped a hand over the spot on his neck Szayel had just shoved a needle into. He hadn't even seen him move. And where did the needle come from?

In the next second, he let loose a fist that landed a hit to the pink-haired espada's face. However, it barely turned his head, and he smiled at Ichigo.

"That was rude," he said mildly, "but you won't be able to do that again for a long time, so I can excuse you just this once, I think."

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo asked, suddenly breathing a little heavier. It felt like his muscles were all struggling to keep working, and he let his arms drop to his sides. His legs trembled with effort.

Szayel watched all this with satisfaction. "I injected you with a liquid I invented for your specific powers, shinigami. It will slow down your body and weaken the muscles, inducing a short coma-like sleep for precisely one half of a day. Judging by your breathing, it won't take but another minute."

Ichigo struggled to stay standing, but even he was powerless against chemicals and poisons he couldn't see. His strength gave out, and he crashed painfully to his knees, finally coming to sprawl on his back, helpless. The arrancar towered above him, smile growing as he watched the toxin take effect. Ichigo blinked, trying to keep himself aware, but once he'd closed them it was impossible to open them again. The last thing he heard was a satisfied laugh from Szayel before he lost consciousness.

Twelve hours later, Ichigo woke.

Surprisingly, he was not groggy at all. He sat up, instantly alert, to find that he'd been transferred to a different room. This one did not have a window. However, it did have a couch with abnormally large cushions, nearly as wide as a bed, which he was lying on. The room and couch were white, leading Ichigo to feel oddly colorblind. He slipped to the edge of the couch and sat hunched forward with his elbows on his knees, body feeling oddly worn out.

What had that Espada drugged him for? Just to transfer him to a different room, one, which by the lack of windows suggested, was deeper in the heart of Las Noches? Or had it been something else?

Lost in thought as he was, he did not notice the door opening to admit someone until they spoke.

"Ya shouldn' think so hard, Itchy-go. Ya look 'bout ta explode."

Ichigo turned his head to face none other than Ichimaru Gin, the uncannily fox-like ex-captain. Behind him, the door was still open.

"Hiya," Gin said with a little wave. Ichimaru Gin's perpetual smile and slanted eyes did nothing to ease his nerves.

"Why am I here?" he asked, getting straight to the point.

"Aizen-sama wants ya here," Gin answered ambiguously. "So's you're here."

Ichigo thought it would probably be useless to keep asking, so he changed his tactic.

"Where's Orihime?"

"Around," the ex-captain answered, now taking a step towards Ichigo. "Ya'd do better ta not be worryin' 'bout her, Itchy-go. Ya should worry more 'bout yourself."

Ichigo didn't get a chance to ask why as Gin took another step forward and backhanded him into the opposite wall. He only got a second to register the pounding pain in his head before Gin picked him up and shoved him against the wall, holding him there with a hand splayed across his chest. Gin punched him twice more, and already Ichigo's head was spinning. Why the hell couldn't he see him coming or react in time?

Gin's fox smile widened as blood welled up from a slit above Ichigo's eyebrow where the skin split.

"Ya see, Itchy-go, it's like this. 'Member tha' Szayel guy? Well, he gave ya this little silver band 'round your neck." To verify this, Gin's other hand went for Ichigo's neck, slipping a finger between the band and his tan skin. He gave a little tug before letting go.

"What it does," he continued, "is prevent ya from accessin' any a your reiatsu past what ya use for your zanpakutou's shikai. Tha's pret-ty clever, ain't it?"

"Bastards," Ichigo growled, and lifted his foot in a kick. Gin sidestepped it easily and slapped Ichigo again, sending him flying closer to the door. Taking his chance, the fallen fifteen year-old hopped up and ran.

Ichigo hadn't made it two feet past the threshold when Gin's sword crashed into his shoulder. He groaned as it slid through his flesh like a fish through water, and slammed him into the wall opposite the door. The back of his head made a sharp cracking noise as it made contact. The ex-captain's sword had pinned him. Suddenly Gin was standing in front him.

"Tha' wasn't a very good idea, Itchy-go. Aizen-sama won't be happy if ya run away. An' look at ya, you're all dirty now!"

Ichigo was bleeding profusely from the spot where Gin's sword was impaling him, and he thought he could feel blood oozing from the back of his head. The cut in his forehead was still bleeding as well, now having spilled into his eye and down his cheek.

"I should clean ya up b'fore Aizen-sama sees what a mess ya made," Gin whispered now, and leaned in towards Ichigo. He removed his zanpakutou and pressed the length of his body against the boy's forcibly, keeping him trapped. Ichigo inhaled sharply. He had never been this close to another human being, let alone a male.

The fox-like man bared Ichigo's bloody shoulder and leaned down, probing it with his tongue. Over the sudden yell that issued from Ichigo came another voice.

"Gin."

Ichigo, panting with the throbbing pain from his many injuries, turned his head to look at the leader of the arrancar, Aizen Sosuke.

"What are you doing, Gin?" Aizen asked.

"Itchy-go an' me was just havin' a lil' fun, righ', Itchy?" Gin's smile dimmed a bit as he stepped away from Ichigo and sheathed his zanpakutou.

"Please escort Ichigo-kun back to his rooms, Gin. Find him some new clothes and have Ulquiorra bring in Orihime-chan to heal his wounds."

"Hai, Aizen-sama."

Gin waited until Aizen had left before wrapping an arm around Ichigo's middle and carrying him back into his room. Ichigo didn't even have a chance to register how strange this was before Gin set him down in the middle of the room and left, shutting the door behind him.

"Hey!" Ichigo yelled after him. "Where the hell are you going?"

Blood was starting to drip down his legs, the slow trickle turning into an annoying itch as the blood dried. Ichigo looked around the room for something he might wipe the blood with, but his door was already opening again. This time it admitted Ulquiorra, Orihime in tow.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime breathed when she saw him. A small, trembling smile graced her lips.

"Are you alright, Inoue?" he asked, scanning her body for any injuries. Of course, it was difficult to tell since she was wearing such concealing clothing.

"Of course!" she said. She opened her mouth to speak again when Ulquiorra, the cuarto Espada, said in his flat voice, "You have two minutes, girl."

His green, vaguely reptilian eyes slid toward Ichigo and he glared back.

"Tch."

Orihime began healing Ichigo, and though they didn't want to say anything in front of the Espada, their eyes spoke depths. Eventually their two minutes were up, and Ichigo offered Orihime a smile when she hesitated to leave.

"I'll be fine."

They both had a hard time believing his words.