But as if to knock me down, reality came around;

[sequincy]

Who: sequincy & ANYONE WITH ACCESS TO CASA DE ESPADA
When: Night
Where: The Espada Funhouse, Szayel's lab
Summary: Uryuu made a Mistake, and it earned him an overnight stay in Szayel's lab. The scientist is gone for the night, but the lab is open and the Quincy is still strapped to a table in the home of people who hate him

Comments

Action, like a BOSS

[grimmjerk]

[ There's some delay, of course. It isn't as though Grimmjow was anywhere near Szayel's lab - who would be? He wasn't fucking stupid - when that surge of reiatsu passed through and beyond the castle's walls and, if the strength of it was anything to go by, out into the city, too.

But some fifteen minutes later, footsteps ring in the wide, empty hallway beyond the door. Footsteps, and an odd rustling that sounds a little like plastic. They grow gradually closer and someone's voice could be heard muttering: ] The hell has he done this time...?

[ A short pause, while the person outside obvious weighs the pros and cons of going inside, and then a nice, hard kick is all it takes to make the door swing inward and slam against the wall.

Grimmjow is standing there, a large black trashbag in hand. ]

[sequincy]

[He shouldn't have let his hopes rise. If he hadn't, then he wouldn't have had to deal with the sickening drop that followed at the sound of Grimmjow's voice.]

[Uryuu held his breath beneath the sheet as Grimmjow paused outside the door; Szayel surely had orders not to enter the laboratory. Maybe it would be enough to deter the Arrancar, even if he'd sensed someone behind the door.]

[the bang of the door as it crashed into the opposite wall shattered that dream as well. Uryuu stilled and reigned in his presence, silently cursing everything he could think to name.]

[he could have hoped that the Espada would somehow miss the body lying beneath the white covering. Of course, he also could have hoped that he'd be suddenly teleported to a hospital that served mackerel miso soup to its patients and employed masseuses. Both had the same odds of happening.]

[grimmjerk]

[ A body on a table.

Nothing out of the ordinary for Szayel, except that this one is still alive. The owner of said body has to know that hiding his spiritual power is pretty much pointless after exposing himself like that. Grimmjow's already got a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth when he waltzes inside what is, more or less, the armpit of Las Noches. He dumps his bag right beside the table, his smirk completely wasted on the blanket in the way. ]

You still got all your parts under there?

I don't wanna lose my lunch.

[ A single careless tug is all it takes to get the sheet off entirely, the Espada letting it drop to the floor. ] ...ahahaha, that sick fuck didn't even leave you any clothes.

Sucks to be you, doesn't it?

[sequincy]

It's a wonder you aren't the brains of the team. [snapped back, his head turned away so he doesn't have to look at the wide, white, pointy-toothed smirk Grimmjow is bearing. Dammit, Szayel. You couldn't have even left me underwear?]

[He sighs dramatically, as if exasperated that he had to have this conversation with the Espada; as if he hadn't sent out a screaming distress signal just moments before. It's better than trembling.] What do you want? Just get to it already.

[itsatrep]

Sitting in the living room, Luppi felt the reiatsu pulse through him. It almost felt like a distress call or a beacon of some sort. And if it was a distress call, then that meant it was a beacon for Luppi to check it out. Someone in trouble was someone ripe for tormenting.

Even though it caught his interest, he didn't go check it out immediately. He took the time to finish the television show he was watching. He wasn't incredibly interested in finding out whether Gabriela left Pablito for good, but it didn't do to show up too quickly when called. He would let them wait and worry for a while.

When Luppi finally tracked down the source of the reiatsu, it was even better than he had hoped. He shook off his own hesitation at entering the Octava's domain and walked up to the lab table to stare down at Uryuu with a raised eyebrow. "I'm disappointed in you, Quincy-san. I thought you were smarter than this. One of the first things even the lowliest and dumbest Arrancar learns is 'stay the fuck out of Szayel's lab.'"

[sequincy]

That definitely wasn't Ichigo.

Uryuu grimaced and turned his head away (the only part of him he could move) from the mocking face and the voice that accompanied it. Luppi, this one was called. While this was their first meeting in person, Uryuu had seen enough of the Arrancar on the NV to wish he was somewhere else. Luppi's brand of mischeif was bound to prove hazardous to his health.

"Yes," he returned caustically. "I'm the one who chose to come down here and get strapped to the table of a madman. You've figured it out."

[itsatrep]

He ignored the sarcasm as if Uryuu had never responded. "It's funny." Luppi reached down and grabbed Uryuu's chin to force him to look at him. "I see you like this, and the only thing I can think is, 'What would he be willing to do to get out of this situation?'" He let go of his chin and traced his finger down the Quincy's throat and chest, to the edge of the first restraint. "Or maybe I should be asking what you've already done."

[sequincy]

Uryuu glared, resisting the urge to jerk his chin away to avoid the embarrassment of failing in the attempt. But once the Arrancar's finger began its slow descent, tracing along his pulse and over his scar, Uryuu was suddenly much less interested in losing sight of Luppi.

"...I won't submit my pride to you, or to anyone else," he said lowly, carefully, the words as tense as his coiled muscles. There was no missing the insinuation, and he wanted to make his refusal just as clear. Szayel had taken his own liberties; Uryuu would be damned if he'd offer them as some sort of bargaining chip. "If you're here to mock me, then get on with it."

[1stguardian]

Going out into the Darkness had become a habit, and even without a goal in mind, Ichigo continued to do it nearly every night. It kept him sharp. Kept him focused. And it was because he'd been out there, standing in the air and watching the city for any obvious signs of disturbance, that he felt the flare of Ishida's reiatsu. Vigilance, and the last week's worth of reiatsu control training with Byakuya. He felt it, identified it immediately, and took off after it without hesitation. Something was wrong, and after everything that had happened recently, there was no way in hell that Ichigo was going to number his friend among the city's casualties.

That he was led to Nueva Las Noches probably should have surprised him more than it did. Instead, there was only a sliver of disappointment that quickly gave way to the cold burn of anger. So much anger that he didn't think twice about deciding to use his Bankai, Aizen's warning against its use on the premises notwithstanding. You lost the right to tell me to do anything when you left, you

[sequincy]

Relief and shame waged war in Uryuu's chest at the sound of Ichigo's voice, but it was only a brittle covering of amusement that made it into his expression. "Hah... You're late, Kuro- saki. ...Still... no good at - hah - sensing things... I see."

The price he payed for the teasing jibe was another wave of fresh pain as the effort of talking aggravated his broken ribs and collarbone. Even breathing hurt now; he'd been fighting for the past six minutes just to keep his reiatsu going strong without passing out. At least that had paid off

[omnomspecimens]

Unfortunately -- or maybe fortunately, depending on how you look at it -- there was yet another individual that had sensed Ishida's reiatsu surge. Initially, Szayel was not going to do anything about it, but when it disappeared and reappeared a few times... well, he got a touch concerned. So, not long after Ichigo was nodded toward the Quincy's belongings, did the steady tap tap of perfect foot steps make their way into the room...

...and Szayel stood in the doorway, or what was left of it, eyes narrowed dangerously at the broken down door, and the apparent damage to his specimen.

Someone was going to die for this.

"Quincy, I suggest you lie still, least whatever is wrong with you now gets worse," Szayel hissed, adjusting his glasses.

[1stguardian]

"I'll get better at it," he responded quietly to the remark about his abysmal ability to sense reiatsu. "I promise