Current location:	420 blvd of the allies
Current music:	Bon Jovi - You Give Love A Bad Name

Prompts 70, 17, Intermission
UraharaxIchigo. Explicit warnings will be placed where needed.


Title: Sixty-seven percent
Words:

Sixty-seven percent; that was teh success rate of the binding kidou that Aizen had developed to keep his more unruly subjects in line. Due to the slight difference in Hollow reiatsu when compared to shinigami reiatsu, the spell-when applied to Hollows of any kind--bound them immediately. Hollows, being predators, usually managed to fight with it to a point where they could break out.

At least the Espada could; the lower level Arrancars and the regular Gilians and the lesser Hollows didn't stand a chance.

So when shinigami scouting groups started to infiltrate Hueco Mindo, and one Kurosaki Ichigo was in various groups, Aizen Sousuke learned the ryoka sported a mask resembling that of his beloved hollows. What irony! The righteous shinigami were using a Hollow-hybrid! HA! And it was only a hand full of years and a century or so past that the Council of Forty-six was going to execute their own Captain and Lieutenants that had gone through the same process.

It was a natural assumption on Aizen's part that, when attacking scouting groups with Kurosaki in them, to incapacitate the brash substitute with the binding kidou since his reiatsu was reminiscent to that of his Espada; not identical, but similar enough to be different from typical shinigami reiatsu--even if it was similar to that as well.

The first few groups reported successful use of the spell. It was probably the tenth or so group that reported back that the orange-haired boy had broken the kidou and had proceeded to don his mask and slaughter the arrancar group. The next few had reported similarly, the only difference being the amount of time it took Kurosaki to break out of the spell. Instead of longer--or the appropriate amount--the time it took the masked shinigami to break out was exponentially decreasing. One of his Arrancar had actually died by continuously feeding energy into the spell as Kurosaki fought to break it.

Frowning, Aizen went back to the drawing board. Sixty-seven percent was enough for his creations, but it wasn't good enough for the hybrid. And the only one that was close enough to the Ryoka in stubbornness and power in his ranks would be the perfect subject to test his new kidou.

With the Sexta Espada incapacitated on the ground, Aizen timed how long it took the teal-haired hollow to escape. When he stop watch showed about the same time, Aizen's eyes narrowed. That wouldn't do. After a few adjustments, the exCaptain tried again. This time the Sexta Espada was incapacitated for nearly three hours. Perfect. The god of Las Noches and Hueco Mundo retaught the kidou and washed his hands of it.

It took months for the reports to inform him that the infernal brat was breaking it almost as soon as it was cast. Tweaking and testing again, it took Grimmjow longer to break out, and when doubly cast from the get go, nearly impossible. Reteaching it to the masses and instruction them on how to properly cast it on Ichigo, Aizen Sousuke was pleased to note the reports coming in were now of a sixty-seven percent injury-mortality rate, and that Ichigo could barely break out of the kidou. When he did, he usually passed out from exhaustion after fighting off the arrancar.

Aizen Sousuke was pleased.




Title: Blood
Words:

Blood. That's all that Urahara's grey eyes could see. The red substance was everywhere--on the rocks; the scrub grass and the twisted bushes' the dead looking trees that also dripped gore and viscera; it had even soaked into the sandy soil and helped churn it to a scarlet mud.

the Fourth Squad members in his team were busy checking bodies; finding more dead than alive, but Urahara's grim eyes were frantically searching for a particular person. A slight breeze picked up, ruffling his black uniform and the green robe he obstinately wore over it. IT also ruffled a ripped piece of material on a rock. Carefully crossing the carnage, Urahara examined the fabric. Blood was also on the rock and it looked suspiciously like...

His thoughts came crashing to a halt as what was behind the rock came into view. Ichigo lay on his side, body prone, unconscious. Urahara prayed it was only unconsciousness. Picking his way around the fallen shinigami, Urahara carefully felt for a pulse, releasing a hopeful, shaky breath when one throbbed weakly under his fingers.

"MEDIC!!"

Two members from Fourth came running over.

"Still alive?"

"Yes."

One whispered a binding kidou to keep the patient from waking up and moving while his partner started examining Ichigo. Standard procedure. Until Ichigo's reiatsu exploded; breaking the binding kidou and sending them all flying into the surrounding rocky walls. Urahara watched as Ichigo coughed up a mouthful of blood before attempting to stand; reiatsu still flaming and raging around him in silver-blue flames. He gasped and coughed as he dragged his battered body upright.

"Hanatarou!" Urahara shouted. The exCaptain darted forward and caught Ichigo when the orange haired shinigami-not that you could tell by all the gore on him--he stumbled.

"Y-yes?" The timid seemign Fourth member inquired.

"GEt over here and help me!" Urahara shouted as he gently eased Ichigo back to the ground.

"I need to bind him," Hanatarou replied. "I'm not sure I'm steady enough to do it otherwise."

"Just do it," Urahara replied. When the binding kidou was cast this time, the response was even more violent; Ichigo's spiritual pressure was enough to crack the surrounding boulders and turn some of the smaller rocks to sand.

Urahara lunged at Ichigo, blockign a wild swing with Benihime before coming to an epiphany. He thinks he's being attacked again, Urahara thought. He parried a few more wild swings when he suddenly hissed, gaze glancing to a scarlet tipped Zangetsu. From his elbow to nearly his wrist was flayed open. Wrestling Ichigo's over sized meat cleaver that he called a zanpakuto out of his grip, the blond man seized Ichigo in a strong hug before he could impact with the ground and irritate any injuries he already had.

"Kurosaki-kun?" Urahara asked as he carefully positioned Ichigo on the ground. "Ichigo? Come on, listen. Ichigo?"

Other nonsense was uttered before brown eyes slowly fluttered open; dull with pain. "Ichigo?"

Brown eyes darted to Urahara's grey ones, seeing but not truly focusing. His face scrunched in a grimace Urahara was certain as supposed to be his usual frown.

"Ura...hara?" Ichigo breathed.

The shopkeeper smiled. AT least he was recognized.

"Take it easy; Hanatarou is here to fix you," Urahara gently told him.

"Not...broken," Ichigo complained, squirming a bit.

"Just hold still," Urahara softly admonished.

"No..." Ichigo weakly protested.

"We won't use the binding kidou, promise."

Ichigo seemed to settle after that.

Cautiously, Hanatarou approached the panting youth, giving the boy a cursory scan before he unslung his bag and started pulling things out; jars full of different coloured substances and tins with pungent scents. Talking as he went, he explained that the wounds had to be cleaned out before he could heal them.

"Unohana-taichou found that lower level Arrancar blades can develope a poison to them," the dark haired shinigami explained. "Wouldn't want to seal poison into your system, Kurosaki-kun."

After mixing neon and dull coloured tinctures, Hanatarou smeared the surprisingly pleasant smelling goop on Ichigo's various wounds, the youth hissing and moaning the entire time. He never really threw a fit until the shorter shinigami got to his stomach. Ichigo started fidgeting, forcing Urahara to restrain him. The two shinigami only realized how bad Ichigo actually was once they removed his jacket.

"Um..." Hanatarou stalled, at a loss for words, "I think Unohana Taichou is going to have to look at him."

Urahara agreed. The youth's stomach was, for a lack of better words, shredded. There were at least four different sword slashes in the youth's torso; each a different direction. A rib or two was sticking out on his left side. A few other bones looked to be broken.

"Umm....I don't think I can do anything," Hanatarou repeated.

"Can you do anything so he doesn't fall apart?"

Hanatarou fretted before supplying a binding kidou they could use. With Urahara's thoughts about that brand of kidou, he didn't think Ichigo would let them.

"Kurosaki-kun?" Nothing.

"Ichigo?" The boy's eyes fluttered.

"Hrm?" The substitute breathed.

Urahara paused, biting his lip--a habit he had picked up from Ichigo--before continuing. "Due to the severity of your injuries, we need to immobilize you. The only way to do it is with a special binding kidou that the Fourth uses."

"No..." was his breathed response as Ichigo started to fret and in his worrying, began squirming, irritating his injuries.

"Kurosaki-san, you need to be still!" Hanatarou fretted. "You'll hurt yourself more!"

The man--boy really--stilled but Urahara could tell he was still agitated.

"I will personally see you to Unohana myself if you allow the kidou."

Hanatarou and Urahara watched Ichigo as the youth struggled to breathe. After weakly coughing, Ichigo seemed to settle.

"Zangetsu?"

"I'll get him," Hanatarou supplied, rushing off to find the over-sized cleaver the substitute fondly called a sword.

"You'd...do that?"

It took Urahara a minute to remember Ichigo's thought process.

"Yes."

"Found it!"

"..'Kay...s'long as you do it."

Ichigo weakly grasped out for his sword. Urahara took it from Hanatarou and gave it to the orange haired youth. Settling his green coat on the ground next to Ichigo.

"Do it," Urahara instructed as he let go on masking his reiatsu.

Urahara's presence brushed across his senses as he felt the binding kidou lock his body. Instinctual panic arose until a familiar calloused hand ran through his dirty, matted locks. "It's okay, Ichigo."

The youth would have said something if he wasn't bough--or had the energy to do so.

There were hands on his shoulders and feet as he felt himself being moved, then there was an odd sensation of floating before the soothing waves of Urahara's reiatsu lulled him to sleep.




Title: Intermission: Healing and Recovery
Words:

Ichigo opened his eyes to be greeted by blue sky. Gingerly picking himself up, the youth found himself to be laying on the top of a building. Upon further investigation, Ichigo quickly realized he was in his inner world. The roiling, angry clouds heralded bad weather.

"really messed up this time, King."

Ichigo spun around to greet the unusually serious gold eyes of his hollow.

"What do you mean?"

"If the Green Fox hadn't shown up when he did, I don't know what woulda happened."

"I don't get it."

"Of course ya don't."

"Where's Zangetsu?"

"Sleeping."

Odd...his hollow was being most obliging.

"Why are you attacking?"

"Why indeed."

"You don't usually sit and chat," Ichigo stated after a few moments of silence, brown eyes studying his opposite. The creature looked sick.

"Heh, ain't lookin' too good, am I?"

"You've looked better," Ichigo agreed.

"We're dying, yannow."

Ichigo swallowed. He was afraid that was the reason he was here; to make peace with himself.

"Ya think he'll finally wear something other than green?"

"How come your healing factor hasn't kicked in?"

"Stuff," the hollow said evasively.

"Like?"

"Poison," The hollow replied. "Can't antidote and heal."

"Then just work on the poison, dumbshit!" Ichigo admonished. He didn't really have the energy to get truly mad at the hollow that shared his soul.

"We'll bleed ta death."

"You said Urahara found me."

"But'cha ain't no where near Fourth."

"He'll get us there."

The hollow's baleful glare was distrustful.

"Just fucking do it!" Ichigo demanded. "He's half the reason you're here in the first place."

The one who fancied himself Shirochi grinned. "You're the king."

In reality, never mind the binding spell, Ichigo convulsed and coughed up blood.

0_0onsnap0_0...0_0ohsnap0_0...0_0ohsnap0_0

"This is Dogwood Alpha-Team, come in Fourth, over."

"This is Fourth Base. Continue Dogwood Alpha, over."

"We need Captain Unohana dispatched to the coordinates I'm sending now. A few are critically injured that require her experience, over."

"...she will arrive as quickly as she can, Hanatarou. Be safe. Over and Out."

Hanatarou left the communication tent intent on the group leader. He met anxious grey eyes. "He coughed up blood again," Urahara informed him.

The smaller shinigami sighed. : half wish he'd wake up and tell us what's wrong with him."

"I'm glad he killed whoever did this to him,: Urahara said as he stroked dirty orange hair. "On one hand, he disposed of powerful enemies. On the other hand, I don't have to hunt down and destroy who did this to him."

0_0onsnap0_0...0_0ohsnap0_0...0_0ohsnap0_0

Everything was wrong. Sound was loud then quiet; clear then distorted and tinny. It felt like fire raced along his veins, burning with every pulse of his heart. Yet there was ice in his lungs. He could feel it scrape and burn in its own way every time he breathed. A big chunk of it was just sitting in his chest. It needed to go.

Hot eyelids squeezed together as searing, whooping coughs wracked his body. Something thick and gross was in his mouth. He barely had the energy to spit whatever it was out.

Ichigo groaned. He felt like shit.

"Is he awake? Is he lucid?" A familiar voice inquired.

"It's hard to tell with how his reiatsu is fluttering and changing," a soft voice, slightly less familiar, answered. "He's by no means stable."

He managed to pry open heavy eyelids. IT took a moment for his sick eyes to focus, but when they did, he was met with the slightly relieved visages of Urahara and Unohana. He could just make out Hanatarou in the back.

"How do you feel, Ichigo?" The Captain of Fourth asked.

"Like...shit," he rasped. Fuck, it hurt to exist.

"Unohana-taichou managed to heal you, but your poisoned," Hanatarou explained.

"I know," Ichigo sighed. He wanted a Popsicle...maybe a freeze pop.

"You know?" He couldn't tell who asked that; sound was beginning to twist and bend again.

"Oth'r...told me...dying," he managed to mumble out.

"You're not dying, Ichigo," The speaking voice sounded deeper--Urahara perhaps?

"Not what he said." The need to cough started to tickle his chest.

"Zangetsu?"

"Coul'n't find 'im," Ichigo mumbled as he struggled to breathe around the building ice. "the name--" his sentence was cut off with a painful cough full of congealed something that tasted sweet and bloody.

"That can't be good," was the last thing Ichigo heard before he sank into unconsciousness, bypassing his inner world altogether.

0_0onsnap0_0...0_0ohsnap0_0...0_0ohsnap0_0

"Did you notice his reiatsu fluctuation?" Urahara watched Unohana clean up the green and yellow mass with care. As a healer and scientist, she'd want to know what comprised such a debilitating poison.

"I did," Urahara surmised it'd be hard not to. But two very intelligent people, each with their own agenda, were together in one room.

"It's completely different from when he's still. It's almost Hollow-like them."

Urahara watched his exCollegue with guarded eyes.

"He's not a threat," Urahara carefully replied.

Unohana smiled. "That's all I needed--"

She was cut off as Ichigo coughed again.

0_0onsnap0_0...0_0ohsnap0_0...0_0ohsnap0_0

The first thing he noticed was the burning was gone. Someone was touching him but it wasn't a searing fire like last time; it was soft, normal maybe. He felt wrung out; like every limb weighed a ton and his head was huge and full of cotton. He groaned and shifted to try and get more comfortable...

...or he tried to.

He was bound.

The fingers were gone.

Panicking, tired eyes flew open as his reiatsu shifted and swelled; feeling out the kidou so he could break it with the most efficiency.

"Whoa! Easy there, Ichigo."

The familiar voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Jeez, I step out to grab some food and you wake up." The voice's owner stepped into his line of vision to reveal the green-clad figure of Urahara. Ichigo tried to ask where he was and why he was bound, but all that came out was a strangled meep. Panicky eyes sought out Urahara's. The shop owner sighed, running fingers through Ichigo's in a familiar gesture.

"You were hurt quite seriously, Unohana patched you up with little difficulty, but the poison took some doing."

Ichigo gave him a quizzical look that clearly demanded to know what happened with the poison.

"It seems your hollow took care of it."

A quirked eyebrow.

"From what Unohana figured out, your hollow tried to heal your physical injuries and get rid of the poison at the same time, but it was too draining on your already damaged system and the energy drain would have killed you, but for some reason it turned to purging your system of the poison."

Ichigo vaguely recalled a conversation about poison with his hollow in his inner world. Urahara did something with his hands and Ichigo's body settled. Propping the youth up on some pillows, Urahara held out some broth on a spoon.

Ichigo made a face as soon as the liquid touched his tongue.

Urahara laughed.






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