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Undisclosed Devotion	By : horrorgal Category: Bleach > Yaoi - Male/Male > Ichigo/Ishida Views: 7352 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, nor the characters. I do not profit from this story.

Chapter List
- 15
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Chapter 16

"You ready?" Ichigo asked from the doorway as Uryu was slipping the cape over his shoulders to fasten to his jacket.

"Nearly. I guess I should at least look the part if I'm going to help stop them." He looked at Ichigo. "Whatever happens, I want the chance to ask him why."

"I don't think any answer he gives with be satisfactory, or even sane for that matter."

"Probably not. All that matters is that we stop them from causing anymore harm," he said as he slid four Seele Schneider into the loops on his belt. "I just feel like I have to ask to try and understand how his mind works."

"You look sexy," Ichigo complimented him, changing the subject for a moment.

Uryu straightened his glasses, his expression serious. "This isn't the time for that," he said, but didn't sound as annoyed as he looked, needlessly checking the cross that adorned his wrist. "Besides, you've always been vocal about how absurd you think my battle attire is."

"That was just clever deception on my part. I couldn't have you knowing otherwise, even if that cape of yours nearly got you killed on one or two occasions."

"That only happened once!" Uryu said, cheeks slightly flushed.

"So far," Ichigo teased and hugged him before he could get a punch on the arm.

"Jerk." The tension left his body as he snuggled into his embrace. "I'll be glad when this is over."

"Let's go take care of it then." He gently lifted Uryu's chin with his fingertips and pressed a soft kiss against his lips. "We better go or I'm not going to stop kissing you," he said as he pulled back reluctantly.

"Wait." Uryu grabbed his hand.

"What's up?"

"I love you." Ichigo smiled and the beauty of it warmed him. "I mean it," he added, as if he would think he was just saying it on a whim.

"I love you too."

"When this is over, I want to concentrate on us." He looked deep into his eyes. "I'm ready."

"Hey, love birds, we're ready to head out!" Renji yelled from the front of the shop.

Ichigo sighed. "We're coming!" He looked back at Uryu. "You're sure?"

"Definitely."

Ichigo kisses him again. "Then we're both ready."

"Guys?" Renji called out, sounding impatient.

"Come on, before they come and drag us out."

Urahara was outside the shop waiting with the rest of them, though Mayuri was nowhere to be seen. He questioned his absence in silence, but didn't ask. Ichigo assumed the man would be eager to confront his former subordinate. Maybe he was wrong. They didn't need him to take care of the problem anyway. It was probably better he wasn't involved. Ichigo didn't much like his weird way of dealing with things.

"Where are Karin and Yuzu?" Ichigo asked.

"They're still in the shop. Don't worry, if any of the enemy come this way, Tessai, Jinta and Ururu are here to protect them," Isshin said.

"Just in case, I also had them go below in the training grounds," Urahara added.

"Good," Ichigo said. "I wouldn't put it past that bastard to try using my sisters somehow."

Isshin knew the risk was even greater than Ichigo imagined. They would be killed because they had the blood of a Quincy, just as much as he did. Ichigo remained unaware, but it would have to wait. Ryuken caught his eye for a brief moment, but he got the message clearly. Sometime soon, he would have to tell him everything.

"The plan is simple enough. We head to the hospital and flush them out. Be ready though. I'm sure Saburou has prepared for this. There will most likely be security in place, as well as traps for intruders."

"Great," Renji muttered.

Urahara passed the repaired bracelets back out to them. "More in our favor. These will work now. I lay my reputation down on it."

"Your reputation of being a sneaky bastard, or your genius?" Rukia said, fastening hers around her wrist.

Urahara smirked. "Both, of course." He turned his attention to Ryuken. "You said there are four possible entryways to the sub-basement of the hospital, correct?"

"Yes, unless damage has blocked any of the passageways." Ryuken opened the map in his hands and pointed out each entrance.

"Good. There are enough of you to go in each entrance in pairs," Urahara said.

"What about you?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm staying on the outside with the other shinigami in case any of them run out to escape. We can all keep in contact through the bracelets. I added that little feature. Just press the ear on the bunny and talk."

Rukia did so and said a little hello. She smiled when she heard her voice from each bracelet. "Aw, how cute."

"Did you really have to keep the damn bunny?" Ichigo asked and got a kick in the shin for it.

"Ouch! Dammit, Rukia!"

"Can we all focus here?" Ryuken said, losing patience.

"Yeah," Ichigo said with a soft hiss as he knelt and rubbed his leg. "Sorry." He gave Rukia a scathing look, but didn't say another word about bunnies or other nonsense. She just smirked in return. "So, the plan is we head in each entrance in pairs and find their hideout, while you stay on the outside for runners, or any other trouble." He stood back up. "Works for me."

"If any of them surrender, then capture them. If they want to go down fighting, well, you know what to do. Saburou, on the other hand, is to be captured either way. Soul Society wants him brought in. That is our orders from the Captain Commander," Renji said.

"Very well. Sounds reasonable enough," Ryuken said. "If this Saburou wants a fight though, I will not go easy on him. Your Captain Commander can have him in bandages."

"That works too as long as he's breathing," Renji agreed.

"We'll just see who gets to him first," Uryu said and looked at his father.

"Are we making this a contest then?" Ryuken asked.

"I'm not so juvenile as that."

Ichigo leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Have you forgotten the Hollow bait incident?" The punch to his arm was as quick and well aimed as always. "Why do I keep getting hit?!"

Isshin pointed at the map and got their attention. "If we are done making bets now, we should pair up and pick what entrances we are going to."

"Rukia and I will take the entrance on the north side," Renji said.

"I'll go with Orihime," Chad said, close by her side. She gave a soft nod, a look of determination on her face. "We'll take the east."

"Ryuken, I think you and I should take the west," Isshin said and looked at him for agreement.

"Alright. That leaves you two at the south entrance." Ryuken said to Ichigo and Uryu. "Be careful, both of you."

"Don't worry, we will be," Ichigo assured him.

"Watch out for stray needles," Uryu said, looking directly at his father. "I didn't like having to fight you like that."

"No more than I did." Ryuken hinted at a smile. "Come on, Isshin. Lets see who gets there first." And they were off.

~~~

The hospital had more damage than Ichigo remembered, or he had just simply been too busy with that hollow and dealing with Don Kanonji that he hadn't noticed how much of said damage he had caused to the run down hospital that night that felt so long ago. He hadn't even been by the place since then, and it looked even more decayed in daylight. He would think it looked haunted if he were just a normal human teenager. As it was, he couldn't feel or see signs of spirits or hollow coming from the building.

Uryu stood with him along the treeline, watching the large building for signs of movement. His blue eyes were keen, focused on the structure, absently touching his cross. The others had went to their designated entryways. Ichigo looked above and could see Ikkaku and Yumichika in wait, along with Urahara and Yoruichi. There were a few others around, hidden from sight. All in all, the bastards were surrounded, but they probably already knew it. The building remained undisturbed, a stone carcass in isolation.

"We should move. The others are probably already inside," Ichigo said in a low tone as if someone unwanted could hear him.

"You don't think they got the bombs placed while we were planning, do you?"

"I doubt they had time. From the sound of their conversation, they had to construct them first." Ichigo could understand his concern. After listening to Saburou speak with his comrades through the connection of the needle, it had weighed on all their minds. It was sick, the work of any ordinary terrorist at best as he had spoke of his plans to place bombs is crowded areas of the town to set off. It would have caused maybe hundreds of deaths, and thrown them into a scramble of confusion, leaving them more vulnerable to attack as they tried to help innocent people.

"He wants my kind dead so badly that he's willing to kill innocent people." Uryu frowned, his expression filled with a cold anger that Ichigo did not see often of him. "Why should we let him live after we get him to talk?"

"He'll have to answer for this, Uryu. There's no way they would just let this go unpunished." He slid his hand against his, a light touch of skin that pulled Uryu's intent gaze away from the hospital. "You don't usually sound so bloodthirsty," he said, only partly teasing.

"Almost being murdered a few times does that to me, I guess," he answered, at least losing the cold tone of voice that had accompanied his anger. "I'll be okay. I do have my honor. Come on." He moved forward and Ichigo followed, the both of them quick to reach the entrance. It was locked of course, but with a short burst of blue energy, Uryu busted it loose and pushed the door open cautiously.

The interior was dark, but the daylight from the open door cut through the dense shadow. The wide hallway was covered with dirt and trash, that as far as Ichigo could see, was undisturbed. A wheelchair sat against the right wall, but nothing else. The seat of it was tattered and frayed, one armrest broken off. Some graffiti covered the otherwise gray, peeling walls, but even those looked old. No human had been here, not in this area at least, for a while.

The door that led to the sub-basement below was on the left. Ichigo was the first to step forward. The doors were unlocked this time. It was darker here, the widows high up on the wall covered in grim from too many years of neglect. Most of the lights were broken and even if they hadn't been, Ichigo wasn't sure if there was power to work them. Uryu's hand lifted, palm up as he pulled bright blue reishi to him. It floated there above his hand like a candles flame to light their way.

"When did you learn to do that?"

"It's a simple skill really."

"Show off," Ichigo muttered playfully as they descended. They moved silent like ghosts, both diligent for any traps or trip alarms that may be along the way. They reached the bottom of the stairway that opened up into a large storage area. The shelves were mostly bare except for a few boxes that looked empty. The air smelled musky and old. "This feels off," Ichigo said.

"What do you mean?" Uryu asked, moving through a open door to explore further.

Ichigo wasn't far behind. "I mean it feels empty."

"Honestly, you're right. I was expecting to run into a trap or something by now." The next room was just as sparse as the previous one. Dusty and dark with a thick smell of mildew and decay. "This hospital has been closed for several years, but this much degeneration seems like it's been far longer," Uryu mused softly. Ichigo muttered in agreement as they made their way further. "Wait." Uryu halted and looked around the room they were standing in. "The design isn't right here."

Ichigo looked at him, then studied the room. "Yes, according to the map we looked at before we left the shop, this room should be a little bigger and have two other entry and exit ways, right? What the Hell is going on?"

Uryu pulled more reishi for a brighter light and lifted his hand higher to look about. "The door we came through is gone," he said, walking back to what was now a bare wall with no exit. "Dammit!"

"Did we trigger a trap without realizing it? Like, a illusion of some kind?"

"I don't know. I didn't see any traps, but I can't think of any other explanation."

Ichigo pressed the button on his bracelet. "Hey, can anyone hear me?" No answer. "Chad, Orihime!" Dead silence answered. "Uryu, try yours," he said, pulling Zangetsu off his back.

"Can any of you hear me?" He listened for a response, pulling one of his Seele Schneider, transferring the reishi on his palm through it to make the blade, it's light keeping the room visible for them. "Mine isn't working either," he said, watching Ichigo examine the wall.

"I'll cut through," Ichigo said, already raising his zanpakuto high to swing downward across the wall.

"Don't!"

Ichigo grunted and stopped mid-swing. "Why?"

"We don't know what is going on. If we are in some kind of illusion, you could be attacking something other than what looks like a wall. We have to be calm and think this through."

"You think everyone else is in the same situation?"

"Possibly." He looked around the room with disdain. "Probably," he corrected himself. "It's affecting the bracelets as well, or whatever is going on it's alternating our perception enough that it just seems like they aren't working. Can't be sure." He wandered around the room as if he could find an answer. "The longer this goes on, the more cowardly they become. Why can't they face us instead of using these tricks?"

"I'm wondering if Saburou really planned on planting bombs or not now. Maybe he suspected we were listening in and it was a ruse to get us to come to them and he set this whole thing up. Or maybe this is just a trap he had prepared already. Either way, if they didn't know we were here before, they definitely do now."

"Another door just appeared." Uryu pointed toward it with the blue glow of his energy blade.

"Should we go through?"

"Looks like we have to for now." Uryu answered. "We'll play his game, but we'll make sure he can do nothing but lose."

Ichigo followed him into the next room, and to his surprise it looked like the underground caves of Hueco Mundo. By the time he turned his head to look, the door they just passed through had vanished. Uryu looked about, lips parted slightly. It certainly wasn't what either of them expected to see. Oddly, there was more light here, and Uryu's energy blade became less of a torch and more of a weapon as it was meant to be. The cave went on as far as the eye could see.

"Elaborate illusion," Uryu said, almost in awe.

"Or they gassed us with some serious drugs. Neither one is a good choice." Even the flow of air felt the same. "It's like we're back in Hueco Mundo again. It feels and looks so real."

"It's not though. We have to keep that in mind."

"I know." Ichigo gave his bracelet another try, but the result was the same. "Shit, this whole thing is like a bad horror movie. Just stick close to me. We don't need to get separated next."

"Let's keep moving. There has to be a end to this somewhere."

~~~

Saburou watched the monitors, pleased now that he had the upper hand again. His idea payed off in a way that he hadn't anticipated. It turned out to be luck in his favor, but he surmised that even though he couldn't hear through the needle's connection, that perhaps they had heard him. Boasting of bomb attacks on unsuspecting humans had certainly gotten their attention. The bombs were not complete, but he didn't need them now that the mice were in the maze. How they figured out where to find them was still a mystery, but one he was happy to ignore for the time being.

One last invention was finally being put to use. A last resort, but one that could prove to be successful. As soon as each one of them stepped foot inside the abandoned hospital, they were snared into his trap of illusions. Not exactly a powerful force like Aizen's zanpakuto, and the illusion wouldn't last forever, but long enough to put a end to this. He sent his three companions off without delay to take care of the others. He would deal with Kurosaki and Ishida himself. He smiled as he watched them as they wandered in a confused state. He got up to be on his way. It was time to end their confusion before Urahara and the others on the outside realized something was wrong.

Saburou hurried from his lab and went to greet his guests, so eager to do so that he didn't notice the slight displacement on the far wall. A shimmer that was almost invisible to the naked eye. A row of teeth grinned like a monstrous demon in wait of prey. His eyes opened and swiveled here and there to look about the lab that was now void of all but he. "Saburou, you little shit. Time for you to pay for having the balls to steal from me," Mayuri said in a hiss, sounding as cold blooded as a slithering snake going in for the kill.

AN: Mayuri is one sneaky bastard. How did he get in without Saburou knowing, and how long has he been there? I'll just say this, he'll never tell, and he is smarter than Saburou could ever dream of being. :D That said, hope you all liked the chapter.
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Undisclosed Devotion