Straitjacket Feeling

 

The long walk back towards her own wing was constantly plagued by the thought of what he had said and the constant echo of his words as they bounced back and forth through her mind. For a creature who was technically heartless... she wondered what it would be like to feel the beat of another in an empty chest. She questioned herself if either of them really had the strength to pull through this; part of her seriously doubted the possibilities and continued to point to the low chances of pulling off such a feat.

But part of her didn't want to give up either.

It was a strange... almost ugly feeling in her chest; a disease that wished to rot itself into the epicenter of her mind. But she couldn't allow for the humanistic weakness to disrupt her role in this situation. She couldn't allow for something like that to sidetrack her ability to carry on this offspring.

And yet, it continued to remain there in the back of her mind.

Growing and thriving much like the life inside of her.

A heavy knock on her bedroom door caught her from her thoughts; forcing her to become blatantly aware of the prison-like room around her. It felt like any kind of surrounding that lack his presence was no longer worth mentioning or even observing anymore. What was wrong with her? She was giving away to this new... temptation and ultimately losing what she had once been. The person on the other end didn't wait for a call and instead pushed the door aside like it was nothing more than air.

The first person she took notice of was Captain Mayuri.

The second was the female Captain following behind him: Captain Unohana.

"Captain Mayuri." she spoke as she quickly pushed herself from her bed and recomposed herself; bowing lightly in acknowledgement. "Captain Unohana."

"I'm going to assume that you've been in here this whole time." Mayuri started.

She hesitated for a moment before she slowly nodded. "Yes, Captain. I followed your orders as you gave them."

"You've been in here this whole time?" Unohana questioned.

"Yes ma'am."

"Well then... I'm going to have to request that you just stay in here a bit longer; I wish to discuss a few things with you, in private." the Captain spoke; her last two words seemed to irritate her own Captain and she wondered what had happened between the two. They were never... on even terms and he had spoken harshly about the female Captain numerous times.

There was a tense moment as the facial muscles of her Captain seemed to twitch and stiffen several times as he thought over the words carefully. "You have half an hour- that's all."

She watched as with those words, he turned and left; pulling the door tightly closed behind him. It took her a few seconds before she turned her attention back to the black-haired Captain before her. "Is there something I can help you with, Captain Unohana?"

The woman closed her eyes for a moment and slowly breathed in before she held the air in her chest; when it was released, those mother-like eyes opened and a small almost sympathetic smile seemed to turn at her lips. "Your Captain explained to us this entire situation; I have offered to lend my assistance to this... 'cause.'"

"Why? Our facility is well equipped to take care of this entire procedure-"

"I have no doubts about that, believe me. Unfortunately, I have my suspicions that everyone is well-equipped to take care of the research, observations and whatever else needs to be done to track every little step of this journey. However, I do not believe that anyone here is equipped to take care of you."

She found herself almost frowning at the remark; unable to figure out what they were supposed to mean in reference to herself. She could take care of herself just fine... she didn't see why another Division had to get involved; let alone the one Division that rivaled their own. "I... Captain Unohana, I don't believe I understand what you mean. I apologize but I must ask that you explain it to me again."

"Don't you think if having a child was easy more people would be having them?" Unohana chuckled. "The point is, everyone is ready to see how this whole thing progresses and see what kind of advancements we can pull from it. I believe that's incorrect. Now while... I'm not exactly sure of how this whole situation happened, the details of it were kept from me, but that doesn't change things for now; the point is, I want to make sure that your health doesn't get lost in this chaotic excitement. I'm arranging for a small medical team to check on you on a daily basis and make sure that things don't get out of hand. I doubt anyone here would even notice distress signs; your blood pressure could drop, irregular heartbeat, epilepsy, anemia, placental abruption, a list of things that go on and on. And frankly to say, I don't believe this facility can properly handle those kind of medical emergencies should they occur. Now... believe me, this was not an easy decision to reach and the debate was horrifying but we found some middle grounds and I was given this piece. And I will push the boundaries on this piece as much as I can to get the most out of it. This is not going to be an easy ride, there are going to be complications that we won't even know how to deal with and I'd much rather avoid making it seems as though you were abandoned in this kind of situation. My team will be handling how things go when it comes to fetal development and progress; we'll handle heartbeats, ultrasounds, anything of the sort." she paused for a moment and let that motherly essence settle. "Of all the people for this to happen to... I just wish there was more of an alternative route to go along with this- something that doesn't resemble a prison sentence."

She slowly nodded at the words as everything fell back together. "I appreciate your concern, Captain Unohana. I can assure you that, regardless of the possible problems, they won't pose a severe threat against my health; my body was engineered to withstand damages beyond most human comprehension."

"So I've heard, Nemu, but then again you haven't experienced what it's like to carry a child; not many have." Unohana reminded lightly. "Now then, I must tell my team to get ready and prepare themselves; they'll be with you within the hour, I promise. Unfortunately, I must go back and speak with Captain Mayuri once more... there are still a few details that we have not yet gone through. Although... I must ask just one thing before I go and I only require that you tell me exact answer."

"I will do my best."

"What is the current situation with you and this... 'Espada?' I want to know if you two have been left alone for a period of time recently or if you even want to include him in on this research; how exactly do you feel about this?"

For one question, there was a lot to go along with it. And she questioned herself over what to tell the Captain. It had been requested that she tell the truth and she honestly couldn't bring herself to ignore that small demand. Her room was fairly secured as well so... it was impossible for someone to be eavesdropping on them. "I'm afraid I cannot give you concrete answer at this moment; as for his inclusion for this research, that decision is solely up to my Captain. And I'm sure he has given you plenty of his opinion of the Espada already at this point."

"Oh yes, an entire discussion on it."

"I'm neither confident in my answer to your last question either. My feelings on this case are none too important and I would like if they were removed for the sake of this experiment."

The Captain almost appeared disappointed at her response. "You don't have a single opinion on this entire thing? Not even a thought?"

An answer seem to catch itself in her throat and she toyed with the temptation to say it out loud. "I have... just one small remark, or rather observation. Ever since the news came around and... my Captain toyed with the idea of bringing in other subjects for experimental testing... he's been acting strange."

"How so?"

"I... visited him almost an hour ago." she slowly admitted; watching as the other Captain seemed to see no harm in the lie. "Beforehand, when we spoke, he referred to me as his 'mate' but we both agreed that neither of us felt anything towards the other. But now... during our last session together, he said that that was in the past now; he said he was forming a bond to me and wanted to see where it would go. I haven't told him anything yet but I'm not sure if I can return those kind of emotions. There's a... connection somewhere between us and maybe I'm mislabeling it, maybe that's our 'bond' but I can't bring myself to accept it."

"So then you... feel sympathy for this man?"

"I did before; he was in a horrible condition and I knew it was because of me. It was one of the reasons why I visited him so often... I wanted to try and keep him company even if my attendance reminded him of his hate for me. But it didn't, it never did. It was almost like he enjoyed my presence instead and we... we used to talk a lot; nothing specific but just over meaningless things that held no importance to either of us. That sympathy is what pushed me across that line. Or at least, it was the start of it. After that... I believe it was my own choice to... be with him occasionally."

"How many times did you two... engage in sexual activities?"

"It went from being once to, last checked, up to fifteen times."

The answer seemed to catch the woman off-guard slightly; her dark eyes hinted at her surprise at the number. "Well then, I suppose-"

The bedroom door was pushed open once more to reveal her Captain again on the other side. "Your time is up."

She caught the slight frown on the woman's lips before she silently turned back towards her own Captain. "Perfect timing; I just finished up explaining everything and I'm sure I have given my team plenty enough time to prepare themselves. I will send them a message later when I'm ready for them to be deployed; until then, I suppose we will continue our discussion on the details of this plan."

"How lovely."

She stood back and watched as Captain Unohana walked herself out of the room and had the door closed loudly behind her; locking her once again into the solitude. Perhaps the silence would give her time to think and... heal. She wasn't entirely sure what needed healing but it felt like a part of her was hurting almost.

XXXX

XXX

XX

"I wish to speak to this Espada."

"No."

She wasn't surprised at his sharp answer but that wouldn't derail her just yet. "I believe it would be in everyone's best interest if we kept communications with them both open and-"

"Last time I recalled, I didn't stutter." Mayuri replied as he lead the woman back towards his office. "And why would you even want to converse with a creature like that?"

"I suppose I just have my reasons." Unohana remarked. "Are you even going to inform him of this decision of yours? Your experiment you wish to put into motion?"

A sharp click came from the tip of his tongue as the woman grew more and more into a throne lodged in his side. "He's been very well aware of it since the beginning of this."

"And how did he take it?"

"Surprisingly enough, he seemed unwilling but that doesn't matter anymore; he doesn't a choice at this point. It's all for research and Science, in a faint sense, he'll understand that much."

"And if he doesn't."

He stopped as he reached the door of his office before he turned back towards the black-haired woman; reading the obvious sharp concern in her eyes. The woman was always on every case about treatment and submitting herself as a third party to remove herself from being biased; it was more of annoyance than anything else. "You're making me starting to regret sealing that deal with you."

"I can tell but at this point, you can't risk losing my support." she reminded. "You've managed to split the place in half and if I pulled out... well then I can't say that this operation would still be on it's feet. I'm only here to ensure the fair treatment of both parties because without my supervision of such thing... who knows what would happen."

"This is ridiculous."

"Now then, I wish to repeat my earlier request."

A mild mutter left him as he grew tired of her presence already. "Fine, I'll give you ten minutes to speak with him but that's it. Akon here will take you there; I have a lot of work to start on and I can't risk wasting any more time."

She tried not to seem put off as the male Captain stepped into his office and slammed the door behind him. Shaking her head, she looked to the horned- Division member who was standing close by; he appeared to had been in the middle of something but decided to drop it for the sake of his new order. "Alright, well then, let's speak to this man."

"Yes ma'am." he nodded as he started towards their destination. "This would be a good time for me to run him through the upcoming events and introduce him to the first subject."

"First subject? Already?"

"Yes, surprisingly enough, it appears as though the Divisions who lended their support were... gracious enough to lend some of their female members as well; it was an odd donation but it saves us the trouble of looking for them. We're putting them through some test right now, just to check blood types and any other medical conditions that could effect this procedure. We're not releasing their names right now for confidentiality and personal reasons."

While the new situation was curious... she supposed she never really had any intention of asking who these women were. After all, this was their decision and it was no one else's business to question them. Perhaps in the long run... they would be doing it for the greater good, or at least something along those lines hopefully. It all seemed a bit ridiculous but that was not her place to step into; she was just here to make sure that everyone involved would get the medical attention they need should it be needed.

She took in a light inhale as the change in the facility around her became more drastic as the temperature dropped and it started to become more and more enclosed. It was like walking into a prison as the bare walls seemed to be stripped of even the bareness and exposed the cold metal underneath. "Goodness..."

"These rooms were built as a precaution should an experiment go wrong; they were put in place when Captain Mayuri first started experimenting with artificial beings like many of us here. I suppose there was a possibility of one of us going wrong but these cells haven't been used much until now."

She supposed that would make sense but... still it seemed just a bit cruel instead. But again, it wasn't her place to judge; she had to remind herself that she was merely a guest. She continued to follow the Division member down the narrowing corridor as it weaved slightly before everything seemed to empty out till only one room remained at the other end. "I suppose isolation was a key in this."

"Something like that." he agreed as he carefully reached the door; hands worked to undo the multitude of locks before he carefully twisted the doorknob and pulled it open.

The crack of air releasing told her that the room felt as though it was literally separated from the rest of the building; sealed tightly in a dark corner to be forgotten about till later usage. She waited for the man to step inside before she followed afterwards; taking in the holding room, she supposed it wasn't as bad as she had first imagined.

"There's a guest here who wishes to speak to you." Akon announced.

"How exciting."

She took hint of the dullness in his tone first before she took notice of the figure it came from. He didn't even bother to move from where he was slightly reclined on the single bed; his back half-pressed against the headboard as he seemed more interested in filing his nails. His body form was slender and almost lanky as the bend of his position reflected the still managed muscular-structure of his body. The massive collection of scars over his skin disturbed her slightly as she recognized the procedures some of them were based off of. His chest seemed to show a majority of them as the tissues overlapped one another in different hues of pink to blood red; next was his abdomen and then his arms. He didn't seem to care much of them though.

Dark amber eyes glanced up to her for a moment but didn't seem to give her much of a second thought; they went right back to the file after just a few seconds. "You must be... Captain Unohana, is that correct?"

"Hmm, how did you know?"

"Lucky guess maybe." he shrugged.

"Captain Mayuri sent me to inform you-"

"I don't really care."

She watched as Akon didn't seem too put off about it and only gave a moment before he continued. "The experimental procedure is starting and the first subject will be here within the hour."

"How fun."

"Akon, would you mind giving me some time to speak privately?" Unohana questioned; watching as he seemed to hesitate for a moment. "It'll only be for a minute or two." that didn't seem to convince him but he reluctantly fulfilled her request and slowly moved towards the door. She waited till he had stepped outside before she turned back to the disinterested man. "I must say, you've caused quite a stir."

"So I've heard." he remarked. "Everyone is all a buzz about it, it's interesting to hear... But do tell me, why is such a... Captain like yourself here? Or even involved in this?"

"I'm here to keep an eye on her when no one else does." she answered; noticing that his movements slowed to a small stop at the mention. He seemed to be stuck somewhere in his thoughts as a few still moments stopped him before he continued on with what he was doing. "I already asked her but now... I want to ask you the same thing-"

"To be honest, this whole operation makes me want to perform a homemade lobotomy on myself." he interrupted.

"I was going to ask what your current situation with Nemu was."

"Oh... well, that's not entirely your business." he answered quickly.

"It's just a curious thought."

"Yes and how tragic it is to have a curious thought be put to death." he followed as he tried to keep focus on something other than the woman. "But... what is it that you really want to know?"

"I want to know if you even want to be involved in this."

He kept his eyes on the file but his focus waned in and out between his thoughts; he didn't even notice the sharp end of the file slowly beginning to dig into the tissue along one nail. "I don't believe your kind would even comprehend my thought on this whole thing. You're treating this much like when a dog gives birth to a litter; sure, the offsprings are cute and you ogle over them but by the next day, you're giving them away to the first taker. She doesn't deserve to be treated like that." he paused slightly as he noticed the blood droplets slowly rolling off his somewhat managed fingertip; the nail partly carved out of the flesh with the tip of the file lost beneath pierced tissue. "

She watched as he tossed the file aside and pushed himself to his feet; giving sight to his rather extensive height and the inward curve of his body. There were fresh cuts on his back that ran alongside white scars; those however, did not appear to be from any medical or scientific procedure... He disappeared into what might've been another separate room and she assumed that was her hint to leave; he had no other reason to talk to her and he certainly didn't want to either.

He listened to the shriek of the door pulling to another close over the gentle rush of water from the sink; watching as the tainted liquid swirled freely down the drain. The damage wasn't too bad and the nail wasn't completely torn off, although it might've been better if it had been. Shutting off the water, he let an elongated sigh leave him as the pressing issues and stress from the day was slowly beginning to catch up to him. It was irritating. Shaking his head, he walked back across the ceramic room and barely made it to the doorway before the door shrilled once more. "For the love of-" he muttered as he stepped out to see who was here to annoy him once more.

It was a different figure this time; one he had never seen before.

Short, black hair seemed chopped off in the front while it extended into two braids at the back of the skull; these braids almost seemed to threaten the figure's own height. They were... needless to say, incredibly short; humorously almost. The loose-fitting Shinigami outfit gave little help to depicting their gender, although the slim-shaped jawline and high cheekbones gave him a good guess on it. The white material of a jacket over the shoulders hinted at their high seating in the Society; the agitated expression on their face intrigued him.

"And what do we have here?"

Pitch-black eyes turned to him and another frown found itself at those thin lips; he felt them run over him once before they ended back at his own. "You must be the ugliest thing I've seen in a long time."

"You're not entirely my type either- oh wait... you're actually female."

A scowl came to the woman as the wrinkle in her nose said more about her than anything so far; her evident frown showed her distaste for the overall situation and even so... she still managed to find herself here regardless. "Don't interpret this the wrong way. I'm not here because of any sense of support for this rather crude waste of time; in fact I could've lived happily without even knowing a word of it. But unfortunately it was thrown into my face and everyone seems to be having fun picking a side over this."

"And decided to pick the side where you could get a few hours of a good fuck in?" he interrupted; drawing yet another snarl in his direction. "Perhaps I should be the one to make something clear to you. The fact that so many outsiders are being brought into this is irritating and an insane waste of personal space; this entire experimentation is destined to fail on the basis of the different blood that makes our separating bodies. But, no you see, Science doesn't want to believe that; Science always wants to prove otherwise. Don't get me wrong, science and I were helpless lovers for centuries but there comes a time when you cut the cord. At least I can respect that; men like him are out to ruin its good reputation with dirty little deeds like this. If you're here to mock this entire experiment, go for it; I find it humorous to learn of outsider's opinions, I'm sure yours is quite pure when it comes down to the fact that so many details were smeared for you."

Her careless eyes narrowed for a moment as hands squeezed the thin flesh of her hips. "You're practically offered a piece in this whole... 'experiment' where all you basically do is fuck the line of woman standing outside and you seem displeased with that."

"Don't get me wrong, I love a marathon of sexual activities as much as the next person does, if not more; I don't enjoy wasting my time when the hopeful results will be impossible to retreat. Personally, I'm caught on both sides of enjoying this forced offer and hating it just the same."

"I figured scum like you would be all the more willing to bag a few of your enemy females; it didn't stop you before."

"Maybe that's true but then why would you make yourself so willing to be 'bagged' and put yourself at the front of the line?"

"Because, I'm here to act as the first subject; I'm going to make sure you don't try anything funny and to make sure you're incapable of pulling of any other kind of stunt than the one you've been offered to do." she answered with a snap.

"I'm getting this impression that you just haven't been laid in awhile."

"I'd say the same about you but obviously, I'd be wrong." she snorted. "Now, tell me... what if these theories are true? You say it won't happen, but what if it does? What if we have half of the female population suddenly pregnant with a hybrid?"

It was his turn to frown slightly at her words but that stiff determination for an answer in her eyes told him it was best not to jump around it; get to the heart of it instead. "I'm not looking to make a pack for myself, like I've said before this isn't even something I wanted to do willingly. But... things were to be compromised and unfortunately I had to change my mind. If it happens, if this whole 'experiment' is successful, well it's not like I can deny my part in it; I wouldn't even given the chance. I take pity on those who are brought into this for the sheer fact it makes both parties unwilling. If it does occur, I suppose we'll make use of it when it happens. However, I want it to be known that I may feel protective of you... it won't make you my mate and let it be known, it won't put you above her..."

"Picking favorites then?" she seemed to muse.

"There's nothing to pick from."

She carefully allowed for her eyes to draw over him once more. "You're telling me... you actually have logical thinking and reasoning with this? It almost seems like you have more of a solid standing on this than most of us do."

"Yes well after awhile, I figured out how to separate the different complexions in my brain and can switch them out when I feel the need for it. It's kind of an odd sensation and I think it may give me the outlook of a schizophrenic but... it's needed sometimes to keep me in line. Like with this kind of situation, I have to cancel out more than half of my brain activity to keep myself from completely losing it."

"Sounds safe."

"Since when did anything ever sound safe?" he questioned. "Now then... how exactly do we go about this?"

"You didn't seem to have a problem finding one before."

"That's different; she wasn't entirely a senseless wench like you are." he noted; watching as the woman snapped at him with her eyes. "You, I'm not entirely sure if I'm going to like."

"You have a profile now?"

"You just look like one of those types who finds physical violence exciting; the more pain, the more euphoria."

"You guessed it."