Secret Underground Lab (Ryouta only!!)

Beneath the Captain's private lab, there was an area that only the current Captain of the 12th Division ever knew about. It was an area designed for the pursuit of knowledge. The reason for secrecy was because oftentimes the experiments done in this area were technically frowned upon, and sometimes downright illegal in Soul Society. However, as the Captains of the 12th Division viewed the pursuit of knowledge as an even higher calling than duty to the Gotei 13 as a whole, this secret lab existed.

It was a large underground facility designed to resemble a rocky canyon-esque area underneath a blue sky. However, off to the side of the room, near the secret entrance/exit was some complex equipment. Some of it was consoles, some of it prototypes of top-secret equipment, others were containment fields. Some of these fields were giant tubes that held suspended organisms in some kind of fluid, others held objects in place through the use of magnetic fields. In the center of the room was a much larger containment field that was basically the technological equivalent of a high level Bakudo spell that was capable of deflecting both reiatsu-based and physical attacks. The entire facility was shielded from the rest of Soul Society by every means imaginable; it was invisible to reiatsu sensing, every wave in the spectrum including sound, infrared, x-ray, etc, as well as requiring several passwords to access, along with other security measures.

Ryouta entered the underground complex with a business-like look on his face. Today was the day he perfected his experiments. Already he had collected all the data he could by performing experiments over and over on the subjects he had used, now suspended in containment tubes. They seemed to progress in complexity as one looked on- starting with simple organisms like worms and molluscs, then to arthropods, then to aquatic life, then reptiles and birds, and finally mammals and primates. Each organism had something very distinct in common with its neighbors- a bleached white mask upon its face. Yes- Ryouta had been conducting Hollowfication experiments in secret. He was certain the time of success was at hand. Ryouta stepped up to one of the consoles and pushed a few keys; this allowed him to retrieve a syringe filled with a pitch black serum from a hidden compartment.

He carried the syringe over to the larger containment field in the middle of the whole room. Here he spoke aloud "Captain Ayame Ryouta, accessing" and the containment field parted, allowing him 3 seconds to get inside before it closed.

"Containment field will re-open in 1 hour, without possibility of override," a cool female computerized voice said.

Ryouta nodded to himself. There was no time for hesitation. He stuck the syringe needle into his arm and injected himself with the serum. Based on his experiments, he was 95% sure that it would force him into a Hollowfied state, upon which time he would have to do something to keep himself sane. The other 5% chance was that he would die. But...Ryouta reasoned, a 95% is still an A, so why not? 10 seconds passed before he felt anything. At that 10 second mark, Ryouta was struck by a crippling pain in his head. It felt as if pure force was lancing through his skull, which seemed as brittle as thin ice. He blacked out.

...

Ryouta opened his eyes to find himself standing on an island made completely of ice. He recognized it as his inner world. Perhaps some challenge waited for him here? Ryouta was fairly certain that if one died, one did not show up in one's Zanpakuto's world, because a Zanpakuto is supposed to perish when its owner does. "Hello?" he called, unsheathing his blade as he did so.

"Hello..." a sinisterly high, singsongy voice greeted him from behind. Ryouta whirled around to see something he had not been expecting- himself...only different. It was like he was staring at a photo negative of himself...

TO BE CONTINUED... DUN DUN DUUUUUUN!!!!

"Who are you?" Ryouta asked. He held his Zanpakuto out in a defensive stance. It was possible that this person could be reasoned with. After all, he looked like Ryouta, and Ryouta was generally a rational individual. Though, some might argue that the actions leading up to this situation were a little insane.

"Can't ya see? I'm you; a bigger, badder, better you!" replied the photo negative. "Problem is, I can't do anything in your world 'cause I don't have a body. But...I suppose I can just take yours!" And with these words, the photo negative launched himself at Ryouta with an overhead slash. Ryouta brought his blade up and blocked with an iron guard- he kicked out with his left foot, catching the negative in the stomach and sending him sliding backward.

"Not bad, good reflexes," commented the negative. "I suppose that earns you a little information. I'm your badass Hollow self. I defeat you, I take control of your body. You defeat me, you get my power. Capische?" This statement resulted in another attack. This time, his double Sonido'd toward him, appearing behind him and slashing out horizontally. Ryouta responded by flash stepping forward and whirling around.

He held his sword out calmly; curiously, his double mimicked his movement and speech. "If I have to defeat you- I will go all out! Bankai!" Both combatants were surrounded by an icy mist; when it cleared, Ryouta was revealed to be wearing a suit of icy blue armor. His double was wearing an identical suit, save in color. Wordlessly, they flew at each other. Ice, water, steam, and electricity flew against each other and dissipated. 10 minutes passed; both combatants stood watching his opponent warily.

His power is incredible...at this rate, I will lose, and there's no telling what damage he could wreak. I have to outsmart him...Ryouta launched himself forward, bringing his right claw down in a mighty slash. His double stepped to the side, and Ryouta's momentum carried him past, leaving him wide open. The double's strike caught Ryouta in the side, sending shards of his water and droplets of blood into the air.

"Ahahahaha, I've won!" screamed his double as Ryouta hit the ground on his knees.

"Gekido no Megami," responded Ryouta. The shards that had been sent into the air became water, as did Ryouta's blood. It swirled around the both of them in a spherical formation. Then, the water became swirling ice blades which flew in and collapsed upon the two of them. As the double was standing over Ryouta's kneeling form, he took most of the attack. The resulting explosion rocked the ice island and sent chunks of it sliding into the frigid sea. When the debris cleared from the air, Ryouta was holding his blade over his double's head, who had taken the brunt of the attack.

"Damn you..." he muttered before vanishing into a black mist that flew into Ryouta's body. It replenished his reiatsu reserves and healed his wounds. Despite its source, Ryouta did not feel particularly evil, or bloodthirsty. He had mastered his Hollow self.

...

Ryouta's eyes flicked open. He was back in the secret underground lab. Looking around, he saw the containment field he had been in was encrusted with ice, dripping with condensation and looking slightly scorched in certain areas. "The containment field is now de-activating."

Ryouta breathed a sigh of relief. He had done it. He had successfully Hollowfied himself. "EPIC WIN!" he shouted in jubilation.

Ryouta sat cross legged in the center of the kido force field around him. His sword lay across his lap, though his right hand rested on the hilt. His left hand rested upon his head, obscuring his face. Since his mastering of his Hollow mask, Ryouta had not felt the need to explore that ability any further. However recently, he had been feeling…strange. It was remarkable to say the least; in the past few days, Ryouta had been having twinges of negative emotions where they did not belong or make sense. For example, he had attended the birthday party of his Vice-Captain two days ago, during which at one point he felt such a surge of anger towards his Vice-Captain that he would have quite liked to strangle him. The feeling had been fleeting, but it had been there nonetheless and not at all in Ryouta’s character. Yesterday he had been at a Captain’s meeting. When he looked upon the Captain’s face, for a brief second, he had felt awash with hatred and a little fear. Neither emotion felt as though it had originated from his spirit. And today – today he had come close to losing his temper when an experiment refused to cooperate. He had felt the burning rage, the intense need to rip the life from the subject. Ryouta had fought it down…but he was worried that continued mental stress such as this would be disastrous. That was why he was here.

“All right Hollow self,” he said aloud. “Show yourself. I cannot afford these emotional tantrums of yours. Must I beat you again?”

Come to our world…

Ryouta closed his eyes, and then opened them again, slowly. He found himself within his inner world, a majestic glacial island in the middle of a never-ending sea. He was facing two beings he recognized, and in fact, knew quite well. One was Reifujin Arashi, his loyal, albeit spirited Zanpakuto. The other was his Hollow self, who had yet to name himself. Ryouta faced his Hollow self and glared at him uncharacteristically. “Why are you interfering with my emotions? I have defeated you already, and fairly.”

“Because – I grow weary of sitting dormant within you. Not once have you called upon my aid for battle. Battle is what I live for. Battle is how we learn about our opponents, Ryouta. It is science, in its way,” responded his Hollow self. “AND YOU HAVE NOT BEEN ENGAGING IN IT! YOU PANSY, GET UP AND GO! USE ME!”

“Hmm…I didn’t realize you felt that way,” said Ryouta. “I apologize. However, being a Visored is illegal in Soul Society. I will have to use you where we are, in my laboratory where detection is impossible.”

“Fine,” said his Hollow self. “I will make do. That being said – you will discover you can only use my power for short periods of time. To increase it…you must increase your pure fighting spirit. Fight for the same reasons I do. And you will receive power as your reward. Do it.”

“That makes sense,” said Ryouta. He paused, looking his Hollow self in the eye. Those black scleras were extremely unnerving, and the yellow irises even more so. The white hair and pale skin – all too unnerving. “Before I leave…I want to know your name. Do you have one?”

His Hollow self grinned. “Sure do. Call me Stein. See you around.” He waved sardonically as Ryouta’s inner world faded and he was once again in his laboratory.

No time like the present, thought Ryouta. “Computer – please insert Special Specimen 1.” A claw extended down from the ceiling to grasp a tube completely covered in stainless steel from the opposite wall, before it lowered it into the kido field. It then retracted, leaving Ryouta alone with the tube. Ryouta approached it and gave it an impatient kick. It opened with a sterile hissing noise, releasing a cloud of steam and liquid that soaked into the dirt floor. As the steam cleared, Ryouta saw the denizen within the tube with his naked eye for the first time. It was lithe and thin, but not feline, nor reptilian. Instead, it was graceful in the sense of a crane, having that sense of balance and elegance that is found in very few creatures. It had two legs, but was currently standing perfectly straight on one. Its arms were thin, and feathered. The feathers were white, and seemed plated of the same material as the narrow mask, pointed out like a vicious rapier.
“What kind of terror are you?” asked Ryouta. It turned its head to stare at him chillingly. Its lack of any kind of conventional face was unsettling. Though simple, it seemed to convey a terrible darkness, like the darkness that comes just before a flash flood, when the sky seems to darken within a matter of seconds before the torrential downpour begins. And then it screeched a terrible keening sound that was like a man being eaten alive! The thing leveled its wings at Ryouta and fired. There was no other word for it – it sent a veritable shotgun blast of feathers directly at Ryouta. He only just got out of the way in time; the missed feathers hit the side of the kido field and exploded violently. The explosions were far beyond what one would expect. Though each feather was perhaps only about four to five inches in length, each explosion had a blast radius of three feet. The combined blasts were enough to send Ryouta flying forward despite his reflexive dodge.

He reached up with his left hand as he skidded along the ground searching for a hold. He came to a stop and faced the creature. “Hmph.” Ryouta pulled down across his face, obscuring it with a bone-white mask that resembled a grinning cat. He launched himself forward, prepared to take out the creature with a single blow. Ryouta’s mask did not augment his speed or intelligence. Instead, it increased his spirit power and fighting ability. The horizontal slash that he employed against the creature had enough frigid power behind it to take out a city block’s worth of buildings. As Ryouta’s blade came across, the creature’s wings swept around it, and Ryouta’s blade only scraped against the feathers as a needle might, with just about as much effect, save a trail of small ice crystals in its wake.

Impossible…thought Ryouta. He did not have much more time to marvel at this development before one wing swept out and smashed into him, sending him flying again. His feet struggled to find purchase in the air, but he was able to do so before hitting the kido field. “Weep, Raifujin Arashi,” he said in a distorted voice. His blade dissolved into water droplets, but he quickly reformed it with ice. He Sonido’d toward the beast as soon as his blade formed, and preceded his strike with a blast of pressurized water that should’ve blown a hole through it; instead it simply pushed the bird thing backward. Undeterred, Ryouta continued his attack with an overhead strike. This strike was deflected away by the bird’s beak, and Ryouta’s blade swished through nothing.

The leg that was tucked under the bird thing kicked out and caught Ryouta in the stomach, rupturing some internal organs. “Damn it…how is it so resistant to my attacks?” asked Ryouta aloud. “I need to keep my distance…” With a gesture, he sent a wave of ice daggers at the bird; all were swept away by its incredible wings. He’d have to be more serious, especially injured as he was. What was it Stein had said? Fight for the reasons I do. Then you will obtain power. All right, thought Ryouta. I’ll be bloodthirsty. “Your destiny is to die at my hands,” he informed his enemy. Then, he allowed fury at his enemy to take him. With an impatient gesture, he caused the kido field to be immersed in a dense mist that clogged the lungs and forbade vision. Ryouta however, could still feel the presence of the bird

He used the moisture to wrap around the bird’s body like a blanket, a liquid blanket off steel that was a prison. The water he ensnared the bird with was no ordinary water. Ryouta was manipulating it on a molecular level so that it was dense enough to keep the bird from moving. He could feel it struggling valiantly against his fluid prison, but to no avail. He relished the sight of its helplessness. A bird that could not fly was now, for some reason…curiously amusing. With a thought, he froze the water around the bird beast, but kept it equally dense. Then he uttered three words. “Senpuku no Tategami.”
A circle of moisture bubbled around the bird, forming the fearsome face of a lion. The lion’s mouth opened, and fangs of ice ringed the circle. These fangs were also extremely dense and extremely sharp for maximum piercing efficacy. However, Ryouta had aimed them in a specific way. They slammed shut, piercing the bird beast from all directions. The beast was not dead, however. Careful study had told Ryouta where its vitals were. And the fangs had pierced none of them, and were now only keeping the bird in place.

“Three more moments of pain, mine enemy,” said Ryouta to the bird. “And the last signifies your death.” He Sonido’d forward, ignoring the pain in his stomach. SLASH! His first cut removed the bird’s left wing. It screeched in agony. Another Sonido, another cut, another screech. Its right wing fell to the floor. One final Sonido. SLASH! The body fell apart just as Ryouta’s mask did.
Congratulations, sounded a voice in Ryouta’s head. I enjoyed that. Let’s do it again sometime. Clean yourself up partner.