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hibiscusangel15 · 2 years ago

Text

Lure

Aye, let me tell ye a tale of the mysterious merfolk and the two foolish mortals that fell for one of the creatures...

Cover art done by @uniformshark for @thewhisperingdeep Bleach zine!

Summary: Creatures of myth and legend had no place on a research venture. The subsequent capture of a vicious merman proves Kurosaki Ichigo and Kurosaki Rukia otherwise. Originally written for The Whispering Deep: MerMay zine!

Rating: Teen and Up

Category: Multi, M/F, M/M (GrimmIchiRuki)

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Magic and Science, Polyamory, Mutual Pining

Also available on AO3!

Spreading the GrimmIchiRuki agenda, one AU at a time! I came up with the idea for this fic almost as soon as I saw the 'zine open Interest Checks haha. The mods have gone all out for this 'zine and it's utterly gorgeous. Be sure to check out the AO3 collection for even more amazing Bleach and BNHA MerMay fics!

Unearthly cries echoed from the stern of the ship. The Kurosakis hurried along in their pajamas to the top deck. Kurosaki Rukia was used to abrupt calls in the middle of the night, having been an on-call veterinarian once upon a time. Her husband lagged behind her, still struggling to put on his shoes.

Several members of the crew scrambled past them to wake up other researchers. Unintelligible snippets about some kind of beast tangled in the nets floated around the ship. Most were drowned out by the harsh clang of boots against catwalks and the ever-present howls of whatever was on deck.

Once they surfaced, Ichigo nearly barreled into his wife. All the sailors swearing and yelling ahead of them tore his gaze port-side. A writhing blue mass in a mesh net slowly drew higher. The mechanical winch whirred into overdrive as it thrashed even harder in its panic. The creature’s all-black eyes were marked by the glowing blue of its irises. It briefly met his own, not desperate or confused, but brimming with hatred as it scratched out at the net with its claws. It was no use. The reinforced steel fibers would not snap so easily.

Without thinking, Ichigo grabbed his wife’s hand. Rukia too was transfixed as she studied this monster that should not exist. It did not make any of this feel real.

A high-pitched snicker snapped them out of their stupor. Kurotsuchi Mayuri, the Head Researcher for this venture, cracked a wide smile. “How intriguing. When I was first assigned to this project, I assumed they thought I was mad and wanted to ship me off. Now I see I am the only one qualified to study such a fantastical creature.”

The sailors lowered the net into a large tank where it finally let the creature go. Before it jumped back into the ocean, two burly crewmen slammed the top shut. Even from behind the glass, they could hear its furious shriek. It slammed itself against the bulletproof glass over and over again, to no avail. Eventually one of the sailors had to open a hatch and dart it with a tranquilizer to stop it from injuring itself.

It was only then that Ichigo and Rukia inched closer to the tank. After months of catching and tagging nothing but the spare marlin or salmon shark, this bright blue beast of myth seemed almost too good to be true. It was a gorgeous creature up close. Long hair the color of a clear sky, stripes of navy blue and white climbing up the sides of its tail and ending past its webbed hands. Its tail was like that of a shark, strong and covered in jagged fins.

It pushed itself up, baring its teeth the moment it caught Rukia’s eye. After thrashing uselessly one last time, it slumped to the bottom of the tank.

One of Kurotsuchi’s assistants whispered something in her ear. One glance from her, and he knew to let her go.

A quick meeting had been called in the conference room deep in the hull. The place was in an uproar. Other marine biologists argued with the captain of the ship, but apparently, he was just as in the dark about the situation as the rest of them.

Head Researcher Kurotsuchi slammed an ashtray repeatedly on the glossy wooden table to call for order. “Will you all cease this useless prattle? All your voices are grating on my nerves.”

One of the military officers hired onto the project, one Matsumoto Rangiku, slammed her fist down on the table. “Kurotsuchi, how can you act so calm at a time like this?”

“Calm?” he repeated. “I am most certainly not calm. Why, can’t you tell I’m as giddy as a little boy on his birthday.”

His placid expression seemed to say otherwise.

Ichigo finally spoke up. “We signed on to study a new species, not a mythical creature. This isn’t anywhere near any of our areas of expertise.”

Some of the other marine biologists on board echoed his sentiments. Even a few of the soldiers murmured their agreement.

“Why, that’s not true at all, Kurosaki-kun,” a sly voice piped up. He’d been quiet until now, reveling in the chaos from his plush leather chair. “You were all chosen for this job for a reason. In fact, I’d say this creature we caught looks somewhat like a shark. You and your wife study sharks, no?”

The other researchers parted to reveal a silver-haired man in a sharp gray suit. Ichimaru Gin always seemed to be smiling at some hidden joke.

Ichigo frowned. “Yeah, but a merman? The lab was set up to contain regular saltwater fish. I have no idea if trapping it here will have direct effects on its constitution or if the tank is even suited to its needs. Tranquilizing it the way those sailors did was reckless. We don’t know if it had adverse effects on its health or if—”

“As far as I can tell, it’s doing just fine, Ichigo,” a familiar voice said behind him. Kurosaki Rukia stood in the doorway, her trusty assistant hovering behind her with several papers in his arms.

“Rukia,” he breathed. Just having her nearby put him at ease.

“Ah, Kurosaki-kun,” Ichimaru said. “I’m glad to hear that.”

Her eyes lingered on Ichigo before turning back to Ichimaru. “Before I give you my report on its vitals, I think we all would like to know exactly why we were hired for this mission, Ichimaru-san. I was already quite suspicious when we weren’t given the exact details of the new species in question at the start.”

Ichimaru’s grin only grew wider. “Why would you think I know more than any of you? I’m only here to ensure that Hueco Mundo’s business venture doesn’t go astray. It looks like we’ve all gotten in over our heads here.”

Matsumoto sighed. “Gin, enough playing around. What’s going on here?”

Lieutenant Matsumoto Rangiku had always been open about her fraught relationship with Hueco Mundo Pharmaceuticals’ marketing director. Most of the crew hated being anywhere near him at the best of times. Still, it was nice to know that someone could soften his wily nature, if only for a moment.

Ichimaru’s smile fell a bit. “I am telling the truth, you know. All I was told was that if we were lucky enough to find this new species—whatever it was—it would increase the company’s equity exponentially. Nothing more, really.”

For the rest of the crew, this venture was a contract. Just another job.

For Ichimaru Gin, it was practically a paid vacation. He had come under the guise of protecting this potential investment, sure, but he didn’t seem to have anything better to do outside of tormenting the crew.

“What is that thing, anyway?” the captain of the ship finally asked, his voice quivering. He was a broad man who looked like he’d lived through his fair share of storms on the open seas. “A product of pollution the company is trying to cover up? Some weird experiment that escaped?”

Ichimaru picked this topic up with a renewed glee. “Goodness, you all dove to conspiracy theories quite fast. I’m almost impressed. But tell me, captain, why would Hueco Mundo bother to dump pollution out in the middle of the ocean?”

“Hueco Mundo would have made us sign an NDA form of some kind if that were the case,” Kurotsuchi pointed out. “Besides, I don’t know why you’re all so afraid of this creature. As fellow researchers, surely you’d all jump at the chance to study something new.”

The crew exchanged uneasy glances. None of them really wanted to be associated with Kurotsuchi, either. He fit the mad scientist bill in every way imaginable.

“When we hired you all on for this project, admittedly, I had no idea what sort of creature we were looking for,” Ichimaru said, surveying the startled crew in front of him. “Kurosaki-kun and…Kurosaki-kun, as our resident shark experts, I think it’s best you work with the creature for now. The rest of the researchers can provide additional support—”

A howl battered its way to the conference room. The tranquilizer should have knocked the creature out for a solid hour or so. The thing had only been out for fifteen minutes.

Without a second thought, Ichigo, Rukia, and their young assistant, Hanatarō, rushed to their lab. Alarms blared from every corner of the room. The creature had ripped the EKG wires from its chest and now thrashed around in the water, hands squeezed tight over its ears. They rushed to turn the screaming machines off. It was no use. The merman continued to slam himself against the glass.

“We need to calm him down or he’s going to kill himself!” Rukia tossed a catchpole to Hanatarō as he flew up the steps. Just as Ichigo began drawing a sedative from a small vial, she pried another catchpole from storage and trailed after Hanatarō.

Undoing the top latches of the tank through the gap in the catwalk could be tricky, but Hanatarō managed to pry them open. When the creature grinned, it was then, too late, Ichigo realized their mistake.

It yanked the catchpole forward and poor Hanatarō fell into the water. For one dreaded moment, both Ichigo and Rukia thought it would tear him to shreds.

It shot out of the tank faster than they could blink. Ichigo was knocked to the ground and the syringe shattered.

The merman’s claws dug deep into his shoulders. He barely had time to wince before its jaw unhinged. An ear-piercing roar split the air.

Ichigo had been face-to-face with plenty of sharks as a marine biologist. Several of the more aggressive species nearly took bites out of him at one point or another.

None of those experiences held a candle to this.

“Ichigo!”

It whirled over to the source of the voice. Rukia stopped in her tracks, not even daring to blink as it shifted over to her.

Ignoring the pain flaring in his shoulders, Ichigo grabbed hold of its tail before the creature could lurch for his wife. The tips of its claws sliced through the edges of his bangs when it swatted back at him.

Rukia snatched up a new syringe, fingers steady from years of practice as she drew out a few milligrams of sedative.

Suddenly, the creature cried out, not in anger but pure anguish. Its gills opened and shut rapidly. It couldn’t breathe.

Ichigo swore under his breath. The moment he brushed its webbed fingers, the creature slapped its tail against his stomach. He stumbled, grasping at the metal table behind him for balance.

Its tail suddenly split down the middle with a sickening crack. Once alien cries began to sound more and more human. As it continued to struggle, two legs broke through the seam in the tail, kicking it away.

All went still.

In the middle of the lab, surrounded by scattered papers and broken glass, laid not a dead merman, but a human. He heaved a shuddering breath and opened his eyes. The jet black receded, leaving only pale blue irises and pupils flitting around.

For all his ferocity, the man was alarmingly beautiful. The former merman reached out for his tail with trembling fingers. It was too far and he was so, so tired. Finally, his head lolled back.

The silence felt so much louder than all the noise that came before.

The rest of the crew had clambered to the lab in time to witness yet another odd miracle—another impossibility made real.

“How fascinating.”

Kurotsuchi, as always, was the first to speak. His mouth twisted into an unsettling grin as he stepped closer to the merman’s fallen form. “It seems the Kurosakis are not the only ones qualified to study this creature, after all.”

* * *

Priorities shifted in a muddled haze. Kurotsuchi’s team wasted no time in fitting the merman into what looked an awful lot like a prison jumpsuit, if only for decency’s sake. His hair was also cut into a choppy, spiky mess.

Frequent reports of the merman’s stubborn refusal to let anyone touch him afterwards reached the Kurosakis. The two-way glass cell prevented the merman from looking out at his captors. Instead, he often huddled in the corner, refusing to even touch the blanket and pillow provided.

“Has he eaten anything yet?” Ichigo asked when he found his wife standing outside the cell.

Rukia shook her head. “Hanatarō-kun keeps trying. To put it delicately, this merman’s pissed.”

He snorted. His wife hadn’t been this crude when they first met. Call it his bad influence. Her brother would be horrified at her language.

“I would be, too, if I was abducted by a bunch of scientists who took away my skin.”

She didn’t smile. Admittedly, it was a weak attempt at a joke.

“You mind if I try? I’m not sure if he’ll understand me, but I don’t want him to starve himself.”

Rukia patted his arm and stepped back. The cell doors opened with a faint hiss after he input the code: his wife’s birthday.

The former merman immediately scrambled back to the furthest corner of the cell.

“Hey, it’s okay. I won’t hurt you.”

It sounded like a lie despite all his best intentions. Ichigo sat as far from the other man as he could to show he wasn’t a threat.

“My name is Kurosaki Ichigo. Can you understand me?”

The man narrowed his eyes.

“I got you some food,” Ichigo persisted as he pushed the plate forward. “My wife’s assistant told me you haven’t been eating, so…”

After a moment of searching for the right words to say, he took one sliver of sashimi and chewed thoughtfully. “It’s not great, but it’s the best we have. Decent, at least.”

Not poisoned.

The man’s blue eyes flickered down to the plate. Ichigo didn’t dare move for fear even the slightest shift might set him off.

Suddenly, the man darted forward, limp legs dragging behind him. Maybe he wasn’t used to them yet. Maybe he refused to use them.

The man shoveled the sashimi into his mouth. His teeth were relatively normal by human standards. Outside of his particularly sharp canines, anyway.

Ichigo was struck by the harsh scar running along the side of his face. It was faded, almost silver in the fluorescent lights. He couldn’t have gotten that from when he was captured. Then again, they had no idea how fast merpeople healed after an injury.

“G…Grimmjow.”

Ichigo blinked. “Huh?”

The man scowled. “My name.”

“Wait, so you can speak! Where did you learn to talk?”

He made the mistake of leaning in closer. Grimmjow snarled, a low rumble from deep in his chest, before he retreated back to the far corner of the glass cage.

Ichigo continued to sit there uncertainly until Grimmjow muttered, “Where did you put my tail?”

His tail had been a point of contention among everyone for the past few hours. They all argued over how to handle studying it. Kurotsuchi wanted to dissect it right away. Everyone shot the idea down. There was no telling what cutting up the creature’s tail would do to it.

The only thing everyone could agree on was to conduct more research. Mostly by pooling their knowledge of mermaid myths together to merge new fact with previous fiction.

“If you want the truth, we stored it in the saltwater tank. I didn’t want it to dry out.”

The tension fell from Grimmjow’s shoulders a bit. Then he scowled once more, as if to cover it up. “Che, at least you humans did something right. If you destroy my tail, there’s no way I can go back.”

Back where? Are there more of you? Ichigo wanted to ask him. A researcher’s one weakness. It was the only reason the crew was still out here. If one merman could be found, who was to say they couldn’t capture another?

“Why’re you telling me this?” he asked instead.

Grimmjow turned to face the wall. “You’ve got an honest face. Dumb, wide-eyed. Like a tuna.”

“Hey!”

“You won’t tell anyone.”

How could he be so sure? He didn’t even know him.

And yet, there was such an assured confidence in his voice. Ichigo hated that this creature saw right through him.

“I won’t. I promise you.”

Grimmjow snorted. “Like I said.”

* * *

Ichigo then took Grimmjow’s meals to him on a regular basis. He was the only human on-board Grimmjow seemed to tolerate. That was, until Rukia slowly integrated herself into their shared meals.

When it was clear that she too would leave him be, Grimmjow began to speak more to her. Her determination to teach him to walk and her fixing up his hair a bit probably helped her case, too.

He was a lot more crass than either of them thought a merman could be. Apparently, he’d learned curse words from yakuza members that regularly dumped evidence near where he liked to reside. The Kurosakis never asked to hear more about that.

Kurotsuchi and a few other researchers insisted on installing a camera within the cell to garner more information. Both Ichigo and Rukia shut each attempt down swiftly. They’d made precarious progress with the merman as it was. If they broke that tentative trust now, he’d never speak to them again.

The crew grew antsier the longer the ship scoured the same bit of ocean. It had only been a week and a half since they first caught Grimmjow. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that other merpeople, should more exist, exercise caution around human ships.

Kurotsuchi’s impatience got the better of him, and one night, the Kurosakis woke up to the sound of Grimmjow’s screams.

Ichigo tore down the hall to where the tail was stored while Rukia broke off to Grimmjow’s cell. The crew had strapped the writhing tail down to a table. Stark red bloomed through the small incision cut into its middle.

Kurotsuchi brandished a scalpel, more annoyed at the interruption than anything. “Who let you in here? Nemu, I thought I told you to lock the door.”

His daughter bowed. “I apologize, sir.”

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Kurotsuchi?” Ichigo snapped, stepping forward. “We still don’t understand how merpeople biology works, and you want to cut open his tail?”

“Have you forgotten that we were hired to research this new species?” Kurotsuchi scoffed. “Do you honestly expect me to wait around for another opportunity to arise? Or were you planning to keep your little pet all to yourself?”

Ichigo grit his teeth. “He’s not anyone’s pet. He doesn’t belong to anyone.”

“Yes, well, it appears as though dissection is no longer a viable option. This link between the creature and its tail is most peculiar. Perhaps I can satisfy myself with studying that, for now. But first…”

Kurotsuchi jabbed a syringe into the tail, drawing out a small vial of red blood.

“Ichimaru-san put me and Rukia in charge of studying him,” Ichigo snapped as Kurotsuchi and the rest of his research crew stalked past him. “If you want to get anywhere near him or his tail again, you better ask us for clearance next time.”

An alarmingly wide grin stretched across Kurotsuchi’s face. “Perhaps I’ll take this up to Ichimaru then. If you and your wife refuse to engage in any worthwhile research, why bother calling yourselves scientists at all? I’m sure Hueco Mundo won’t mind if I perform a few experiments on it, were I in charge.”

Ichigo took several shaky breaths in and out. It took everything in him not to punch that smug bastard scientist in the face.

The tail flopped weakly on the metal table. “Sorry, Grimmjow,” he whispered as he hauled it back in its tank.

It sank to the bottom, unmoving once more. Just as Ichigo was about to head out, a bright light within the tank caught his eye. The cut shimmered a vibrant teal, knitting in on itself in a matter of seconds.

Ichigo pressed his hand to the glass, awestruck. Yet another miracle. What other magic was Grimmjow capable of?

As it turned out, far more than he thought possible. He found Grimmjow cupping Rukia’s face when he entered the lab. His shoulders stiffened, though not out of a childish jealousy.

Grimmjow’s hand glowed with that same teal light from the tank. Faint red scratches along her left cheek faded, scarred, and eventually disappeared altogether. After a moment, he sighed and rested his head against her shoulder. “Sorry. Doing that takes a lot out of me.”

“It’s fine. Thank you,” she said, patting a tentative hand on the top of his head.

Ichigo cleared his throat and Grimmjow stepped back immediately.

“Your tail’s back in its tank. Kurotsuchi won’t touch it again,” he began, looking between them. “What happened here?”

Grimmjow looked away. “I scratched her face.”

“It was an accident,” Rukia added, if only to quell her husband’s overprotective nature. “He didn’t mean to do it.”

Ichigo swept a gentle thumb along her smooth cheek. Not even a trace of a wound left. This had to be why Hueco Mundo was searching so hard for merpeople. Whatever methods they used to heal themselves would no doubt be distilled into an overpriced pill and distributed worldwide for profit. They’d cure countless wounds, ailments, and diseases—at the expense of an entire species’ freedom.

Grimmjow scratched the back of his head. The red in his ears was not lost to either of them. “You humans are so fragile. Don’t think for a moment I give a shit about either of you. I only healed her because you stopped those bastards from cutting up my tail.”

Ichigo almost laughed. He never knew merpeople could be such bad liars.

“Thanks, Grimmjow. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Grimmjow was granted limited access to the ship’s cafeteria, the deck, and the library soon after the tail debacle. Apparently, the Kurosakis had argued to give him more privileges. He didn’t appreciate their pity, but he couldn’t deny that getting a better lay of his new prison wasn’t half-bad, either.

Assorted seafood and loud, jovial chatter filled the cafeteria the first time he dared leave his cell. The noise died down as soon as the rest of the crew saw him.

Rukia dragged him to a table in the corner, far from their judgment and unfiltered fear. “Don’t let them get to you. You’ll only give them an excuse to isolate you further.”

Ichigo returned with their food soon after and strategically placed himself in front of Grimmjow. He knew that the others’ stares bothered them. Just like he knew to eat at least one of the sashimi to prove it wasn’t drugged.

They were both so unfailingly kind that it almost distracted him from the other crew members’ wary stares. Almost.

Being on deck wasn’t any better. The ocean, vast and expanding and within arm’s reach, felt like a taunt. Waves crashing along the ship sounded more and more like hissing laughter. He was so close. He could feel the sea below. He could taste it.

And yet, he could barely walk on his own. Swimming without his tail was out of the question. Abandoning it entirely was unthinkable.

The library was the only place that didn’t piss him off. Usually, the three of them were left well enough alone here. Quiet and rarely ventured by the rest of the crew, this soon became a haven where the three of them lounged in relative peace.

The lone book on fairy tales seemed so laughably out-of-place before, back when their voyage was within the realm of normal research. Now it was the only text they had to figure out what Grimmjow could be. Various cultures had their own versions of merpeople myths throughout the centuries. Some were vicious creatures that preyed on human sailors. Others were more vulnerable, often taken advantage of by unrelenting men stealing their lives away from them.

Grimmjow was somewhat amused by the Kurosakis scrambling to figure him out. “Humans are always trying to categorize everything. Like the world can fit into neat, little boxes that tell you exactly what it has in store.”

That didn’t stop Ichigo and Rukia from trying, anyway.

Grimmjow did not appear to be a kappa. As much as he hated humans, he was never very interested in eating them. He didn’t appear to be a siren, either.

“You think my voice is pretty enough to lure random sailors to me?” A laugh threaded through his voice. “You’ve heard me yell before. Tell me that wouldn’t just steer everyone away instead.”

Rukia pouted. “Hey, we’re just going through the process of elimination here. Besides, your human voice isn’t that bad to listen to.”

At this, Ichigo nodded.

Grimmjow’s taunting smile fell. “What?”

Both Ichigo and Rukia exchanged a panicked glance.

“Nothing.”

He never pressed the matter afterwards, though he did eye the two fidgeting when they led him back to his cell-converted-bedroom. Despite their best wishes, the crew didn’t see it fit to grant Grimmjow a more comfortable room.

The silence was the worst part of the night. He had always been able to sense that his tail was nearby, but could never get a proper read on where it was. This ship was too damn big, and the other humans were all too glad to shut him out of anything but their pre-approved activities for him.

Ichigo and Rukia wanted to help him. He saw it in their faces. Saw the regret and remorse. And something else underneath that, too. Something he dared not name.

Grimmjow wiped a weary hand over his face. He couldn’t afford to think about that now. Not about a couple of humans. Not when they saw him as nothing more than a monster to study.

His eyes flickered up to the line of photographs the two had taped to his cell wall. In all but one photo, Grimmjow looked either irritated or surprised. The Kurosakis had done their best to get him to smile—and had succeeded on one occasion.

They stuck this photo proudly just above his air mattress. Ichigo had said something stupid and it made him laugh despite himself. Rukia then snapped a photo to capture the moment.

It embarrassed him, at first, but they were both adamant about him keeping it. He refused to even look at it, just to spite them. Now, though, he noticed the light in Rukia’s eyes when she looked over at him. The sly way Ichigo’s hand had inched over his.

His heart jumped to an uncomfortable rhythm. He always hated humans. Hated their cruelty. Hated their curiosity. Hated that they could never leave anything alone.

Ichigo and Rukia were no different. They let him believe that there could be good humans. They made him believe that they actually cared about him.

And maybe he wanted to believe in goodness. In love.

Maybe he wanted…

Grimmjow tossed the photo to the side and collapsed onto the air mattress, face burning at the thought.

Fuck.

* * *

Instead of getting ready for the night, Rukia went to take a walk. She had to clear her head, get a gulp of fresh sea air. She’d spent too long down in the hull with only her husband and a mythological creature to keep her company. It was no wonder her thoughts grew delirious. Ridiculous, even.

And yet, she couldn’t get the thought of Grimmjow out of her head.

He was a lot more observant than most of the crew gave him credit for. Maybe he’d already figured it out.

There was no denying it: whether as a merman or regular human, Grimmjow was alluring. It was more than the sharp blue of his hair that caught both Ichigo and Rukia’s eyes. Even without his tail, he moved through the ship with a silky swagger, carving his way through every space with intent.

His biting confidence, his sarcasm, his observant wit…

Well, it was no wonder so many writers were enchanted by merpeople.

Rukia was confident in her marriage. It was not as though her love for her husband had diminished just because someone else caught her eye.

Ichigo felt the same way. She’d seen his eyes follow Grimmjow from over the top of his paperwork, the way he leaned in whenever the merman wanted to speak. He had to know how she felt, too, but they never talked about it.

To bring it up would be to admit it, and what kind of unprofessional scientists would they be to fall for their research subject?

Rukia became so lost in thought that she nearly barreled into one of the soldiers stationed on deck. “Lieutenant Matsumoto,” she said, straightening up. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there.”

“Oh, Rukia-chan, no need to be so formal! Please call me Rangiku!” the lieutenant crooned. “You and I haven’t had the chance to hang out much. I’m dying for some girl talk.”

Rukia snapped the chance up immediately. Anything to get her out of her own head. “Would you like a drink?”

“I’d love nothing more!” Without warning, Rangiku looped her arm through hers and practically dragged her to the little bar in the cafeteria.

The sake warmed her a bit, which was a relief because the ship was always cold. Her mind became blissfully numb, her tongue a little looser.

Eventually, Rukia gathered the courage to ask, “Why did you sign up for this mission?”

Rangiku looked out onto the deck beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows. “Gin asked me to.”

When Rukia stiffened, she waved her away. “I know, I know. He can be a handful a lot of the time. But I told him to leave you, your husband, and that merman alone. He’s kept to his word so far, right?”

Reluctant to give him any benefit of the doubt, Rukia offered only a curt nod.

Rangiku leaned back with a lax smile. “I’m glad. That merman seems to get agitated easily. If Gin raised that creature’s hackles, I don’t think he’d escape unscathed.”

“Grimmjow isn’t…I mean, he’s temperamental, but he’s not…”

Dangerous? No, that was a lie. The moment he arrived on the ship, when they’d failed to sedate him, he’d nearly killed Ichigo. When his tail was being dissected, he clawed at her face.

Grimmjow was dangerous. He was also, for all intents and purposes, a prisoner. Of course he’d attack anyone he saw as a threat.

Maybe that extended to both her and Ichigo, too. As much as they enjoyed being around him, there was no telling whether or not he felt even remotely the same.

They weren’t any better than the men from mermaid myth who abducted selkies for their own personal gain. Sure, they had forced the crew into a relative stalemate for a time. Grimmjow might trust them to an extent. None of it would be enough.

“You and your husband spend a lot of time around him. What’s he like?” Rangiku asked, leaning her head against her hand.

Rukia shifted in her seat. “Grimmjow is…admittedly not what we expected. He’s very rude. Not elegant like all the legends say. He has anger issues and he’s always trying to pick a fight.”

“He sounds similar to your husband, actually.”

“They’re both utter fools,” she conceded. “But that doesn’t mean Grimmjow deserves to be prodded or experimented on or used. I’ve studied plenty of fish species before, but what we’re doing is just…insane. He can talk and think and he’s…he’s…”

“Different?” Rangiku offered.

“Yes, but it’s more than that. How are we supposed to justify any of this? If we find more merpeople, what will Hueco Mundo do to them?”

“That’s not something I like to think about. ‘s pretty messed up.”

At this, Rukia stiffened. “What do you mean?”

Rangiku slumped against the bar. “Mmm, I overheard Gin say somethin’ like the higher-ups are getting anxious. They were really getting on his case about it. If we don’t send in any valuable reports or find more merpeople soon, we might have to force that mer-guy to talk to us.”

“By force, do you mean you’re going to…”

“I mean, not me personally. I don’t have the stomach for torture.” Rangiku downed another shot. “I don’t doubt they’d put Kurotsuchi in charge of this project again, though.”

A chill ran down Rukia’s spine. If Kurotsuchi got ahold of Grimmjow again, there was no telling how far he’d go. He had already been willing to dissect his tail without reservation nor permission.

Rukia stood up abruptly. “I…I think I’ll be heading off to bed now, Rangiku-san. Thanks for drinking with me.”

“No problem. I’ve had enough science talk for one night,” Rangiku said, patting her on the back. “We should do this again sometime. Maybe when we’re not shackled to work.”

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”

And she did. A vague plan hatched in her mind, the pieces not quite connecting but nearly there.

When she got back to her room, she found Ichigo reading through that book of fairy tales one more time.

“You’re still up?”

He set the book aside on their nightstand. “Couldn’t sleep. I was…thinking.”

She didn’t need to ask what consumed him. “Rangiku-san told me that if Grimmjow doesn’t tell us about the whereabouts of more merpeople soon, they’re going to turn him over to Kurotsuchi.”

Ichigo scowled. “I’d like to see them try.”

“We need to help him escape.”

And there it was. Not a confession, but another emotion laid bare. Alcohol always dulled her usual common sense.

Ichigo took her hands in his, and it was only then she began to fall apart. “I care about him,” she went on. “I…I want to know more about him, but not like this. Not for the sake of people who will use him. Don’t you?”

Ichigo brushed his lips against her knuckles. “I do. But I care about you, too, Rukia. I don’t want us to lose our jobs.”

She snorted. “We’ll lose more than that if we fail.”

“Your brother can afford the best lawyers to get us off scot-free.”

It sounded more like a plea than a fact. His smile wasn’t all that reassuring, either.

“Using the Kuchiki connections can only get us so far. If we help him, it would be considered a breach of contract. We’d have no case to defend.”

Her husband fiddled with the wedding band on her finger. He’d always been a good man. She could count on that, if nothing else.

Ichigo heaved a heavy sigh. Always one for the dramatics, her husband. She knew he’d follow her anywhere if she asked him to.

“What do you have in mind?”

* * *

The first phase of their plan involved getting to know the crew. Ichigo befriended a few of the soldiers on camera duty under the guise of wanting to install a couple cameras in Grimmjow’s cell. They were easier to fool than he thought.

Getting them drunk wasn’t an issue. They were so bored with their mission that they had nothing else to do but drink. The research was best left to the scientists, they said. No need for them to get involved if they just had the one tightly-bound prisoner.

Rukia got information about the soldier’s nightly patrols from Rangiku and managed to map out their routes. All of it was in place.

Overloading the ship’s electric grid was simple. When Ichigo called for their assistant to bring him and the security crew more drinks, he tripped him and let the drinks splatter over the controls. The monitors blinked off and the rest of the ship’s electricity shut down almost instantly.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” Hanatarō sputtered.

The tipsy security team fumbled for their flashlights and barked orders to their fellow soldiers. “Come help me start the generator! We need to reserve enough energy to get this damn ship back to shore for repairs.”

Hanatarō trailed after the soldiers, playing the part of the guilty party to a T. Should any of the soldiers go off-course, he’d alert the Kurosakis as soon as possible.

Rukia would secure the tail and Ichigo would take Grimmjow to the deck. It should have been simple. During lockdown, everyone was supposed to be confined to their rooms.

Rangiku was not supposed to be out tonight.

Rukia froze in place, the tail hefted over her shoulder. There was nothing she could do to plead her case.

Rangiku looked torn. A soldier’s orders were absolute. She had to turn them in, and Rukia had no doubt she would. A couple nights at the bar wasn’t enough time to build up a friendship.

“Go.”

Rukia gawked at her, uncertain if she had heard her right.

“Don’t make me say it again, Rukia-chan.”

Rukia hesitated for only a moment then bowed deep. “Thank you.”

A weary smile broke across Rangiku’s face. “I still expect us to have a girl’s night sometime after all this.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Rukia said with a small smile of her own.

The time window was slim. There was hardly any margin for error here. Even a stray soldier falling behind on their patrols could screw everything up.

The three met up on deck not too long after. Ichigo led Grimmjow by the wrist to their meeting point. It was only when he caught sight of his tail did he realize what was going on.

“Why the hell are you helping me?” he asked, wide-eyed.

Ichigo handed over Grimmjow’s tail. “Look, the last few weeks have been pretty weird…and great, too. But you can’t stay here.”

“It’s not right to keep you here. Hueco Mundo will end up killing you.” Rukia squeezed his arm. “We don’t want to see that happen to you, Grimmjow.”

A startled blush crawled across Grimmjow’s face and he faced the sea. “Che, you’re both so honest. It’s gross.”

Rukia smiled and drew out one last present. “If you ever want to meet up again, I drew a map for you to follow. This place is safe, I promise you that.”

Both men turned to look at the bottle in her hand.

“A message in a bottle? Seriously?” her husband groaned.

“What? It was the only way I could think to keep it dry!”

“Please tell me it doesn’t have your weird rabbit drawings on it,” he said. “Or wait, it’s written in some stupid code, right?”

Rukia elbowed him in the side. “You idiot! I want him to find us again.”

Much to their surprise, Grimmjow started to laugh. “You’re both idiots.”

He stepped forward and planted his lips firmly on Ichigo’s. Rukia made a startled noise in her throat when he did the same to her.

A genuine grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Thanks. I’ll see you soon.”

In a blink, he was gone. Ichigo and Rukia peered into the churning water. The telltale splash rippled across the water.

They did it. Grimmjow was free.

They made it back to their room without any incident whatsoever. Another miracle maybe? Or had this entire trip been one feverish dream?

The crew woke them up for individual interrogations a couple hours later. With no evidence and no camera footage to prove their whereabouts that night, however, they couldn’t be held responsible for Grimmjow’s strange disappearance.

Ichigo had told the drunken soldiers that he’d go to his room right when the power went off, as they ordered, and that’s where they found him and his wife. They had no case. No witnesses came forward.

The merman had simply vanished into the sea without a trace.

The Kurosakis quit the research venture as soon as they hit land. A few other researchers followed suit. The past few weeks were more than any of them ever asked for.

After their ordeal, they definitely needed a vacation. Rukia’s brother’s island would do just nicely.

They spent the day on a pristine white beach, enjoying the cool breeze and their shady picnic. Once sunset floated over the horizon, they walked along the dock to get a better view.

“Do you think he’ll come?” Rukia asked.

“Only one way to find out.”

They waited, sitting at the edge of the dock as the waves roiled underneath them. Suddenly, a blue and white beast launched out of the water just a few feet from the dock. Hope pulled them forward to a new beginning.

Rukia squatted at the edge of the dock. Familiar black eyes surfaced to meet hers. She leaned forth to plant a small kiss to his forehead.

Grimmjow scowled. “See, this is why I hate humans. You’re both so annoying.”

Ichigo rolled his eyes, but Rukia simply laughed.

“Yeah, yeah. We love you, too.”

#this zine is so so pretty im so happy to have been part of it #GrimmIchiRuki #Bleach #GrimmIchi #Ichiruki #Grimmruki #Grimmjow Jeagerjaques #Kurosaki Ichigo #Kuchiki Rukia

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