Knowledge is meant to be used.

Chapter thirty five: Knowledge is meant to be used.

''And I want you, too.'' The moment that sentence left his mouth, a long silence followed swiftly, his unorthodox request making everyone present do a double take.

''… Pardon?'' The first one to talk was of course the person whom this request concerned the most, Nemu Kurotsuchi. Her face still remained stoic despite the oddity of the request. ''If you are looking for a hostage, I'm afraid I won't be of much use. However if that's what it takes for you to release Mayuri-sama, then I shall comply.''

'The nerve of this brat.' If Mayuri was not in his liquefied state, he would have gritted his teeth in visible anger. In his mind no matter the motives the teenager might have, that was still his creation that he intended to take. Despite his thoughts, his thoughts kept focusing around a way out of the unfavorable situation he had found himself in. 'Still, is this what it has come to? He's not as naïve as that girl from before and the quincy… To think I would be forced to negotiate with a human.'

''K-Kuromiya! What the hell are you thinking?'' Ishida was the last one to react to the odd words of his friend, his mind still attempting to make sense of what the motive behind them was. ''We can't just take a lieutenant as a hostage, and besides, what could we possibly gain from her? If a hostage is what you want, that captain surely would be much more valuable if we intend to negotiate…''

''Jeez… You all sure make a fuss for such a simple request.'' Kuromiya's eyebrows twitched in annoyance, from his point of view he had made himself quite clear and all of a sudden everyone had jumped into some weird conclusions. ''I won't repeat myself again, it's either that or I can just check you for the antidote and be done with it.''

He had been in a somewhat sour mood ever since he had made up his mind and arrived to a decision he might well end regretting. The ramifications of his actions were clear to him, but he would be unable to face some of the future threats by himself, that much he knew.

'And to do so…' His mind shifted straight towards Mayuri Kurotsuchi, who in his mind was what one might call a 'necessary evil'.

''Very well, if that's what you want then…'' The captain had attempted to take the lead of the conversation, but much to his dismay he was yet again interrupted by the obnoxious kid that had forced him into such a vulnerable state.

''Yeah, I'm not having that.'' Kuromiya interrupted, his voice coming out loud and clear from his lips, making sure it reached everyone present. Enveloping some spiritual pressure around the hand that held the liquid Kurotsuchi had turned himself into, he closed his right palm just enough to make his point clear. ''Talk again and I'll test out some kido's with you… After all, you might be liquefied but I wonder just how some lightning based Hado's would interact with you while you hold that form… I'd imagine it would be quite painful.''

''…''

''Much better.'' The teenager smirked as the captain remained silent, and so he switched his focus right back to Nemu, who remained paralyzed on the ground. ''The deal is between you and me, so I do expect the answer to come out of your mouth, if possible at all.''

''I…'' Nemu looked somewhat conflicted, which was only natural. For someone who was used to being ordered around, it must have been difficult for her to be forced to make a decision that would directly affect her superior. ''… If that means you will let Mayuri-sama go, then I accept.''

Her sentence started as nothing more than a whisper, but after she gained confidence in her own answer, the answer came out almost instantly.

''That's nice to hear.'' Akihiko replied with a simple nod, as if the woman in front of him had not just agreed to being traded like an object for her captain's sake. He soon turned to Ishida, who seemed to have grown quiet all of a sudden as the quincy grasped his chest in visible pain. ''Now, about that antidote…''

''I am unable to move due to the paralysis, the antidote is right under my lieutenant's badge on my left sleeve, if you would be so kind... '' The lieutenant explained, her tone remained unmoving for the most part, despite the obvious fact that she was under paralysis and bleeding out on the ground.

''…'' With a quick nod, Kuromiya decided that it was best to leave words for later and start with the search of the antidote, and so he moved his free hand towards Nemu and helped her to sit down against the wall behind her, making it easier for him to look for the medicine.

He unwrapped the badge from her left arm and within a few seconds he found a small vial containing an odd looking liquid located in some sort of 'inside pocket' on the badge, which he could only assume was the antidote that she was talking about.

''Alright then, open up.'' Kuromiya told the girl, their interaction being observed by both Ishida and the still liquefied Mayuri.

His words earned him a confused look from the girl, who tilted her in visible confusion, looking back at the teenager in an attempt to understand his intentions. It took her a few seconds, but soon enough she seemed to find a proper explanation to such a request inside her head.

''… You fear it might be poisonous too?'' Upon hearing her words, now it was Kuromiya's turn to tilt his head to the side. Nemu however seemed to have arrived at her own kind of explanation for his request, and so she didn't notice how confused the black haired boy looked himself. ''You can pour some of it in my mouth then, I'll…''

''Huh.'' Kuromiya muttered to himself, his own memories of this arc where somewhat foggy so he found her response a bit surprising. Shaking his head to the side to clear his mind, he couldn't help but think that he had made the right decision in separating the woman In front of him from her captain. ''I'm not the most humanitarian dude but that captain sure did some fucked up shit to have you thinking like that.''

''You have been inflicted with the poison too, I assume. In other words you need this antidote as much as my friend does.''

He met her now confused gaze with an exasperated sigh, deciding it would be better to sit go with it before Ishida decided to drop dead on the spot from the poison.

''I see.'' Nemu started, understanding now what the teenager's intentions were. ''If that's the case then you don't need to worry, I won't…''

''Just open your mouth.'' Noting that the black haired boy seemed to be in a hurry she decided to comply with his request, and she opened her mouth to be the first one to receive the antidote. ''We can discuss it later.''

Pouring about half of the content of the small vial on her mouth, he waited for her to swallow it and turned to Ishida immediately after, passing him the bottle making sure none of the remaining content dropped to the ground.

''Quick, drink that before you end up dropping dead.'' Akihiko told Ishida, a light smirk adorning his mouth now that the situation was under control. Upon grabbing the vial, Ishida took a second to look at his friend, noticing a somewhat forced smile on his face. ''What's with that look? You need me to pour it into your mouth too?''

''Very funny.'' Ishida replied back with a sarcastic laughter, deciding to leave his observation for later, drinking the content of the vial in an instant and cleaning the drops of liquid from his lips with the back of his hand. ''I'd rather die from the poison.''

Even though he had just swallowed the antidote, his pale complexion and his overall posture seemed to improve instantaneously, no doubt thanks to the antidote. The same could be said for Nemu, who even though had yet to change that melancholic look on her face, seemed to be looking a lot better already.

''I'd assume the antidote worked, then?'' Kuromiya questioned, waiting for an answer as his friend tried to move his arms around a bit despite their battered state.

''So it seems.'' Ishida replied with a nod, taking a look back at the green ball that remained levitating over his friend's palm. ''… So now what? What are we gonna do with him?''

This got Nemu's attention, who raised her glance up to both teenagers with the first hints of a worried look showing in her features. She had been forced to make a decision on the spot after all, but there was no guarantees that either of them would keep their word.

However, from the moment Akihiko had noticed Ishida's life was no longer in danger, his demeanor changed, and it was not in the way one might expect. After all, once the poison problem had been taken care of, it was time for him to act upon the decision he had made earlier, and it wasn't an easy one to make.

''Ah...'' Akihiko blinked, shaking his head yet again and forcing his mind towards less somber thoughts, he knew this was a step that he had to take sooner or later, though he himself was not sure if it was the right step to take.

Though that wasn't to say he was completely lost on what to do with the captain, he had a plan on how to deal with the depraved scientist, a plan that would no doubt benefit the both of them and keep their 'relationship' fruitful in the not so distant future.

''Ah...'' There was just one slight problem, and that problem was Ishida wouldn't like what he was about to do, not one bit. ''… About that.''

In an incredible display of speed, the fullbringer vanished from the spot and showed up right in front of the quincy, with his index and middle fingers pointed at his forehead.

''Bakudō #6…'' Akihiko muttered in a whisper, both of his fingers emanating a concentrated amount of spiritual pressure. Even before the name of the spell was uttered, both Nemu and Mayuri knew what was coming for the quincy, but that didn't stop them from looking in confusion at the situation. ''Hakufuku. (White Concealment)''

It had taken no more than a fraction of a second for the quincy to react, even in his battered, weakened and soon to be powerless state, he still managed to look at his friend in confusion while attempting to take a step back.

Much to his misfortune, he had acted one second too late, since Ishida's vision started blurring after that unknown spell was casted, purple colored cherry blossoms appearing as his consciousness started slipping away from him, his mind going blank immediately after.

Akihiko managed to catch his friend mid-fall with his left hand, making sure to get a good grip on him as his mind was forcibly shut down.

Despite how quick he had acted, he was still not sure on whether what he was about to do would end up saving them or destroying them in the future, that and the fact he had just attacked his wounded ally made him stop himself while looking at Ishida with an unsure glance.

[You good?] The child-like voice of his zanpakuto spirit reached his mind, in an attempt to elicit an answer from his wielder. [I know what you are thinking, you shouldn't worry. I'm sure he would understand if he knew our circumstances.]

'I suppose you are right.' Akihiko gave a weak nod in response, though the somber look still remained in his face. 'From now on, there's no turning back.'

[There never was.] His spirit replied, though his usual mocking tone was absent from his voice. [However, if it's worth something I think this is the right choice. Ignoring the threats that are coming for us and expecting them to vanish is not going to help, that much is for certain.]

'Thanks.' He gave a simple answer and so there was an unspoken agreement to leave their short exchange there, after all there was still plenty of matters to address, and next to no time before the place was swarming full of soul reapers.

His recent actions certainly looked extremely confusing to both of the people present, but the change in the boy's behavior prompted even someone like Mayuri Kurotsuchi to remain silent while assessing the situation.

And so, after a few seconds of consideration, the teenager turned to face Nemu, kneeling next to her without releasing his hold from the still unconscious Ishida.

''Can you move?'' He asked, a simple question, and he expected a simple answer.

''I can manage.'' Nemu replied back, and despite her words it wouldn't take a genius to tell that was not the case, the fact of the matter was she had been bleeding out for well over thirteen minutes, and the paralysis had yet to brush off from her completely.

''...'' He sighed, making an effort to throw Ishida over his shoulder while attempting to pick up the woman from the ground, he needed to act fast after all. ''I'm out of hands so just try and hold onto me as hard as you can.''

Her look travelled towards her captain, who was still trapped in that sort of slimy ball around the teenager's hand, the one who had remained silent throughout their whole exchange much to her curiosity.

''… Ah, him.'' He said after a short pause, noticing her worried look directed towards her captain. ''I'll free him soon enough, that much I can promise… After all, we are heading towards his lab right now.''

''We are what?'' Mayuri's voice reached their ears for the first time, his tone making clear he was both confused and unhappy with what he had just heard. Nemu herself had been taken aback by those words, the intruder had somehow managed to keep surprising both of them more and more with every word he uttered. ''Don't push your luck kid, you must be crazy if you think I'm going to allow someone like you to…''

''It doesn't need to be your lab then, I just need a private place where we can talk.'' Kuromiya offered, and once again that was a surprise for both of them. From the moment he had arrived the black haired boy had been forceful and leaded their exchanges, but now he seemed open to negotiate with them. ''… Then again, if you don't want to know then there's no helping it; I guess I must have mistook you for an actual scientist.''

''…'' What might have been an entire minute of complete and utter silence followed that single claim, and even though the captain had no eyes at the moment, Kuromiya was sure he had been staring straight at him the whole time.

''… It better be something good, or I'll make you regret taking you to my lab.'' The scientist replied at last, his tone promising hell if the teenager didn't deliver on his word.

''Trust me, I am going to make it worth your time.''

End of chapter thirty five.