Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly;
Man got to sit and wonder 'why, why, why?'
Tiger got to sleep, bird got to land;
Man got to tell himself he understand.
- Kurt Vonnegut (Cat's Cradle)
The knock sounded at his half-open door just as Gin finished packing his meager belongings.
"Door's open, obviously. C'mon in."
First came one blue eye, cautiously peeking through, then the other as the door slid open the rest of the way. Gin latched the suitcase closed as he watched Izuru slip into the room with a polite bow and a bright smile. There was the lightest hint of a blush forming on his cheeks as he fiddled nervously with the tie on his sash.
"Good evening. Sorry to intrude, Lieuten- I mean, Captain Ichimaru."
Gin smiled even wider as he heard Izuru carefully feeling his way around the words, around the new title.
"No need ta be so formal. We're friends, ain't we, Izuru?"
That fair skin flushed red when he leaned in much too close, ignoring all sense of personal space. Gin could hear that heartbeat quicken; could practically smell the fear and excitement coming from his prey. This reaction was always the best, and he grinned even wider at the thought. Only little Izuru was like this: frightened yet enthralled. He looked like he was trying to hide behind his bangs, but they weren't nearly long enough for that. Gin took pity on him (because this prey was to be savored a little bit at a time) and pulled back.
"Was there somethin' ya needed?"
"Oh! Ah... Congratulations on your captaincy! I'll- the Fifth will miss you."
"Thank ya very much. I'd love ta hang 'round an' chat with ya, but they're expecting me at the Third. Wouldn't do for the guest of honor ta show up late..." His voice trailed off as he scanned the empty room.
There was one last thing: the neatly folded white haori. Gin snapped it open in one quick motion, exposing the emblem of his new division. He slipped it on as Izuru watched, eyes wide and Adam's apple bobbing with soundless swallows. It was cute.
Gin chuckled as he brushed the young man's bangs from his eyes. It seemed like Izuru really was growing them out. "Come visit sometime, 'kay? Ya'll always be welcome in the Third."
Gin's favorite pastime had always been people-watching. Humans and Shinigami were so much alike in their base impulses. Though they tried to shroud themselves in veils of nobility or intellectual pursuit, they were all the same at the lowest level. To fight, to fuck, to love... It was all any of them ever wanted no matter how much they pretended otherwise.
Perhaps that was why most people found his face disturbing. When they looked at him, they saw a smiling mask just like the ones they put over their hearts to lie to themselves about being something more than a fighting, fucking, loving animal - the scum of the earth.
The scum wanted to be special. How quaint.
It was so interesting to watch them struggle to become more; to put love above fighting and fucking, perhaps, or to place themselves above all three, as Aizen aimed to do. Aizen was... something else entirely. Something sinister, something grand. Someone to watch out for, someone worth playing games with. He watched the other man from under slitted eyes.
The teapot's clink against the table was muffled by a coaster. Fragrant steam rose from the elegant ceramic cup set in front of him, curling toward the ceiling.
"Thanks," he said, inhaling deeply into the cup held in both hands. He took a small sip. "New batch tonight. Jasmine?"
Aizen smiled with his usual gentle facade as he nursed his own cup. His kindness was so very fake. "As fond as I am of our usual green tea, I thought it was time for a change of pace."
Ah, so fake, so fake! It was amazing how so few had seen through Aizen's mask and his cryptic messages so far.
Two liars sat at the low table, their faces half-shrouded in the room's dim glow, steam rising out of the cups in their hands. Here they danced - one who would be a god, and one whose sword was meant to slay the gods. The Fifth Division captain's quarters were silent but for the far-off shuffles of the occasional guard on patrol. They drank their tea.
It was Aizen who broke the silence. He smiled again, indulgently, his eyes melting into oozing brown pools of disgusting sugary goodness as he gazed at Gin. It was as if he was thinking fondly on good memories or spoiling a beloved grandchild, though Gin was sure he was neither to the other man. "I've decided to keep just one of them on. And that will be Hinamori-kun," he said. "Her... single-minded brand of loyalty will be much more useful to me than Kira-kun's dutiful type."
What lay thick in the silence was, "I will be her everything. I will be her god," but Gin heard it well enough. It was a pity, he thought, that Aizen had to go and make his pet girly so dull. Aizen had lots of ideas that made life interesting, but this wasn't one of them. Hinamori wasn't very fun. Broken dolls in general weren't very fun.
Well, to each his own.
"Ah, so that's why ya transferred Izuru to the Fourth. I was s'prised to see him runnin' errands with 'em this morning."
"He asked for the transfer."
"Really."
"I may have dropped a few hints. After all, we wouldn't want such close friends to have to compete against each other for future promotions, would we? It would be bad for the squad's morale."
"Why the Fourth, hmm? Izuru ain't gonna last there. Even if he don't like ta fight, he's too much of a fighter, too proud, got too much ta prove."
What he didn't say was, "Izuru's a good kid. If ya ain't got a use for him no more, why ya gotta break him like that?" When they had ditched Abarai, the stray dog got to scurry off to the Eleventh, free from their reins. Couldn't they let Izuru go, too?
But of course they couldn't. The spider that let the pretty butterflies get away would go hungry and die. Gin would never voice these thoughts, though of course Aizen heard them just fine.
Across from him, Aizen snorted. It was a nearly imperceptible sound, but showed much more of what he was truly thinking than this faux politeness. "Ah, yes... That pride of his is a bit of a problem. He was the highest scoring student on the entrance exam that year, wasn't he? Quite a prodigy in kido, and he came out of the academy with top marks in all subjects, too. Perhaps cleaning the sewers will teach our valedictorian some...humility. A good character-building exercise, wouldn't you say so?"
"I see."
Gin couldn't stop his smile from slipping for just a second. It was a tiny momentary lapse of control. Anyone else would have missed it, but not Aizen, whose eyes narrowed behind his glasses at the confirmation of one more of Gin's few weaknesses.
"Rest assured, Kira-kun will transfer to your division. It may take a while with his stubbornness, but he'll go running to you eventually. When I asked if he had a preference of divisions for the transfer, it was all he could do not to blurt out, 'Third'. Perhaps his pride forced him to remain silent for fear of appearing desperate, hmm? He's always been so fond of you."
"Well that's good ta know. But I s'pose it might've also been possible that he didn't expect ya'd punish him with that kinda transfer when he's always done good work."
Aizen ignored Gin's words and continued on. "Do you think you can make use of the boy?"
"Hmm..."
"Will you twist his affections? Mold him to suit our purposes?"
The gleam that entered Aizen's eyes at that inquiry was apparent even through the thick lenses. It was quite perfectly said, from one predator to another, each spider tangled in the other's webs. It was a test of Gin's brutality rather than Izuru's loyalty. Aizen had said, in a sense, "I let your big-breasted tramp of a girlfriend go. Now prove to me you've got the balls to rope this little butterfly in." He sipped his tea and pondered the choice. Or lack thereof.
"Maybe I'll give it a try."
"Of course you will, Gin." I expect no less from my eternal lieutenant. Aizen's tone brooked no arguments.
Of course he would. He'd just do it in his own way. It wasn't exactly like he was disobeying Aizen's orders. Because Gin wasn't so disrespectful as to do that, was he? Saa, people were just too unpredictable when it came to things like love and inner strength. How could Gin be expected to have predicted that such a gloomy boy would be able to hold up so well on his own? Oh yes, Izuru was fun, and he was going to stay that way.
"Thank you for the tea, Captain."
"Please, there's no need for such formalities. You're a captain as well, now."
Setting aside his cup, he bowed and left the room.
