Silver Serpent
A/N: Gin-Centric. My take on why he's often depicted as a white snake. Starts pre-canon, and follows up through the end of the Aizen Arc. May contain some sensitive subjects, you have been warned.
-S-S-
Gin looked around to make sure no one was watching, slowly approaching a fruit tree. It was obviously part of someone's garden, but he was too desperate for food to care. It had been several days since either him or Rangiku had eaten and it was putting a strain on both of them, so he had volunteered to hunt for food tonight. His fingers brushed the closest fruit as he saw a flash of white. Startled he dropped the fruit and turned to defend himself, only to freeze at the sight of a giant snake.
It's scales were a cold, deathly white in the moonlight and it's eyes an unnatural pale blue. Gin turned to run but the serpent was faster; it struck, sinking it's long fangs into his leg. He screamed and it released him, but the damage was done. It felt like the wound was on fire, and it was slowly spreading through his veins.
"You didn't die right away? Impressive. You must have some decent spirit energy to not be lying there dead." Gin struggled to look up from where he had fallen to see a man with messy brown hair, glasses, and a wooden badge on his arm.
"That's enough, Naga. This one might be useful." At the order, the now named Naga approached him once more. It rested in loose coils around him and flicked the wound with it's tongue. Soothing cold overtook the fiery pain as the venom was seemingly neutralized. His cries died down to shuddering gasps which gradually stabilised as he sat up. He was very aware of both the man and serpent watching him, waiting to see what he would do. Suddenly his memory kicked in, and Gin recognized the man.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Gin demanded, forcing himself to his feet. Aizen only smiled in amusement at the boy's temper. Not many would be demanding answers from the one that had nearly killed them. Nonetheless he replied.
"That all depends on your next choice. You may become useful to me, I simply could not let such an opportunity go to waste." Aizen replied. Thoroughly disturbed, Gin attempted to turn and run, only to be stopped by a hand roughly grabbing his arm.
"Where are you going?" Aizen asked.
"Away." Came the short reply.
"I don't think so. I remember your spirit energy from a few months ago, you're the little spy that was watching from the bushes. You've seen things you shouldn't have. I'd rather kill you than let you leave." The deceptively kind smile never left Aizen's face, but Gin knew the man meant what he said. And it scared him. He had just been given two terrible options, neither one that he wanted to take.
If he died, Rangiku would be alone again. Who would take care of her when she needed him? How would he ever get back what she lost, lost to the very man standing next to him? On the other side he could stay with this man, the one who stole, the one who wanted to use him as a tool. Try to get close, get back what was stolen. And maybe he could go back to Rangiku, when the man was dead by his hands.
"...and if I stay with you?" Gin asked.
"You will work for me and do as I say."
"And if I don't?"
"Naga and I will be watching, so you better be careful. As long as some of her essence remains in your blood, there will be no escaping her."
Gin stopped trying to pull away, resigning himself to his decision. Aizen released him, but he didn't try to run again. 'No more running. Not anymore. I have to get close enough to take him down.'
"I see we have an understanding here. Come with me." Aizen walked away, Gin and Naga trailing after him. "To answer who I am, I am Sosuke Aizen, Lieutenant of the Fifth Division. You happened to come upon one of my secret labs. When I realized who you were, well, I couldn't simply let you get away, could I?" Gin looked at the ruined building they passed, assuming it was the hidden entrance.
They walked for a bit longer until Naga vanished into blue smoke as a huge gate came into view and Aizen took his hand to keep him close. Passing through the gate, he could see the sun coming up over the massive city he had only heard stories about. The next gate they passed through had a large kanji for five above it.
"This is my Division's barracks. You will be living here after going to the Shino Academy to become a Shinigami. The next term starts in a few weeks, you will be going then. For now, you will stay here and I will train you to prepare for the Academy. I will make arrangements with the Captain." Aizen left him in an extra room and left to go find his Captain. Gin looked around at his new surroundings, taking it all in. It seemed his life had just been turned upside down.
-S-S-
Several months later found Gin in the middle of his first year at the Academy. Having had the basics pounded into him by Aizen before joining, his placement exam had landed him in many of the higher level classes. Since classes had started he had advanced very quickly so that he was now at the top in most of his classes. The teachers expected him to graduate at the end of the year; he was already seated officer level. Naga had been with him the whole time, usually watching through his eyes.
That was one of the side effects of having her essence infused in his body. Naga could freely merge with him and hide in his mindscape, much like a Zanpakuto. Unlike a Zanpakuto, she could also manifest anytime she wanted in a completely solid form, which she only used when they were completely alone. Over the past months, Gin had learned to not fear the snake. It had even become a sort of companion to him. He dropped his books on his bed and sat down, Naga curling up next to him and resting her heavy head on his shoulder. Gin pet the smooth scales, absently thinking back to how they had gotten to this point.
-S-S-
"Why do you follow that man?" He'd asked one day. Ever since their first meeting Naga had never tried to hurt him, even though he didn't always follow Aizen's command. It had been a rhetorical question, one he didn't expect an answer to. That was the day he learned that Naga could speak. In a raspy whisper, she gave her reply.
"I am his creation. As my master, he could easily kill me if he so wished. I have no choice if I want to live."
"You're trapped just like me, aren't you? The only way to escape him would be to lose our lives." Gin fell silent for a moment before starting again.
"I want to kill him. No, I will kill him, once I'm strong enough."
"You would risk your life to end his?"
"I have to. Freedom isn't the only thing I want from him. If he dies, you would never have to worry about him again." He waited for her reply, knowing he had just taken a big gamble. Naga crawled up to him, stretching up to look him in the eyes. Apparently finding what she was looking for, she looped around his shoulders to whisper in his ear.
"I must be crazy to believe you, child." She hissed. "But- I am willing to help you. We are united in our goals."
A wide grin formed on Gin's face, a sadistic, mocking parody of the smile it used to be. "He will die by my hand, I can promise you that."
-S-S-
After his promise to Naga, Gin worked even harder than before. He graduated at the end of his first year and was labeled a prodigy, earning Third Seat of the Fifth Division as soon as he joined the Gotei. His wide grin became a mask for him to hide his intentions behind as he tried to get closer to his target. He and Naga learned very quickly that they would have to have extreme patience until the right time came.
Years later he became Aizen's Lieutenant when several high tier Shinigami suddenly vanished and Aizen became a Captain. One step closer.
Decades passed and he eventually became a Captain himself. Hey Aizen, we're both Captains now. I'm getting closer.
No matter how close they got, time never gave them the opportunity to strike. The man was always just out of reach. How long till I take you down?
Half a century after meeting Aizen, Gin finally saw the part of him he knew existed. A modified Arrancar designed to poison a target with Hollow energy and cause Hollowfication. It was a horror he never knew existed. And then, they sent it to the Living World to see what would happen. It fought on par with the Captain it encountered, nearly killing him before a young girl intervened and gave herself instead. This lead to the terrible discovery of Soul Suicide.
A full century after their first meeting, Gin and Naga started seeing signs that the time was finally getting close. Ryoka invaded Soul Society, coming to rescue their friend that his former Captain had condemned. The first time he met the orange-haired Ryoka, he had been hurt to see the same fire in his eyes that he used to have. His own flame still burned, but it was far weaker than before. It had been a hundred years, after all. He had thrown the boy out without a second thought, hoping to keep him away from Aizen. Because he knew that Aizen wouldn't let him go once he got ahold of him.
His hope that the boy would save himself and his friends was crushed when they broke through the barrier, trapping themselves inside Seireitei where everyone was an enemy. Naga raged inside his mind, cursing the boy for giving up his second chance and freedom. The moment Aizen found the Ryoka he would have another experiment, another plaything, just like her and Gin.
-S-S-
"He's only playing with them, he will destroy them all." Naga hissed at him. Gin simply shrugged and continued to manipulate the halls of Las Noches in what he knew was a vain attempt to delay the invaders. They were far too stubborn for their own good.
"I know that. But what else can I do without drawing attention?" He shot back. Naga remained silent, not having an answer. "Even if it's only keeping them from confronting Aizen, I could keep them trapped in Hueco Mundo when the human town is invaded. All we would have to do is make sure there are no possible escape routes. If all the Arrancar were to come along in the attack, there would be no one left who would be able to make a portal for them."
"A simple and solid plan in theory, but plans never survive contact. Even Aizen knows this and always has a backup."
"It's all I got right now. If you have anything better, go ahead and put it out there."
Silence.
"That's what I thought." Gin sighed. "I may as well give up on moving the hallways, looks like they ran into trouble anyway." He stood and walked out of the monitoring room, Naga vanishing from his shoulders once more.
-S-S-
"I told you it wouldn't work. Try to trap them in an entirely different dimension, and yet here they are." Naga spat in distaste.
"Yes yes, I hear you."
"From behind you!" The warning came not a moment too soon, Gin barely having time to turn and keep the orange Ryoka from wounding him.
"What now? You can't just walk away now."
'I guess I have to fight, there's no getting out of this. When I can, I stall. Make small talk, distractions, waste time.'
"He knows somethings up. You're not taking this seriously enough!"
'Let me concentrate so I can fight without killing him!' Gin mentally shouted. Naga complied and backed off, leaving him to focus on Ichigo. It was surprisingly difficult to fight seriously without hurting his opponent too badly. The short but intense fight was interrupted by Aizen releasing a massive explosion of reiatsu that washed over the entirety of the fake town. The boy looked about ready to abandon his fight with Gin and join the bigger fight.
'NO! I have to keep him away from Aizen! Distract him, mock him, make him angry, anything to make him focus on me instead!' Gin startled the boy by appearing right behind him, but didn't attack again.
"Put him down, question his powers, make him feel useless. It's the easiest way to make him stop fighting if you really want to save the brat." Naga hissed.
'The poor kid's already hurt and confused, and he's in the middle of a war that should not have happened. I can't add insult to injury.'
"It's the only way. Didn't you call yourself a snake? You may be cold, but you still bear far too many emotions. Do it! What he feels doesn't matter as long as he survives, right?"
'I WANT TO SAVE THE KID, NOT DESTROY HIM YOU BLASTED SERPENT!'
"DO IT NOW!"
The internal conflict was stopped by Aizen appearing once more, ordering him to open a Senkaimon. Any signs that there could have been were wiped away as his grinning mask returned. On the other side of the portal old scars were torn open again by the appearance of Rangiku. He quickly took her away, desperate to keep her safe.
'I'm so sorry, Rangiku. All of this to get revenge for you, and I ended up dragging you into this war. It looks like you've already almost lost your life in battle, and yet you still stand to try and stop us. You're far stronger than I ever was. All this time I've been quietly following that bastard, too afraid to strike and end this. That changes now.' He knocked her out and returned to Aizen to find him tormenting a group of humans he recognised as the Ryoka's friends.
'This is it. Are you ready Naga?'
"I've been ready for decades, just get it done already!"
The kids ran away but Gin placed a hand on Aizen's Zanpakuto, stopping him from following. Suddenly he turned and stabbed his sword through Aizen's chest, immediately retracting it.
'Now, to end it all.' A massive hole blew open where the blade had pierced and Gin grabbed the jewel floating in the air. Aizen collapsed in a bloody heap as Gin retreated.
"It's over. This is the end."
"No! Something's wrong." As if to prove Naga right, the jewel disappeared from Gin's palm in a flash of light. Before he could react Aizen was in front of him, tearing his sword across his chest.
"He regenerated. He knew, of course he knew! He expected all of this! We never had a chance, you stupid boy." Naga snarled as Gin fell.
'Leave.'
"What?"
'Leave me before you die with me. You cannot die from my failure.'
"GIN!" A voice pierced his hazy conscious, and he forced his eyes open to see Rangiku flying towards him.
'Rangiku. In the end, I couldn't get back what was stolen.'
There was a commotion and he shifted his eyes to see Ichigo arriving at the battlefield.
"He's… Different from before."
'Yeah. He's gotten strong. With him like that, I can leave this to him.'
"You don't need to protect him anymore. He can finish what we couldn't."
'Shouldn't you be leaving? I won't last much longer.'
"You're right. Thank you for being with me all this time. Goodbye, my only friend." Nobody saw the smooth white serpent manifest as Gin closed his eyes for the last time, because she formed herself in a gap beneath the rubble he lay on. The battle changed location before it could begin, leaving the two combatants just barely in range to be sensed. She observed the entire battle, up to the finish.
Too late Naga noticed that she felt far too light, lighter than any serpent should be. She had been part of Gin for too long, and now that he had died she was going to disappear as well. The faint outline that was left suddenly burst apart in a cloud of reishi, washing away in the light of the setting sun.
"All is well. It wasn't us in the end, but the terror of Sosuke Aizen has finally come to a close for good. Goodbye, forever."
-S-S-
Never thought I would be writing a Gin-centric story, but the idea came to me and I had to get it out. Hopefully it gave someone a new perspective on Gin, I never really thought of him as a bad guy. Anyways, that's all for today.
See ya'll later!
~Misty