The Offering
Chapter 1
A/N: What sacrifice must Gin make to earn Aizen's trust? Takes place not long after the TBTP arc. Posted 11/7/10.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
There was only one piece of furniture in the darkened room, a large desk illuminated only by a reading lamp. The boy's breath caught as he was dragged inside and dumped unceremoniously in front of the desk. The man behind the desk was reading, paying no attention to the trussed-up youth lying on the bare wooden floor in front of him. His tousled brown hair fell over square glasses that glinted in the light. The boy swallowed as his captors left the room in silence, leaving him alone with the man.
The man continued reading silently for several minutes before he closed the book and looked up with a slight smile. The silver-haired boy shivered at the sight of the smile.
"Gin. You were caught spying on one of my operations. What I'd like to know first is why." The man's voice was soft and deceptively gentle.
The boy knew his life depended on what he said next. He himself had witnessed Aizen kill subordinates without a qualm when they displeased him. He knew Aizen cared little for the life of anyone he considered an enemy, an obstacle to his plans, or even merely no longer useful to him. He had only to see the captain's haori the man wore to recall how he had won the coveted position: through the secret torture and attempted assassination of his former captain as well as many other captains and lieutenants. The captains who had discovered the treachery had themselves been framed for Aizen's crimes and sentenced in his place. It was a lesson Aizen's subordinates had taken to heart: if they followed him loyally and obeyed his every command, no matter how arbitrary, they would be rewarded beyond their dreams. If, on the other hand, they failed him in any way, he would ruthlessly make certain they met dishonor, imprisonment, or death.
Not merely a powerful shinigami, Aizen controlled a formidable shadow organization with members throughout the Gotei 13, all operating in service of his clandestine schemes. Gin had chosen to join Aizen's organization and work directly for this man because of what he had witnessed being done to Rangiku. Originally, he had hoped to find out what had happened and return whatever had been taken from her.
He knew the price he would have to pay for this knowledge would be the utter destruction of whatever he had left for a conscience. He was well aware of the nature of the tasks Aizen assigned to those in his employ. He could never tell Rangiku what he had chosen to become, never admit to her it had all been done for her.
But in the handful of years he had been Aizen's agent, he had found out little. The man discouraged inquisitiveness, keeping each of the various "departments" of his organization widely separated.
By presenting himself as an emotionless snake who was willing to kill without hesitation, Gin had become one of Aizen's most valued subordinates, close enough to the man to be trusted with delicate operations and assassinations that had to be carried out in utmost secrecy. But he knew his past loyal service mattered nothing if Aizen deemed him untrustworthy now. Aizen had never been sentimental.
Gin licked his lips and smiled disarmingly at his superior. "Ne, it's what I do, Aizen-taichou. I've always been curious about everything."
Aizen studied the boy's face, observing the slitted eyes and immutable grin. "You know I don't encourage curiosity. It can be dangerous."
"Yes, but I like danger. It's exciting." He writhed slightly in his bonds.
Aizen moved around the desk to stand over the bound figure on the ground. "Is that so?" he asked softly. "You find being tied up at my feet, waiting on my word of life or death… exciting?" He drew a long, thin knife, and in one swift movement had bent down and delicately slit open the boy's clothing down to his waist, leaving a thin line of blood behind on his skin. Then he was standing again, towering over the boy in his voluminous captain's robes. His shadow fell over his captive, and his face was in darkness so Gin could not see his expression.
Gin's breath hissed at the sudden pain. The knife wound stung, but the pain was minor, a mere distraction. And he knew his life depended upon keeping his focus. "I've always wanted to find out everything I can about whatever is going on around me. It's part of being a street kid."
"Even if I don't want you to know?" Aizen's deep voice held just a hint of a threat.
"But I never speak of anything I learn. I would never say anything to anyone, Aizen-taichou." He knew his breathing was harsh, but he tried to keep his tone as deferential as he could. Deference, but not fear. He would not let his fear show on the surface.
But Aizen said, "You are afraid, Gin. Afraid of death."
Gin threw his head back so his smile was once more in the light. Aizen rewarded strength and bravery, not fear. "Not of death at your hands, Aizen-taichou," he said brashly. There were other ways to intrigue the man. He bared his neck and opened his slitted eyes slightly, fixing his eyes on the other man's shadowed face. "It would… please me… if you slit my throat, so that I would die by your stroke and none other," he murmured in a voice as sweet as honey.
In the dimness he sensed rather than saw Aizen's smile. When the man moved again, the boy saw he had removed his glasses. His eyes were dark and mesmerizing. He squatted down once again by the boy and very gently drew the sharp point of his knife across the pale skin of Gin's throat, gliding across his pulse point, just barely breaking the skin. Gin held absolutely still, ignoring the stinging pain.
Aizen reached out with his left hand and his long fingers caressed the boy's neck, stroking the line welling with blood. He lifted his fingertips, now smeared with blood, and brought them to the boy's lips. Gin, his eyes not leaving Aizen's face, slid his long tongue out of his mouth and licked the fingers, caressing them with his tongue, until not a drop of blood was left.
The brown-haired shinigami gazed at him, with, for the first time, something other than cold indifference visible in his eyes. Gin saw dark amusement and a spark of what might have been fascination glitter in those deep brown eyes. Then Aizen stood up and his face was in shadow once more. Without a word, he swept out of the room, leaving Gin alone on the cold floor.