A big thanks to all my readers and especially my reviewers. I don't own Bleach.


Not a Chance

The room was dark except for a lit candle that sat in the center of a plain, rickety, wooden table. The quavering light of the candle reflects off a glimmer of silver hair and catlike, golden eyes. A deep voice speaks in the darkness, as the golden eyes focus on Gin,

"Do you really want to know what has happened to this friend of yours?" The voice asks as the golden eyes remain fixed on the smiling fox that sat across the table. Gin says nothing only nodding and leaning in closer as the deep voice whispers the name. His eyes flash open for a quick moment to reveal the color of ice before abruptly getting up from the chair and bowing,

"Thank you Yoruichi." He rushed out the door, leaving a trace of wind in his wake.

The candle is taken and lights several of the other candles that lay about the small room. The flickering light show Yoruichi, a woman with golden eyes, long purple hair tied in a high ponytail, and a man who comes to take the now empty seat. The man speaks as he tilts the green and white hat over his pale, blonde hair to shadow his eyes,

"Do you truly think they'll survive fighting that man?" The blonde man asked, leaning back in the chair with a practiced ease,

"I hope so Kisuke." Says the woman as she looks upward at the ceiling,

"I hope so."

Beneath his Cheshire grin, Gin's mind spun rapidly as he recalled the name that Yoruichi had given him. His smile twisted to a bitter smirk for a mere moment as his lips curled around the name with a snarl,

"Aizen."

Her clothes were torn and blood had begun to soak into the simple fabric of the dress she wore. The clip in her hair had fallen out and her dark hair framed her face as her eyes frantically searched the stone walls that seemed to continue on forever. A snarl filled the air as her eyes widened and sweat trickled down her suddenly pale face. Her hands rose up to conjure a fireball that lasted only seconds before sputtering out. Nanao spun around to face the monsters as she reached a dead end.

After Gin had finished the relaying information he had gathered, a slam filled the room as flesh met wood and Kyouraku's face turned dark,

"Who is this monster Aizen that has kidnapped Nanao?" He growled, ready to charge outside to apprehend the man. Gin sighed and a pained grin appeared on his face as he drew a breath to before he began to tell his tale.

"Before I met Ran over there, I had been on the streets for about a month. During that month was when I met Aizen." He said, his face darkening at the mere mention of his name, shaking his head, Gin rid himself of the dark grin before continuing his story,

"He seemed nice, nice enough to take me in after I got beat up by a couple of older boys. He healed me and allowed me to stay there. For a week or two, it was all fine, until he suddenly changed. He had brought me to a meeting and something went wrong. The others at the meeting began to yell, and Aizen, Aizen just killed them all in cold blood." Gin said flatly to keep all the anger and fear out of his voice as the memory came flooding back. Shaking his head once more and plastering the Cheshire grin back on his face and Gin continued to narrate, "I managed to escape in the end, I was lucky." He stated,

"Aizen is a cruel, ruthless, greed driven man. There's your motive, Nanao's part of a wealthy merchant's family and he decided to kidnap her for ransom or…" Gin paused, suddenly unsure as he thought of the other possibility that Yoruichi had given him,

"…or he could have kidnapped her to enslave her." Gin said darkly. All faces snapped to face Gin.

Before her, snarling stood a pack of wolves. They slowly padded closer to her as Nanao continued to back up until her back hit the wall. The wolves' eyes glittered as the click of their claws grew closer and the eerie glow that seemed to emit from their silver fur grew brighter, Nanao scraped together the last traces of her magic as her hands began to glow a weak, pallid light.

Behind the wolves stood a man that looked startlingly like Kyouraku with his brown hair, stubble on his cheeks, and quiet-almost lazy manner. However a few differences set the two apart, the man cut his hair short and his eyes were dead, steely grey that stared indifferently at the girl.

The wolves stopped short around three feet away from Nanao as she glared at them, a trace of fear visible in her eyes as the ice blue fire wavered uncertainly in her hands,

"Will you come peacefully? I would prefer not to fight." Starting at the sound of the man's voice, Nanao carefully examined the man before steeling herself, releasing the binding spell, and ran, hoping to make it past the man and the wolves. She didn't. The man had broken through her spell as if it were nothing more than paper before grabbing her by the arm and holding a gun to the back of her neck,

"I ask again, will you come willingly?" The man said a trace of regret in his voice as he held the pistol against her neck. Slowly, resignedly, Nanao nodded her eyes filled with frustration and just a touch of despair as the man led her back to her cell.

"WHAT?" Kyouraku's voice boomed as his hands slamming down into the worn wood of the table once more as his eyes darkened for a moment before he regained control. Nodding, Gin continued, his smile becoming strained as he continued on,

"That is how Aizen has become so wealthy. He's gained all his wealth on the pretense that he's a merchant when in reality he's a slave seller. I have been told the man kidnaps people after observing them for a few days and than selling them off into different countries where slavery's still allowed. Nanao would be a valuable slave with her knowledge and magical abilities." By the time Gin had finished, Kyouraku had stormed out of the room, his eyes dark and stormy,

"That man will not live another day." Kyouraku growled as he walked off, driving a chill down the spines of all who saw him.

However, back at the tavern, Gin, Rangiku, Unohana, and Ukitake sat at the table, silently digesting the dire information given to them. Rangiku seemed particularly subdued as she sat there, staring at a spot on the table before finally speaking,

"Gin? Do you know the location of this Aizen?" She asked, her glare unwavering as she stared at the spot on the table, burning a hole in it. Flashing a smile, Gin said nothing, only nodded before getting up from his chair along with the others, leaving the tavern quietly and onto the streets.

Bindings tied her to her chair once more, though this time they were enchanted to prevent her magic. Nanao glared at the chains with an wavering eyes before hearing the door creak open.

"Did you think you could get away?" Her eyes turned to glare at the blurry, featureless face as she, in an act of defiance, spit in the man's face.

CRACK! The man's hand hit her face, turning her neck at a painful angle as her cheek began to throb painfully,

"Look what you made me do." Said the man disapprovingly before walking out the door. Nanao finally allowed a few tears to trickle down her stinging cheek.


I hope most of you recognize the man with the gun! Please review!