IMPORTANT MESSAGE (SPOILERS FOR ANIME)

Okay so despite the changes in the anime, the Spirits are staying the same. Tobiume's gonna be a dude, Hyorinmaru's a dragon and Senbonzakura's a chick. Also Haineko's a cat. So on and so forth. In future stories I might change that but considering the relationships have been established in this series of stories I'm keeping it as is. Same with the current stories going on, the only exception being Verona where none of the Spirits have been established yet.


The buzzing and ringing of a cell phone broke through the darkness of the otherwise silent Tenth Division.

With a snort and mumbled curse, Rangiku Matsumoto groped blindly in the darkness for the offending device. Only one person would dare to call her at this hour without fear of repercussion and when she saw him again she was going to take that extending sword of his and ram it through his arrogant smile. Hand connecting with the device she rolled onto her back and connected the call.

"Gin I swear to God--" she began furiously, alcohol only slightly tainting her words.

"Ran," he cut in, his voice holding none of its usual mocking tone.

Matsumoto pushed herself up on her elbow, blinking sleep out of her eyes as adrenaline kicked in.

"What's wrong?" she demanded, her voice sharp and worried.

He didn't tell her 'nothing' which was an immediate tip off to how serious the situation was. She knew Hinamori was with him and Hisana as well. Given Hisana's presence whatever was going on was serious. They hadn't had any contact if Byakuya's even colder then usual expression was any indication. So why the hell was he calling her at this ungodly hour? A cold, terrible knot of fear settled in her stomach as she sat up fully and swiped a hand across her eyes to banish the last vestiges of sleep out of her eyes. He said nothing for a moment, picking his words which only made it worse for her.

"Gin!" she said sharply, "what's going on? Whose hurt?"

"No-one's hurt. Not physically--well Hisana's scraped up but she's fine."

"GIn what's going on?" she demanded, "Gin--"

"Hitsugaya's alive."

Dead silence hit his ear and he immediately cursed his lack of tact. He should have done something to ease her into the news instead of just blurting it out. He really was rather terrible at breaking bad news--or any news really to the strawberry haired woman. Usually she was good at dealing with his general lack of tact, but he had a feeling this wasn't the same thing. Hitsugaya's death had hit them all surprisingly hard but Hinamori and Matsumoto were hit the hardest. It was the second Captain Matsumoto had lost and, to boot, she had to deal with the fact that he was back as well. She had been more than thrilled that he wasn't about to be executed or held up as an example but despite his steps in the right direction, forgiving was not an adjective to describe Rangiku Matsumoto.

Still despite all that he had put her through, she hadn't gone anywhere. In some ways he had a feeling she got enjoyment throwing that in his face. He left, she wasn't leaving, if nothing else then to prove to Aizen, to him--probably to herself as well--that not everything was predictable. She and Kira had, for some reason he'd never understand, maintained the persimmon trees in the Third DIvision. When he had strode back through the doors of the Division, his white robe swinging with his steps, the first thing he had seen were those trees. Of course she would find a way to render him speechless. Though he had to admit, telling her the Captain she had mourned over was still alive, was not the way he wanted to return the favor.

"Y-you--" she began, her voice shaky. For a moment he thought she'd accuse him of lying, "what do you mean he's alive?!" she shrieked finally, sending his ear ringing in the wake of the scream.

For a moment Gin wondered if she actually expected him to answer that question. Deciding it was rhetorical, he transfered the phone to his other ear and leaned forward, resting his forearm on his knees as he looked out the window of the hotel room.

"How?" she demanded.

"No idea. He's with the Vizards right now."

"The Vizards," she repeated, her voice sounding hollow to his ears.

"He still wants to kill me," Gin offered.

"He still--" she stopped, "oh my God--Hinamori! That's why you called me the other day," he made a sound of confirmation, "why didn't you tell me then?!"

"Because Hinamori was hysterical," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Matsumoto stared, disbelieving at the phone before wondering why she was shocked. Genius, prodigy--cold hearted murdering bastard. There were many things that Gin Ichimaru was frighteningly good at. Dealing with women was not one of them. Most of the women, no, most of the people in Soul Society were still off put out by him. Hinamori never had been, something she attributed to the fact that from the moment she had been saved as a student to the moment Aizen impaled her to the moment they had both first betrayed and then saved Soul Society, Gin Ichimaru had always been there. Matsumoto supposed there was a lot for the two of them to bond over. Even so, comforting was not something to describe Gin and if Hinamori was hysterical, then Gin was probably not even thinking about informing her of such a thing. Matsumoto knew why. The only thing worse then having Hianmori hysterical would be having her and Hinamori hysterical.

"Why is Hinamori so upset?" she demanded finally voicing the question that seemed to be nagging at her, "she should be--" Matsumoto wasn't sure what the young woman should be, she wasn't even sure what she was felling. just that hysteria, especially the kind that required comforting, was low on her list, "she shouldn't be sad. What's going on?"

"Hitsugaya's being an idiot," came the quick reply, she could hear the smile in Gin's voice.

"Gin--" she began warningly, knowing the two of them would be at each other in a matter of second.

"He didn't talk to her, probably wouldn't have if she hadn't figured out it was him. Now all he wants is to get her as far away from him as possible."

"But he loves her!" Matsumoto protested, disbelieving that Hitsugaya would act in such a way. For a moment she was silent, "maybe--" she began, biting her lip.

"What?" Gin prodded.

"Maybe he's pushing her away because he loves her," she said quietly, her voice quick, "something else is going on, isn't it?" she demanded, her voice sharp.

"Ran--" he began.

Matsumoto rolled her eyes. Sometimes Gin went on missions like this one, secretive ones that he couldn't talk about and certainly not while they were happening. But every time he disappeared all she could think of was the years when Aizen had been using him, when he would disappear without a word and show up weeks or months later, as though nothing was wrong while the whole time he had been hurting or killing people. She had never known how much blood stained his hands, even if she loved him she wasn't sure she wanted to know. Sometime she hated herself for her cowardice. Worse than that though was the fact that Gin didn't want her to know. He had kept in the dark for so many years, the one time she had demanded to know why he had said one simple thing that had stuck in her mind. She asked why and he had said simply:

To protect you

She had been simultaneously frustrated and touched, settling on acting out the former emotion and smacking the genius upside the head. Even if he was pushing her away to protect her, Matsumoto knew how much it could hurt. She had been young when he was doing it too, young and scared and weaker then she was now. Hinamori wasn't like that, not anymore. Not after what Aizen did. Matsumoto knew she had let Gin push her away. She knew that Hinamori wouldn't do the same to Hitsugaya.

"Gin you have to watch her," she said quickly, "she's not going to let him do it--but if he's doing it to protect her--" she trailed off.

"That's the thing," he said, "he might be doing it to protect her but she was sent her because of him," he finished, voicing the long held suspicion, "its the only reason they'd assign her to this mission."

Matsumoto nodded, trying to stuff down the tears that threatened her eyes. It made a horrible sort of sense, the Guard doing something like that. They were ruthless in every sense of the word, ruthless and unyielding. People spent their whole lives trying to get into the Guard, she supposed it made sense that they would have to shut off their emotions. But to throw Hinamori at Hitsugaya, to use their feelings for one another as a bargaining chip, it was disgustingly low.

A knock resounded on Matsumoto's door.

Her heart leapt into her throat as she gripped the phone. Could they know that she had spoken to Gin? This quickly? The knock resounded again, sharper this time as if whoever was on the other side of the door was loosing patience. They hadn't said a word though, everyone Matsumoto knew would have shouted her name along with a few choice adjectives about laziness now. Her visitor hadn't said a word.

"Gin," she spoke, struggling to keep her voice calm, "I have to go."

"Ran?" genuine worry came thick in his voice, "what's going on?"

"Take care of yourself," she said quickly.

"Ran--Ran!"

Gin shouted her name the last time, hoping that would have some kind of affect on her but all that happened was a clicking sound before the dial tone came across. Swearing Gin closed the phone and dropped it onto the bed, burying his fingers in his hair. He hadn't done anything wrong, he had just told Rangiku a very important thing she was probably going to find out anyway. But the Guard could take it a different way, there was always the risk. They had been walking around on egg shells ever since they had taken over and more and more frequently now they were coming close too if not actually having contact. Soon Hisana'd be out of the job if things continued like this.

"What's going on?"

Gin turned his head to see Byakuya's wife standing there. A large bruise was already darkening her throat and from the bandages wound around almost all her right arm and her waist, he had a feeling the fight she had been in was worse then she'd let on. Standing next to her, looking far less than thrilled at the situation was her Zanpakuto spirit. Gin inclined his head in greeting to the Spirit before turning to Hisana.

"Ran's in trouble?"

"The Guard?" she asked. He nodded.

"They probably just want to find out what you were stupid enough to tell her," came the sharp reply from Mizu.

"Hard fight?" he asked.

"I broke one of them," Hisana replied, opening her fist to show a jar in which what looked like shard of a broken statue were resting, "hard not to get any of that dust in me," she said, "but after what's going on with Hyori," she shrugged and rubbed at the bruise on her neck irritably.

"Good thing you managed," he said, "Ran thinks he's pushing her away to protect her," he added.

"It makes sense," Hisana said, "and sounds familiar."

Gin tried not to glare. It did sound familiar but if there was one thing in the world he did not want it was to have similarities with Toshiro Hitsugaya.

"Let me see if Senna knows what's going on with Ran," she offered finally, "you go and make sure Hinamori's not doing anything incredibly stupid--"

Before they could separate the window slid open. They were both on their feet immediately, both sliding seamlessly into fighting stances with their hands going to their Zanpaktos, their eyes going to the figure crouched in the window. It wasn't like it would have made much of a difference if their opponent had been there to attack them. Fortunately Mashiro just blinked at them, as if it was perfectly normal for her to be sitting in the window like some oversized bird. Hisana and Gin traded looks before focusing on Mashiro, though neither relaxed their postures.

"Whatcha doin?" the green haired Vizard inquired, "what happened to you?" she asked focusing on Hisana and the obvious bruises that decorated her.

"Your friends," Hisana replied viciously.

"Oh they're not our friends," Mashiro said making a face as if she had been asked to eat something disgusting before she hopped fully into the room, an artfully placed kick sliding the window sharply down, closing it, "Hiyori's getting worse," she said finally, her voice taking an uncharacteristic serious edge.

"Orihime's on her way," Hisana said, "she should be here very soon. She'll be able to help Hiyori."

Mashiro nodded, but from the look in her eyes she didn't quite believe that Orihime would be able to fix Hiyori.

"Mashiro," Hisana began, "what's going on with Hiyori?" Mashiro bit her lip. Hisana felt an icy knot in her stomach begin to form, "Gin," she looked over at him, "did Hinamori ever come back?"

"Yeah, um, about that," Mashiro began looking genuinely guilty.


"Hinamori?! Hinamori?!"

It was hard to say who ran into the bar faster but both of them made it there in record time. Hinamori's Spiritual Pressure covered the building, unmistakable and obviously containing a much more wicked one. Gin was in front but Hisana was right on his heels as the two older Shinigami raced up the spiral staircase to the apartments above the bar. Hinamori was in the hallway, a group of ashen faced Vizards nearby along with Hitsugaya in his usual black hoodie. Hinamori had her eyes closed, her hands gripping Tobiume in his full bankai state as some sort of Kido barrier pulsed around the door.

Whatever he had become, it didn't matter to Gin as Shinso shot forward and slammed clean through the fabric of Hitsugaya's jacket, pinning the once-dead man to the wall. Gin walked forward until he was toe to toe with him.

"I don't know what you're playing at, I don't care but you better make up your mind quick about where your loyalties lay or you're going to be finding yourself at the pointy end of a whole lot of swords."

"Hinamori?" Hisana crouched by the younger woman, "what are you doing?"

"Kido barrier," Hinamori replied, "Hiyori's Spiritual Power is fluctuating. I'm containing it. I'm trying to stabilize it."

"Hinamori your power--"

"Oh I'm masking it," Hinamori said peeping open an eye, "just like you taught me."

Hisana nodded, remembering she hadn't felt any of the power outside the bar. Inside though it was as though Hinamori's ability had taken the place of the oxygen in the room. Her eyes were slightly puffy though, a clear indication that she had shed tears recently. Hisana had a feeling that the reason for that was currently pinned to the wall by Gin's sword. Hisana nodded though Hinamori couldn't see and touched the young woman's shoulder. Hinamori's grip on the staff was tight but her face was deceptively serene. The Vizards all looked worse than the other. Hisana wasn't sure she could look at Shinji without desperately wanting to call her husband. If Hinamori's Spiritual Power was fluctuating enough that Hinamori had to go to Bankai to contain it then things were truly bad. The other Vizards should have been able to do something but this must be beyond their ability.

"Call if you need anything," Hisana said, "you, you're coming with us," she said motioning. Gin grabbed Hitsugaya and shoved him out of the room downstairs to the bar. Hisana spun around, "Bakudo #1, Sai!" Hisana said throwing out a hand.

The force that locked Hitsugaya's hands was very strong. It was a simple spell but given the power of the Shinigami that used it, an effective one none the less. It only took a moment for Gin to shove Hitsugaya into a chair and rip back his hood. Hisana walked over to the one time Shinigami.

"Matsumoto thinks you're pushing Hinamori away to protect her," Hisana told him bluntly.

"Huh?!" shock shone in his eyes, "you told Matsumoto?"

"Shut up. The Guard's dangling her in front of you like bait. She's here because of you and she's going to get hurt if you keep acting like this. So the next words out of your mouth had better be an explanation so we can figure out a way to fix this," Hitsugaya opened his mouth, "ah ah," Hisana waggled a finger. "Lets think first for once."

"You can't fix this," he said hotly, "no-one can. You haven't figured out who those people are," Hisana arched an eyebrow, obviously not pleased with his response but he turned around and looked at Gin, "didn't they look familiar or have you killed so many people you don't remember their faces?!"

"Obviously not," Hisana broke in angrily as Gin seemed to be thinking, "focus child genius. What the hell are you doing?" he opened his mouth, "better yet. Why are you here?"

"I was sent back," he said finally.

"Why?" Hisana prodded when he didn't say anything.

"To save the world! Why else do you think?!" there was a sharp inhale from Gin, "figured it out have you?" Hitsugaya demanded turning in his chair, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"Yeah," Gin said, "and you're wrong," Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow, "I didn't kill them. I just helped unmake them."


Explanation time! Or it will be next chapter. Oh and Orihime and Ulquiorra are gonna come and join the party!

Please review!