Characters: Gin and Kenpachi
Genre: Drama/Friendship(?)
Setting: Episode 20, just after Gin pulled Kenpachi away from fighting Byakuya
Word Count: 414
Gin let the strings of profanity coming from the mouth of the Eleventh Division's captain bounce off his ears, and continued to drag the larger man to a safe distance away from Captain Kuchiki.
"'Kay, I'm gonna let ya loose now," Gin told him after he was satisfied with their location, "But only after ya stop yer cussin'."
The man from Zaraki spat out one last curse before shutting up.
Gin took a few steps backward to a reasonable safe distance, and drew Shinso. He gave a quick mental command, and the blade shot forward and precise cut the strips binding Kenpachi.
The fox kept a cautious eye on his peer, but to his surprise, the spike-haired man just got to his feet calmly and looked at him with a thoughtful expression on his face.
"You tied me up," the large man stated plainly.
"Yep," Gin replied unrepentantly. Despite his calm exterior, the fox was on a state of heightened alert. He knew that Kenpachi should be reacting in an angrier manner than the way he was now. Any moment now, the battle-hungry man was going to give him the what-for on stepping between him and a good fight.
But that did not happen. The blood knight just gave his peer a considering look, before an excited grin sprouted on his face.
"You've been holding out on me," Kenpachi chuckled, and reached for his nameless nodachi.
"Watcha talkin' 'bout?" Gin asked, feeling a little nervous.
"If you're strong enough to tie me up before I can blink," Kenpachi deduced, "Then you're strong enough to be fun opponent."
"That so?" the fox replied.
"Yeah," the battle-hungry man confirmed, and then eagerly shouted, "So show me what you got!"
With the challenge declared, he drew his sword and charged at the captain of the Third. A swing of his nameless zanpakuto destroyed the wall, but he realized that his potential playmate had disappeared on him.
"Tch," scoffed Kenpachi in frustration, and returned his sword to its sheath, "And I always heard he liked to have fun."
From a safe perch not too far away, Gin was shaking his head in amusement. On a normal day, he might have indulged in Kenpachi's thirst for a fight. But Aizen's plans were about to come to fruition, and the mastermind would not appreciate monkey wrenches being tossed in needlessly. Of course, the fox was tempted to start a fight just to do exactly that, but he restrained the impulse.
Author's Note: In his first appearance in the series, Gin successfully and easily ties up Kenpachi to prevent him from starting a fight. Isn't that one of those things considered impossible for anyone except Unohana? Of course, being Unohana, she doesn't need to tie up Kenpachi; she can just smile.
This is one of the scenes where we see evidence that Gin is a lot stronger than he lets on. With characters like Aizen, Ichigo, Kenpachi or Yamamoto claiming credit to being spiritual powerhouses (and rightfully so), it's easy to forget some of the other captains.
I also belatedly realized that every third chapter has Gin in it. I swear, this was not intentional, but an interesting coincidence all the same.
