Warning: The fight scene between Gin and Luppi will get a little grisly. This is rated "T" after all.
"Welcome, Kuchiki-san!" Urahara greeted in his usual chipper manner while waving his fan. "What can I do for you?"
"I need another gikon dispenser," the petite noble explained. "My usual, please. You do have one in stock this time, right?"
"Of course! I made sure to have at least one Chappy reserved especially for you! Please wait a moment while I go fetch it!"
She nodded in acknowledgement, and the shopkeeper left to pick out the appropriate merchandise from storage. Rukia had only waited a few seconds before a familiar voice sang, "How are ya, Rukia-chan?"
She quickly turned around to find Ichimaru looming over her. It was times like these that she hated being so short.
"Ichimaru-taichō," she acknowledged respectfully. "What are you doing here?"
"Just takin' a walk 'round," he answered. "Thought I'd come by an' chat with Urahara-san, an' I found ya here."
"I'm simply purchasing some gikon," Rukia said using the standard cautious-polite tone she was accustomed to having whenever she conversed with Ichimaru.
"Oh, an' outta curiosity," he drawled. "Ya wouldn't happen to know where Ichigo is, do ya?"
"I don't," she answered. "He hasn't returned back home for a few days now."
There was something Rukia wanted to ask Ichimaru in return, but she was not sure if she could gather the nerve to do it.
"Ichimaru-taichō," she continued, finally facing up to it. "May I ask you a question?"
"Ya can ask me anythin' ya want," the fox said easily.
"Why did you choose to save me in Soul Society?" she asked before she lost her courage.
Ichimaru cocked his head, as if confused by her question. "Watcha mean by that?"
Rukia's patience was quickly wearing thin, but she restrained herself. "You've never shown any liking towards me, and suddenly you volunteer to risk your life to save mine. Why?"
"Sorry, thought it was obvious," Ichimaru said. "Don'tcha remember me sayin' ya were my second favorite woman in Soul Society?"
"But why?" Rukia demanded. Now that she had finally asked the question, her momentum was carrying her forward, and she was not going to stop until she got an answer.
"'Cause I like ya," Ichimaru stated in a matter-of-fact manner.
"You have a funny way of showing it!" Rukia replied with more heat than she probably should have. "Ever since I met you, you've taken it upon yourself to harass, terrify, and generally drive me insane!"
It was hard to lock eyes with someone who kept them nigh-closed all the time, but she did her best as she glared up at Ichimaru upon finishing her brief rant, waiting for his reaction. He did not look even remotely offended by her outburst. Just the opposite in fact; his smile had widened to show more teeth. Rukia was no expert in reading his smiles, but she could have sworn that he looked satisfied by her insolence.
She kept up her defiant stare, daring the man to make the first move. She was not disappointed, but in an unexpected way.
Ichimaru brought his hand up, and Rukia instinctively stiffened. But the only thing he did was gently place his bony, thin fingers on top of her head. The action made her uncomfortable, but she forced herself to relax.
"Yer growin' up fast," Ichimaru told her, and then took on an infuriatingly patronizing tone, "but there's some things ya ain't ready to hear yet."
Rukia growled in frustration, using every bit of self-control she had to prevent herself from strangling him.
"Ah, Ichimaru-taichō!" Urahara sang as he re-entered the room, Rukia's gikon dispenser in hand. "I didn't hear you come in. How are you doing?"
Rukia was almost certain that the "humble" shopkeeper had been eavesdropping on their conversation. She did not say anything on it, though, because he had come just in time to defuse a situation that potentially could have ended badly for her.
"Doin' well," Ichimaru answered conversationally, and removed his hand from the top of her head, much to Rukia's relief. "How's business?"
"Same old, same old," Urahara replied. "The usual lovely ladies and crazy gentlemen are my best customers."
Rukia rolled her eyes at the attempted flattery, and held out her hand to accept the merchandise. Urahara offered the soul candy dispenser to her, and she gave a brief bow and a word of parting to Ichimaru before she walked quickly out the door.
"Why are you here, Ichimaru-taichō?" Urahara asked after Rukia had exited the building.
The captain's tone was suspiciously casual as he said, "Mind tellin' me what happened that night a hundred years ago?"
The shopkeeper went still as a rare serious expression crossed over his face. They both knew Ichimaru did not need to specify the exact date. From beneath the shadow of his hat, Urahara looked back at the squinty-eyed man and asked, "Who is making this inquiry?"
"Me," his smirking customer answered. "Though Yama-jii is very interested in hearin' yer side o' the story, now that certain facts have come to light."
"Is he now?"
Ichimaru nodded. "He wants ya to re-confirm the story ya told a hundred years ago, that it was Aizen who framed ya fer the Hollowfication of those captains an' lieutenants."
"He did." Urahara's tone was flat, indicating he was neither impressed nor mollified by this roundabout admission of guilt on Soul Society's part.
"That's all he wants to know fer now. But what I wanna know is this: how's Lisa gettin' along these days?"
Urahara blinked in mild surprise. Of all the questions he had expected, that had been rather low on the list.
"She's fine," he answered cautiously. "She's healthy and sane, and doing well."
"Good," Ichimaru answered. "I don't suppose there's a chance of meetin' up with her, fer ol' time's sake."
"That is not up to me," Urahara informed him.
"Then pass along the message," the captain countered.
The shaggy scientist sighed, and nodded. "Very well. I'll tell her that, the next time I run into her."
Ichimaru nodded once in thanks before taking his leave without another word.
"This looks like a good place," Gin decided as he led his wife, Ikkaku, and Yumichika to a secluded spot in a park. "'Kay, everyone, out o' yer gigais."
"Why do we have to do Jinzen?" Rangiku whined.
"Especially when we know that some of our zanpakutō spirits are going to be uncooperative?" Yumichika agreed.
"If ya want, we can have a sparrin' match instead, the three o' ya against me…"
His three teammates immediately sat cross-legged on the ground. While Ikkaku and Yumichika were as battle-hungry as the best of the Eleventh, Ichimaru's training methods were creative and challenging, to be put politely. Put bluntly, it was the worst experience they had ever gone through, short of spending a day babysitting a sugar-high Yachiru. The past month under his tutelage had proven taxing even by their standards. The reason they did not take enjoyment out of fighting the fox was because he did not behave like a warrior should. He used sneak attacks, he kicked them while they were down, and worst of all (in the Eleventh men's minds) he forced his opponents to work as a team. Ichimaru forced Rangiku, Ikkaku, and Yumichika to cooperate, and thus breaking their rule of always fighting one-on-one.
Inwardly chuckling at the obedience of his subordinates, Gin entered his inner realm, relishing in the familiar sight of the never-ending grassland.
For some reason he had never figured out other than "just because," he always appeared in his mind without footwear, allowing him to feel the soft grass every time he came to visit Shinsō.
He looked up at the dark sky; it was always night in his inner world, and it was always cloudless. From his days in the Rukongai, Gin had preferred the night to the day. It allowed him to hide from nasty people, and gave him the opportunity to strike back without being seen. Even though he no longer needed to hide, some things stuck with him. His preference for the shadows was one of them, made evident by his inner world. Despite the darkness of the realm, he never had a problem seeing.
Gin waited where he first appeared, knowing that Shinsō was never in a hurry to greet him. He didn't mind; they were both very patient people.
As he waited, he looked up into the blackened sky, and saw how the stars were arranged. Here in his inner realm they were never displayed the same way twice in a row. This time around, it looked like the stars were arranged so they mimicked the major constellations of the humans, but there were definite differences. For example, Orion wasn't visible this time of year in the real world, but in Shinsō's realm, it stood proudly above him.
The stellar setup was not the only difference between reality and his mind. Unlike the real moon, which followed a set pattern of phases, here the appearance of Earth's natural satellite was completely random. Well, not completely random; Gin had long ago figured out that there was a correlation between the phase of the moon and Shinsō. He had yet to fully decipher the code, but there were a couple of hints he had picked up on. For one, he knew that there was no correlation between the phases and Shinsō's mood; she could be pleased, and the moon would be dark or bright. Rather, Gin suspected that it was a way of measuring secrecy. Whether it was how secretive his zanpakutō was feeling towards him, or how mysterious they both felt towards other people, he was not sure. The moon was seldom full, but it was also rarely completely dark. More often, it was in the occluded phases, possibly reflecting his old habit of hiding in the shadows. This time around, the moon was in its waning crescent phase.
"What do you think?" a feminine voice spoke softly from right behind him.
"Very pretty," Gin replied approvingly as he turned to face his zanpakutō. Shinsō's stealthy arrivals stopped startling him after he had learned her name. "Ya got here quick."
If there could be one way to describe Shinsō's physical appearance, it would be "beautiful as a cobra." Her features were smooth and elegant, and unmarred by her complete lack of hair on her person. Her skin was a fair tone, and her face was narrow, with a subtle, scheming smile on her lips. While she kept her eyes semi-closed, the sanguine shade of her irises were still visible. She wore around her body a white cloak that had two openings for her skinny arms, which she kept loosely by her sides. From the waist down, she had the body of the snake; the reptilian half seemed to go on for about seven meters, and the scales were the color of polished steel. Here in the shadows of the evening, her scales were a dull gray.
This eccentric beauty did nothing to conceal her predatory pose. Shinsō was always ready to strike, always ready to take down her next prey. Gin learned early on to not show weakness to her whenever he visited; hunters always sought an opening, and this naga was no exception.
"I was in the mood," she replied. "I know that you came here to discuss something quite important."
"That's right," Gin confirmed. "I think it's 'bout time we had a chat 'bout what our Bankai can do."
"Is that so?" Shinsō replied.
"Kamishini no Yari's base traits are pretty impressive," he continued. "We can hit any target within a few kilometers o' us, an' only the fastest could react to our attack. But I got the feelin' that there's somethin' more."
She did not respond.
"So," Gin finished, "what secrets do ya have left to tell me?"
He knew that Shinsō would take her sweet time in answering, but he could be patient.
"Why should I tell you?"
Well, that was quick.
"Any reason why ya shouldn't?"
"You have yet to earn it."
This time, Gin decided to be the one to make her wait as he carefully considered his next words.
"Explain." Correction: his next word, as in singular.
"Consider the name of our Bankai, Kamishini no Yari. The Godslayer Spear," Shinsō began to lecture. "In the natural order of things, the beings of the divine can strike down hapless mortals without fear of repercussion. But not us. If we are crossed, the reach of our fang and the speed of our strike can pierce even the throne of the heavens, and render unto the immortals the taste of death. We can turn the tables, and make the heavenly fear of a quick end just as mortals fear an unexpected demise at the hands of an angry god.
"But piercing a god and killing it are two very different things," she continued. "So meditate on this question: how can we make a blade kill our enemy in one strike, even if we merely scratch his arm?"
"Poison," Gin answered immediately.
Shinsō looked at him carefully, her smug smirk frozen for a moment. Then, it grew just so slightly into a one of pleased satisfaction.
"Correct," she conceded. "But knowing the answer is not enough for me."
"How can I convince ya?" Gin asked.
"Prove to me that you can make our fang pierce the skin of those who call themselves gods," she answered promptly. "Show me that we can make the divine bleed, and I will tell you how to use our venom to slay them from the inside."
"Well, if I come across any gods, I'll take ya up on that challenge."
"Good," Shinsō smirked lightly, and then suggested, "I would advise that you leave soon. Rangiku and Haineko are at it again."
"Yeah, probably a good idea," Gin agreed, and exited his zanpakutō's realm.
Rangiku fled her inner world seething. If there had been a door, she would have slammed it behind her. "That selfish, lazy, moody, vain…"
"Haineko bein' uncooperative again?"
She glared at her husband's smug expression.
"I'll take that as a 'yes,'" he noted cheekily.
"If she wasn't so stubborn, we would have Bankai by now!" Rangiku ranted. "I've got enough reiatsu for materialization, so what is her problem?!"
"Ya mean she hasn't told ya?" Gin asked, his smile on its Mildly Confused setting.
"Of course not!" she snapped.
There was a moment of pause as Gin regarded her with a controlled expression even she had difficulty discerning.
"What?" Rangiku asked irritably.
"Mind tellin' me what exactly went on with Haineko?" he asked.
"I went into Jinzen, I told Haineko to tell me how to get Bankai, she insulted me, and things went downhill from there," she recounted.
Gin seemed to ponder her brief story for a few moments. Then he sighed and said, "I've been thinkin' fer a while now 'bout why yer havin' so much trouble with yer zanpakutō these past few years. I didn't wanna say nothin' before, 'cause I thought it'd be best if ya figured it out fer yerself."
Rangiku frowned, but nodded for him to go on.
"First o' all, remember the basics," he started. "Zanpakutō are the extensions of our soul. So whatever problems Haineko has with ya, they're problems ya have with yerself. If ya want Bankai, then ya need to be honest with yerself when talkin' with yer zanpakutō."
"But I have," Rangiku protested.
"Normally, I'd agree with ya," Gin replied. "But obviously, there's an issue goin' on that ya need to resolve."
"I'm not the one with the problem!" she contested hotly. "She's the one who refuses-!"
"Rangiku."
The heat of her argument went dead at his single word of admonishment. That was because as he spoke, Gin was frowning at her. And to be quite frank the sight was rather creepy. There was no annoyance or anger tainting that frown, but rather something worse: disappointment.
"You will go into yer inner world, and you will talk with Haineko until you have straightened things out between the two o' ya," Captain Ichimaru Gin ordered her. He did not exercise his rank like this often, but when he did, people obeyed, even her.
Throughout most of their marriage and friendship before that, Rangiku had acted as Gin's conscience, preventing him from going too far into the dark areas of morality. Her unique position as best friend, then girlfriend, and finally wife allowed her to question his command and even outright disobey his orders when she deemed him in the wrong. She tried not to exercise this right too often to prevent a breakdown in the chain of command, and fortunately, occasions which required her to intercede occurred less and less often as time went on.
But on some occasions, Gin would take it upon himself to give a direct order to her when he felt it was required. Unlike her influence on him, which was based on moral grounds and emotional connectivity with others, Gin intervened when she was being foolish or about to act on some particularly stupid and brash plan. He was the only person who had both the authority to give her an order, and was able to prevent her stupidity from occurring in the first place by mere basis of the fact that he knew her so well.
Rangiku was about to give a reluctant acknowledgment of his command when the attention of the four shinigami was diverted to a Garganta that had just opened in the sky.
"Arrancar?!" Yumichika cried. "Already?"
"Looks like they wanted a rematch sooner than we thought," Gin remarked, and Rangiku was comforted by the fact that his smile had returned to his face.
They saw one of the newly arrived enemies take off in another direction.
"Let him go," Gin instructed, his smile thankfully back in its normal position. "We got enough trouble right here."
His comment was accentuated when the largest of the Arrancar dove towards the task force. Gin decided that he would be the one to greet him, and blocked the overhead strike the giant had brought down with Shinsō.
"Ichimaru Gin," the silver fox introduced himself; manners would not hurt here. "Captain of the Third Division."
"Yammy, Arrancar Ten," the large antagonist grinned back.
"Ten, huh?" Gin replied. "So yer an Espada."
"Looks like you're in the know," Yammy said. "Whatever loser you fought must've had a big mouth."
"So I guess I need to actually try to kill ya, huh?"
Gin exerted a bit of his reiatsu, and shoved his large opponent backwards.
Even though his limiter was already released the moment the Arrancar appeared, Gin did not feel too bad about going to Shikai in this fight, since he was dealing with an Espada.
"Shoot to kill, Shinsō!"
The blade snapped out and rushed at Yammy, but the brute managed to block the attack. He swatted the extended metal to the side and charged forward with his sword raised high.
In the time it took for the Espada to make one, very easily side-stepped attack, Shinsō had already returned to her initial length.
"Yammy!"
Gin took a look at the other, apparently higher-ranked Arrancar who had spoken. This one resembled the exact opposite of his comrade, so puny and underdeveloped it looked like they should have kept him in the Hōgyoku oven a few minutes longer
"Let me have a go at the creepy guy, too," he said, "I'll release my sword and take them on four to one, and finish them all off!"
He gripped the hilt of his sword and began extracting it from its sheath with exaggerated slowness. While Gin knew that this dramatic gesture was a sign of overconfidence, he did not want to give the Espada a chance to release his sword. The faster they could end this fight, the better.
The Espada screamed in pain as Gin's extendable fang pierced his hand, forcing him to let go of his sword.
"You…" the effeminate Arrancar growled.
Gin did not stop in his attack, letting Shinsō strike again.
This time the Espada managed to dodge the attack, and reached for his sword with his left hand. He learned from his mistake and drew as fast as he could.
"Strangle, Trepadora!"
The explosion of reiatsu forced Gin to cover his eyes with his arm.
An instant later, a long tentacle suddenly came out of the smoke behind him. Sensing the attack, Gin swung around and blocked it with his sword. The power behind the blow pushed him back several meters, but he managed to shield himself from harm.
"That all ya got?" the narrow-eyed fighter asked, his smile now more mocking.
"Nice defense!" came the compliment from the smoke cloud. "I didn't think you would have actually managed to block that completely. I'm actually a little surprised. You captain-class shinigami are tougher than I thought. But, what would you do if I multiplied that attack by eight?"
The smoke finally cleared completely, and revealed the eight arms that had grown out of the Espada's back. The other seven tentacles came about and joined the first. While the sudden assault nearly took Gin by surprise, he quickly recovered; after all, speed was his specialty. With a single step of shunpo, the captain disappeared just as the tentacles were about to reach him.
"And good reflexes, too!" his octopus-like enemy continued. "But can you keep up an eight-on-one fight?"
"Yes," Gin answered back.
"Oh?" the multi-armed Arrancar said skeptically. "Aren't you the confident one? Let me guess: you're going to release your Bankai on me."
"Normally, I hate bein' predictable, but I'll allow it this time," the vulpine shinigami replied, and then crouched slightly over, Shinsō held parallel to the ground and pointed at the Espada. Then Gin leisurely declared, "Bankai."
Argent flames burned off the captain's reiatsu as it launched to new levels.
"Kamishini no Yari."
Most second releases were trumpeted into existence by a large explosion and cloud of smoke. This Bankai's only herald was a bell's hiss, and in the time it took to form a thought, the viper had struck.
A white streak impaled the Espada through the gut, leaving its victim staring at the offending blade in shocked horror.
Before the enemy could react, Kamishini no Yari was at mere wakizashi length again.
"That's your Bankai?" the Arrancar said incredulously as he held a hand to his wound. "But it's the same!"
"Yer not so different, with ya whipping yer arms out like that."
"I suppose, but even with that little Bankai of yours, I can still take you; I do outnumber you, after all."
To enforce his boast, the cephalopod Arrancar struck out with his extra appendages at the captain. With even more ease than before, Gin flash-stepped the attack. "Too slow," he informed the Arrancar.
"Actually, it was just right," the Espada replied smugly, and revealed that Rangiku was now wrapped in a tentacle and being used as a shield. His eyebrows rose in surprise as he realized that his adversary had sent only seven arms at him, and used the eighth to snag her.
"I couldn't help but notice how lovely this woman was," the Sexta said. "Judging by the badge, I'd say she's your second-in-command, isn't she?"
The Third Division captain kept his stance unnaturally still; even his smile remained as it was, though a close look at his face would reveal that this expression was merely his lips turning upward; it was not a smile.
"That's what I thought," the Arrancar chuckled, and brought another one of his tendrils to Rangiku's face, and several spikes emerged from the end. "Now that your pretty little lieutenant is in my hands, there are only two ways this battle can end." He held up one finger. "You can throw down your sword and let me pummel you to death, but I'll let her go free." He put up another finger. "Or, I can kill her now, and then kill you after you fully realize that you could not save your dear subordinate."
"Gin, please make him stop talking," Rangiku groaned. "He's making me sick."
"Very well, I won't let you listen to my voice anymore…," the Espada purred mockingly.
And the spiked tentacle charged at the captive woman.
"…by punching that lovely body of yours full of holes!"
"Growl, Haineko!"
A twist of her wrist ordered a cloud of ash to rush upwards in her defense. In the mere second before the Sexta's spikes would have pierced Rangiku's chest, Haineko pushed the tentacle upward. The motion was enough that it was prevented from inflicting a fatal blow, but she did not emerge unscathed. Just as the spikes were ascending, they made contact with Rangiku's face. At first the scratches were shallow, but during their brief journey, the lacerations deepened and began to bleed profusely from the sudden breaches in the skin.
Rangiku did not scream, but her teeth-clenched groan of pain was audible to all participants in the vicinity, and she reflexively threw her head back in a vain attempt to escape the claws.
"Oops, missed," Luppi chuckled as the last of the spikes finally broke off contact with Rangiku. But a second later, he froze in terror as he realized that one of his tentacles suddenly felt much shorter than it did a second ago.
A glance down revealed to him that his former captive woman, while still restrained by his now-detached arm, was in free fall.
The Espada whipped out another protrusion to snatch his prisoner back into his clutches, only to meet resistance in the form of the Eleventh Division's Third Seat.
Ikkaku put his entire body strength into pushing the assaulting limb back, while behind him, Yumichika was catching Rangiku in his arms and carrying her off. As soon as they were in the clear, the shaved warrior broke off his resistance as well, and followed the peacock's trail.
They were not running away from a fight; they were just eager to escape the danger zone whose center was Ichimaru Gin. While neither Ikkaku nor Yumichika had personally witnessed what Gin would do if his wife was ever harmed, they could take a few guesses. And normally, they would be taking front row seats at the spectacle while eating popcorn, but Rangiku needed to be taken to Urahara's Shop as quickly as possible for healing. There was also the fact that the serpentine captain might take after Kenpachi's lead and not care who got in his way in a fight, even if it meant hurting his own allies.
Yes, it would be best if they all kept their distance.
"Where do ya think you're going?"
The two Eleventh men turned upward to see the larger Espada charging at them from above with his fist raised high.
Only to meet the blade of Urahara Kisuke.
"As you were, gentlemen," the Geta-boshi said calmly to the two warriors.
Ikkaku and Yumichika nodded, and continued their rush to Urahara's Shop.
Just before they exited hearing range, the green-clad warrior's words reached their ears as he spoke to Yammy, "So, what shall we do with you?"
Gin was sure Rangiku would survive. The wounds were in non-vital regions, and he could feel her reiatsu signature still emitting a strong pulse. What truly concerned him was the nature of the wound. She would survive, but she would be scarred. Of course, Gin loved his wife, and he wouldn't care if she had the face of Yamamoto, but he knew Rangiku took pride in her beauty. An injury like this would hurt her self-esteem far more than it would threaten her life.
Rangiku would survive, and Gin would make sure that she would recover, both mentally and physically. But right now, he needed to indulge in his rare thirst for revenge.
Speaking of which, he now had the complete and total attention of the wasp-waisted Espada.
"You're going to pay for that," the Hollow said in a deadly calm voice, his mutilated tentacle held to accentuate his threat.
Gin did not think words were appropriate right now, so he did not bother responding; he would let Kamishini no Yari speak for him.
Then, as if imitating his opponent, Gin held up a single finger before his face.
That's one.
Luppi glared at the shinigami who dared to think himself strong enough to go against him. Oh, how he would enjoy breaking the man's body bit by bit.
There was the sound of shunpo being executed, and Ichimaru disappeared from his sight. A moment later, another flash of light signaled that an arm had been severed, this time directly at the base. There was no growing that limb back.
Luppi pivoted on his feet to face the captain's new position, and froze in terror. Ichimaru was no longer wearing his trademark creepy-friendly smile; it had transformed into something more feral and more bloodthirsty. It was not like the battle-loving grins of Nnoitra or Grimmjow, which reminded him of larger carnivores such as tigers or wolves. This smile was something more cunning; it threatened death in such a way that the victim would not see it coming, like that of a snake or crocodile.
The octopus-like Arrancar no longer felt like a solid member of the Espada; more like he was prey in the eyes of a hungry predator.
Luppi growled at the thought. He was one of the most powerful beings in existence, an Espada selected by Aizen himself; he would not tremble in front of this weak shinigami.
Floating across from him, the smug bastard now casually held up two fingers. Luppi went rigid with fury as it finally dawned on him what that gesture was meant to imply.
"Die!"
He threw one of his living weapons towards the captain, spikes extended and fully ready to pierce the man's body.
Ichimaru did not even try to dodge. Instead he raised his sword so that it was pointing forward.
A second later, Luppi was screaming. This time, Ichimaru did not amputate one of his limbs. Not completely. His strike had cut the Espada's attacking tentacle neatly in two, with one half trailing to the ground and joining the remains of the other limbs. However, the other half remained attached to his body, now no more than dead weight.
Luppi glared back up to Ichimaru, who was still grinning like a madman at his handiwork, three fingers now raised mockingly. In part rage, and part panic, Luppi attacked with all of his remaining limbs.
A second later, three more writhing amputated whips had joined their mates.
Ichimaru suddenly appeared a foot in front of Luppi. Five fingers.
"JUST DIE ALREADY!" the Arrancar screamed, and fired a point-blank Cero from his mouth, sending his two remaining spike-tipped limbs at the man from separate directions. They were too close, there was no way for him to dodge now!
The tentacles collided only with each other. The beam passed into the distance without harming anyone.
Ichimaru vanished from view, and the beam of light that Luppi was starting to become terrifyingly familiar with severed another appendage.
The panicked Espada screamed, enraged and terrified at his helplessness. Gin chose not to wait for him to attack again. His Bankai sped out and not only severed Luppi's last arm, she also bit into the Espada's torso, removing a chunk of flesh.
Luppi spun about in desperation, to find Ichimaru holding up thumb and pointer finger together in the classic symbol of 'zero'.
And in that moment, Luppi realized that the captain was not fighting him; he was torturing him.
With that revelation, the octopus-like Hollow now had a dilemma on his hands. While he knew that he was just being toyed with, and still being thoroughly beaten, the thought of retreating did not sit well with him.
His survival instincts won out, and the Sexta Espada turned tail and ran as fast as he could.
But evidently, Ichimaru was not finished with him yet; just a couple feet in front of him, the captain reappeared. And that bloodthirsty smile still adorned his face.
"S-stay away from me!" Luppi yelled in panic and took several steps backward. "Come any closer, and I'll kill you!"
As if to chastise the Arrancar for his empty threat, Ichimaru lifted up his Bankai once more, and pointed it straight at his enemy.
Luppi gasped, and was about to turn tail again, when the familiar glow of the Negacion came down and enveloped him.
The Espada laughed in relief, and decided right there and then that yellow was his new favorite color.
His laughter stopped cold for a moment as he saw right in front of his face was the point of the shinigami's Bankai. If the Negacion had come even a nanosecond later, he would have been killed.
Luppi started laughing even harder at realizing how close he had come to death.
"Better luck next time, shinigami!" he cackled. "But remember my face, because next time we meet, I'll rip your head off!"
Ichimaru, who had frowned when the Negacion had prevented his kill, smiled again at the Espada's words.
"Come back an' play again," he spoke for the first time since the torture session had begun. "I look forward to it."
Luppi's laughter stopped cold at that remark, and a shudder ran through his body.
Gin watched as the sky returned to its normal blue color, essentially giving the all-clear to the shinigami task force that the Arrancar team had indeed left the world of the living.
Now that the enemy was gone, the captain of the Third Division ran off to Urahara's Shop to check on his wife's condition.
As he made his way to their unofficial base of operations, a memory came to Gin's mind, about a situation not unlike the one he had been in today.
"Gin."
The lieutenant turned his head to the captain who had called his name.
"Ya need somethin', Kyōraku-taichō?" he asked.
"I want to talk to you about the mission," the larger man said in an unusually serious voice.
"What 'bout it? We got it done, didn't we? Yeah, Rangiku got hurt, but she's gonna be fine."
"The other team members informed me of what you did to the Hollow that hurt Rangiku-chan," Kyōraku said, his tone clearly indicating disapproval. "They told me that while it only took cost you a minute to come out on top, it took you a half-hour for you to finally purify it."
Gin's smile did not shift in the slightest.
"I'm not going to tell you that what you did was wrong," Kyōraku said. "Believe it or not, I do know the rage you feel when someone close to you gets hurt. And I know that it can make you lose control of yourself. But that's the thing: from what I heard, you didn't lose control."
His vice-captain did not respond with either an affirmative or a denial.
"I thought so. You spent a half-hour deliberately keeping a Hollow alive so you could torture it.
"Gin, the next time you feel the urge to take revenge, make it quick, and get it over with. I know that it won't appeal to your blood thirst, but it is the more sensible thing to do. The longer you keep your enemy alive, the greater the chance it could get away."
"That's why I cut the legs off first."
Kyōraku was not amused that the smart-aleck comment was the first thing the boy had said since the conversation started. Other authority figures might have been enraged by such lack of respect, but the captain knew better; he knew that Gin would not really care about anything he said regarding revenge methods. So he moved on to a more significant problem.
"What bothers me more," Kyōraku continued, "is how you treated your subordinates when they tried to put the Hollow out of its misery before you were finished with it."
The smile still stayed on Gin's face, but the older man could tell that the boy knew he was in more dangerous waters now.
"While I am eternally grateful that you managed to have enough restraint not to harm them, they are now quite horrified by you," Kyōraku continued. "And I know that you don't really care much about what people think of you, but you need to remember that this doesn't affect only you."
"Whatcha mean by that?" Gin asked with a curious tilt of his head.
"Those officers are going to talk, as people are wont to do," Kyōraku started to explain. "And when they do, they are going to talk about the psychotic tendencies of their lieutenant. Details on your violent inclinations will vary, of course, but what they most certainly will include will be the fact that Ichimaru-fukutaichō will slowly torture to death anyone who lays a finger on Matsumoto Rangiku."
While Gin did not say anything that time, the look on his face clearly asked, "And the problem with that is what, exactly?"
"Now let me ask you this," Kyōraku finished. "How do you think Rangiku-chan's friends are going to treat her after they hear these rumors?"
Bull's-eye. Gin's smile dropped, and for the first time, he looked a little ashamed at his previous actions. That was actually more of a reaction than Kyōraku had expected, but he couldn't say he was that surprised. While Gin was utterly remorseless when it came to killing and torturing those who hurt Rangiku, he was also conscious of the fact that his girlfriend was far more sociable and mentally stable than he was. And he also knew how much Rangiku loved her friends, and he did not want anything to endanger her happiness. Whether people would avoid her because they feared Gin's wrath, or because they feared she might share his bloodthirsty tendencies, it did not matter; it would hurt Rangiku.
"So, now that you understand the consequences of your actions," Kyōraku said after he had allowed enough time for his previous question to sink in, "you are hereby ordered to go to those officers you terrified on that mission and apologize to them."
Still lacking his smile, Gin gave him a skeptical look.
"I mean it," the captain said. "If you want people to follow you, you need to let them know that you are not going to kill them on a whim. If you apologize and let them know in your own special way that you will continue to be the same person they've always known, it will put them more at ease."
The lieutenant thought it over for a bit before nodding.
"And after you're done with that, there's a stack of paperwork that needs to be done."
Rumors of Lieutenant Ichimaru's mental instability declined after word got around that he actually apologized to the officers he had terrorized. And they stopped completely after a mysterious someone had managed to put itching powder in the laundry of the Eighth Division personnel.
That was when the other officers were reassured that Ichimaru Gin was just another normal, crazy person in the Gotei 13.
Gin realized that his former captain had accurately predicted the day's outcome. He had spent too much time playing with his prey, and so it got away from him. So, now the Sexta Espada was free to go back and recover from his wounds, and continue to be an asset to Aizen's plans. Gin swore to himself that he would keep his captain's lesson in mind, to control his temper and win the fight quickly and efficiently.
Author's Note: I think that Gin always had a cruel streak in him, but I also think it was tempered by his friendship with Rangiku. However, in order to get closer to Aizen, he let his sociopathic tendencies out and let it become a part of him to gain the man's trust. Since in this timeline, Gin has had the influence of Rangiku close to him, his sadistic side is a lot more muted, but still emerges in certain situations.
Thank you, Juliedoo, TakaSasuke, CoatHooks, TykkiMikk, haeye and anonymous guests for reviewing my story.
Omake: Illustrated Shinigami Guide
Kyōraku was napping softly, but in the year since he had made Gin his lieutenant, he had learned to keep an ear out for whatever mischief the silver boy would think up in order to motivate his division head into work.
"Hey, Kyōraku-taichō."
The captain opened his eyes in surprise and saw Gin approaching openly.
"There's someone in yer office," the lieutenant informed him.
"Who?" Kyōraku asked.
"One o' the unseated officers," he answered, and then in a conspiratorial whisper, he added, "An' she's cute, too."
The captain sighed and got up. Even though there were decent odds that Gin was pulling his leg, he should check it out anyway (especially if there was the chance of a cute girl involved).
Kyōraku walked into his office, raised an eyebrow, and looked at his lieutenant.
Gin shrugged innocently and said, "What? I did say she was cute."
One Yet-To-Hit-Puberty Ise Nanao reddened at the silver-haired second's compliment.
"Sorry, Kyōraku-taichō," she said softly. "Ichimaru-san asked me to wait in your office."
"As long as yer here, captain," Gin smiled mischievously, "ya might as well get some work done."
"One of these days, Gin," Kyōraku sighed and sat despondently at his desk.