Characters: Gin and Tousen

Genre: Friendship(?)/Drama

Setting: Las Noches, between Soul Society Arc and Arrancar Arc.

Word Count: 1,010


Gin was smiling wider than usual. Most people would not be able to tell the difference, and Tousen technically could not "see" it, but the amused aura emanating from the fox most certainly told him that the silver man's smile was on its extra-large setting.

"Who is the victim this time?" he inquired.

"Whatcha talkin' 'bout?" the fox asked in an innocent tone that would not fool even Yammy.

"You're in the observation room of Las Noches and you're smiling," Tousen said bluntly, "That means that something is amusing you at someone else's expense."

"Oh, c'mon," Gin complained, "Don't be such a stick in the mud."

"Ichimaru."

"Okay, fine, I found out 'bout one of the new features of Las Noches," Gin admitted, "Ya know, the one where ya can change the walls an' halls however ya want?"

"What of it?"

"Why don't ya come an' see fer yerself?"

Tousen ignored the deliberate wording on the fox's part and "looked" at the monitor screen. While it was true he was blind in the traditional sense, he had long ago honed his ability to pick up reiatsu. It had long become like sight to him, and he could "see" the spiritual pressure of anyone, even those on a monitor. In environments with higher reiatsu density, like Hueco Mundo, his vision was clearer and sharper.

Tousen almost allowed himself a smirk when he saw a frustrated Nnoitra on the screen. The tall Espada was yelling curses at the wall in front of him, as if the plain architecture were his greatest archenemy since Nelliel disappeared.

"He's been shoutin' an' hollerin' fer twenty minutes now," Gin informed his cohort cheerfully, "An' he'd been runnin' into dead ends fer a half-hour before that."

"You've been toying with him for that long?" Tousen asked, "Don't you think it's time to stop?"

While he did not have an ounce of affection for Nnoitra, agitating Espada inevitably led to destroyed property. There had been enough of that in the past without someone deliberately egging the powerful fighters into going on a destructive rampage.

"Almost," Gin said, "On the other side of the wall he's shoutin' at is his bedroom. Course, he don't know that."

Tousen decided not to remark on that.

"Wanna make a bet on how long 'til he figures it out?" Gin asked.

"No."

"Wanna stay an' see how long 'til he figures it out?"

Tousen did not reply, but let his continued presence in the room speak for him.

"Maybe there's hope fer yer sense of humor, after all," Gin remarked.

After a few minutes of quietly watching Nnoitra curse the wall in front of him blue, Ichimaru broke the silence.

"Ya know, I've always wondered," he said, "You've been with Aizen even longer than I have, so I'm a bit curious as to why ya joined his gig."

"Aizen has shown me the path to Justice," Tousen answered, his tone obviously capitalizing the "J" in "Justice," as always.

"Oh, c'mon, there's gotta be more to it than that," Ichimaru pressed on, "What's the story?"

The serious man paused. In part because he was remembering the reason himself, and also because he was debating whether he should tell his long time if untrustworthy co-conspirator.

"Very well," Tousen relented, "It's because of a friend. She was once a shinigami, before she was murdered by her husband for protesting him killing his subordinate. The Central Forty-Six did not punish him for this crime. On that day, I swore to let Soul Society know the true meaning of Justice."

Gin studied him with an unusual expression on his face that Tousen could not identify. He was still smiling, the blind man was sure of that, but now there was a tint of thoughtfulness coloring his reiatsu.

"Ya know what, Kaname," the fox finally said, deliberately catching his cohort's attention by the familiar address, "We have a lot in common."

"What do you mean?" Tousen asked, stiffening at the comparison. He had encountered worse individuals (a certain spike-haired captain came to mind), but Ichimaru commenting on their similarities was not a complimentary remark in his book.

"Ya see, I'm in it fer revenge, too."

Tousen was about to protest the difference between revenge and justice, but Ichimaru's statement caught him off guard, and another question took precedence. "Revenge? You? I never thought that of you."

While Ichimaru was creepy and untrustworthy, Tousen had never known the fox to hold a grudge. As a matter of fact, now that he thought about it, he realized that he had never seen Gin angry or even annoyed. It was always that same mocking amusement, and occasional surprise. Gin never showed animosity towards his foes, which was one personality quirk of his that Tousen had respected. So what vile fool had committed a sin so atrocious that Ichimaru desired vengeance?

"'Cause it happened a long time ago, like with ya," explained Gin, "Friend o' mine got hurt, an' I'm makin' sure that the guy who did it dies."

Tousen refrained from asking who this offender was. If Ichimaru was not mentioning that unfortunate soul's name now, it was unlikely that he would ever hear it. Even if Tousen pressed, he had no doubt that all he would get out of the fox would be evasions and lies.

An explosion from the monitor interrupted his thoughts. The two former shinigami looked at Nnoitra's predicament with different levels of amusement.

Espada Number Five had finally decided to destroy the wall that was in his way with a Cero, and was walking smugly through the hole… until he entered the room and realized he had also destroyed his own living quarters.

Tousen swore he could hear the scream of frustration from here, even without the monitors.

Gin was cackling at the fruits of his meddling, and even Tousen found some amusement at the Espada's situation.

"Perhaps that will teach him to put a rein on his temper," the blind man said smugly, but used every amount of willpower he had to prevent himself from smiling.


Author's Note: Despite the fact that they're Aizen's top lieutenants, we don't really see much one-on-one interaction between Gin and Tousen.

And yes, this time I did deliberately have Gin in the twelfth (4 x 3) chapter. I figure, why not keep the pattern up if I can?