Chapter Nineteen
Ichimaru Gin enjoyed observing people. He could spend all day doing nothing else but simply watch others go about their daily lives. He did it neither out of curiosity nor out of habit but rather out of interest.
'It's fun ta see what people do when they don't think anyone's watching them!' Gin thought as he stalked silently down the dark corridor. Years of hiding in the shadows while trailing after others had allowed him to perfect his skills; he was virtually undetectable by the five senses or by reiatsu.
'And best of all is the look of surprise on their faces!' Gin rubbed hands together gleefully. 'Hahaha! They think they're alone but when they realize I saw everything…' Gin chuckled to himself.
As Gin approached the light at the end of the corridor, his thoughts turned gloomy. 'Kuchiki Rukia is being sent off soon …' his eyes opened in sorrow. 'Soon …It'll be time soon…"
He sighed as he stepped out into the brilliant sunlight. 'I may not be able to see her anymore…' Then he patted his cheeks vigorously. "Wake up and lighten up!!!" He told himself. Luckily, there was no one around to witness his earlier uncharacteristic behavior.
'I need a distraction…' He fixed a smile to his face and looked around for something to entertain him on the fine afternoon. He closed his eyes in concentration and felt for the reiatsu of those around him.
'Aha!' Gin thought happily. 'Found one!' He shunpo-ed away.
Kuchiki Byakuya was having a bad day.
He had woken up early this morning only to find himself having a bad hair day, with half of his hair haphazardly in the air, refusing to stay down, and the other half perfectly normal. His valet had came in to try and help comb his hair down, but after many futile attempts, Byakuya chased the man out of the room and used his trump card, a tactic so extreme that it was only to be used in drastic situations as a last resort.
He used kido to straighten his hair.
Sure, his hair stayed down after that and he looked his normal cool-headed and noble self, but all that hairdressing had taken several hours and Byakuya was late for his usual morning chat with Hisana. He could only say a few words to her and polish her picture a little before he was caught in the whirlwind of events of the day, dealing as efficiently as he could with his duties as the Head of the Kuchiki and Taichou of the Sixth Division.
By afternoon, he and Renji had managed to clear most of the paperwork for the day and Byakuya was in a good mood. Until the message came that his adopted little sister Kuchiki Rukia was to be stationed in the Human World on patrol and eliminate Hollows.
He did not show his frustration openly as it had been bred into him from young that nobles did not display their emotions. However, he was still very angry. He dismissed the messenger with a dismissive wave and sent Renji on a break so that he could take a walk in peace and calm down.
Or so he thought.
"Bya-kun!" a cheerful voice called out in greeting. Byakuya froze and turned slowly, using every second that trickled by to build up his mental defenses. He recognized that voice.
"Ichimaru-san," Byakuya acknowledged with a nod as he thought, 'How did he appear behind me? It was as if he just popped up from nowhere…'
"What can I do for you?" Byakuya asked in an attempt to be civil. "Control, it's all about control." He muttered under his breath.
"Wassat?" Gin said, pretending to place hand on his ear though he hear clearly what the other man was saying. Gin had extremely good hearing, and it served him well on many occasions where he was eavesdropping on the conversation of others. "Bya-kun, speak louder. I can't hear."
Byakuya took a deep breath. This man was, in a way, worse than Yachiru. He had long given up tying to get Gin to address him properly and Gin seemed to be testing the limits of Byakuya's patience each time they had a conversation.
Byakuya managed to utter out some courteous reply and he and Gin chatted politely for a few minutes about the weather and the current state of affairs in Seireitei, with Byakuya fidgeting all the time, eager to get away. He felt his rein over his temper slip with each passing moment.
'Why can't he just shut up?' Byakuya thought in irritation as he struggled to remain composed. The last person Byakuya wanted to explode in front of was Gin.
Byakuya looked around. No one else in sight and he was cornered by Gin. Byakuya sighed mentally as he cursed his upbringing. He was bound by propriety to be polite to Gin, no matter how much he didn't want to.
"Endure!" He instructed himself. He most certainly could not swear like a common peasant fishwife.
"So, this hair noodle thingy yer wearing," Gin suddenly switched topics. "Where can one buy it?" Gin innocently asked, glancing at Byakuya to see his reaction.
'He's good,' Gin thought as he saw a flash of annoyance in Byakuya's eyes that was quickly hidden.
"This," Byakuya explained icily, "Is a kenseikan. Only the Head of the Noble House of Kuchiki may wear it. It is certainly not available to commoners such as you."
"Touché," Gin grinned wider. He had Byakuya all riled up now. "This is fun, much more challenging than when ya were young. Yer used to blush red like a tomato so easily. Hardly fitting for a Head of the Noble House of Kuchiki, eh?" Gin mocked.
Byakuya said nothing but Gin saw, from the corner of his eye, Byakuya clenching his fists surreptitiously.
"Well," Gin scratched his head. "I suppose it's better being a commoner and all. Imagine how weird I'd looked with a kenseikan!" Then he laughed. "Long hair with hair noodle thingies in it, how girlish!"
Gin laughed even harder at the sight of Byakuya's impassive face. 'The colder he looks, it just means he's angry!'
"Anyway," Gin continued, "I always wondered how ya kept yer hair straight and neat all the time…" Gin grinned broadly as he looked slyly at Byakuya. "Just imagine my surprise when a certain valet at the Kuchiki household I scared off earlier revealed…"
Byakuya could not help but widen his eyes slightly in surprise. 'How did he know?!'
Gin grinned from ear to ear. He had forgotten how much fun this was. When he was with Aizen, it was always so serious and he wasn't allowed to disturb Tousen.
"Who… Who did you scare off?" Byakuya could not resist asking. 'If I know Ichimaru, this will be all over Seireitei by nightfall…'
"Hm…" Gin pretended to frown, which was difficult since he was still smiling, and answered, "I dunno… Some guy who kept screaming that his master used kido to straighten his hair when I asked him oh so very nicely…"
Gin cocked his head to one side and fixed Byakuya with a devious smile. "Ya wouldn't happen ta know who that is, would ya?"
"No… Why would I know some fool that does his hair with kido?" Byakuya managed to remain calm and feign innocence.
"Well… Thought yer might know, being da Head of the Kuchiki and all that…" Gin held up his hands and shrugged. "By the way, I heard that yer sis Rukia-chan's gonna go ta the Human World fer an assignment, aren't ya worried?"
Byakuya froze in his spot. 'How does he know what I am so vexed about?!'
"Maybe she'll get 'erself eaten by a Hollow, yea?" Gin said. "That'll be such a misfortune fer the great House o' Kuchiki."
That was the last straw. Byakuya had managed to tolerate and control his temper all day, but Gin managed to push all the right buttons and now Byakuya's blood was boiling. There was only so much one could take, regardless of him being a noble or not.
Byakuya took one threatening step forward, ready to sock Gin in the gut. Gin shifted his stance, as though he read Byakuya's mind and was getting ready to dodge when Byakuya moved.
"Nii-sama!" a boyish voice interrupted.
Byakuya and Gin tuned towards the owner of the voice. Kuchiki Rukia, a petite girl with dark hair and wide violet eyes, ran up to Byakuya, panting heavily.
"Nii-sama! I have been looking for you everywhere," she said to Byakuya, bowing her head in respect. She detected the presence of someone beside Byakuya and turned, noticing Gin for the first time.
"Hiya Rukia-chan!" Gin gave her his best creepy smile. Rukia took a step back involuntarily as she gasped in horror. Her legs instantly felt weak as she looked around for an escape.
'Why was he hiding being the pillar so that I couldn't see him?' Rukia thought. She felt as though there were snakes entwining around her, choking her. It was as though she was a rabbit and Gin was a snake, the prey and the hunter.
"Rukia." Byakuya's hand landed on her shoulder, bringing her back to reality. Rukia felt better instantly. Rukia felt waves of warmth flowing to her through his hand. It was as though Byakuya was lending her strength and preventing her from collapsing in terror.
"Have you forgotten your manners?" Byakuya prompted. 'It's the best I can do for now… Thank you, Rukia. I almost lost my temper.'
Rukia bowed to Byakuya. "I apologize, Nii-sama."
Turning to Gin, she bowed once more, saying formally. "Ichimaru-taichou, I apologize for not greeting you earlier." She paused and took a deep breath. "Good afternoon, Ichimaru-taichou."
Gin nodded and said, "It's alright, Rukia-chan. So," Gin bent down and placed his face close to Rukia's so she had an even better view of Gin's creepy smile. "How are the preparations for yer mission ta the Human World coming along?"
Rukia shrank back in terror. "I… I…" She stuttered and forced herself to continue. "The preparations… are… going quite well…" Rukia's voice faltered.
"Thank you for asking." Byakuya finished for her as Rukia stepped back into him. He placed both his hands on Rukia's shoulders as if to steady her. Rukia looked up at Byakuya. 'Stand your ground, Rukia.' Byakuya's eyes seemed to say. He then looked up to fixed Gin with a steely glare.
"Oh? Well then," Gin looked as though he was going to pose another question and Rukia suddenly whimpered. Byakuya saw how frightened Rukia was and was about to step in when Gin straightened himself.
"Just remembered that I have something ta do," Gin smiled apologetically. "Busy me… Bye!" He was gone with a wave.
"Well, that was fun," Gin concluded as he stood on a rooftop, overlooking over the whole of Seireitei, giving him a great view of what many Shinigami were doing. "The Kuchiki's are definitely high on my list of people ta disturb." Then he wondered. "Perhaps I took it to far a little? Rukia was seriously frightened…" He stroked his chin in thought.
"But then," Gin smiled. "Who cares?"
"Hmm… What should I do now?" He wondered as he stared at people walking around. 'It can be quite boring when yer free sometimes_' Something, or someone, almost crashed into him and Gin just narrowly dodged.
"Taichou!!! Get back here!!!" Gin looked up to see Nanao chasing Shunsui on the rooftop. "Sorry!" Shunsui yelled and waved. Gin stood and let Nanao run by, chuckling. He turned looked behind the two, where a hill filled with trees had caught his eye. A familiar figure was sitting there and bent over some papers.
Gin's smiled grew wider as he shunpo-ed off to find a place with a better view. 'Paperwork? This I gotta see!'
Ichimaru Gin may have enjoyed observing people, but he simply loved observing Matsumoto Rangiku most of all.
Ahhhh!!! I just realised that all this jumping back and forth from present to past may be quite confusing....
Perhaps all this only makes sense to me?!! Oh dear...... :(
Gosh, I seem to write lots of flashbacks..... I'm so sorry if the sory doesn't make any sense!!!!!!!