Chapter 25: Playing the Game
Gin Ichimaru felt sensation returning to his body. In general, he felt comfortable and was in no real pain, but the fact that he woke to find himself, not in Las Noches, but in the living world…and not only that, but in the presence of none other than Kisuke Urahara, gave the snaky shinigami cause to feel a shiver of foreboding. If Gin was a savvy inventor…one who took risks to achieve, then Kisuke was equally ruthless in his pursuits in the discipline of scientific discovery.
He wondered briefly why and how he had been chosen for experimentation. It seemed ludicrous that Kisuke had dared to abduct him from Las Noches itself…in truth, from the very jaws of the enemy…the formidable Sosuke Aizen. The very idea! But then, he thought, it hadn't actually been Kisuke who did the abducting. No…strangely enough, it had been Renji Abarai and some lackey that he was certain had to have come from the twelfth division. He'd had an odd, mousy look to him.
But what did they want from him? Why had they brought him here? And why was he bound, frozen in place on an examination table, beneath a kido field that kept him from moving and gagged so that he couldn't even speak? None of it made any sense to him. But, he thought darkly, it was certain that Kisuke would tell him all too soon. And then the unpleasantness would begin. But just what the nature of that unpleasantness would be, the shinigami had no idea. He would have to be patient, to wait until more was revealed. He felt the game beginning as his captor stared down at him, smiling in an all too friendly manner. Gin felt inexplicably chilled.
"Good morning, Gin Ichimaru!" said Kisuke, smiling widely and removing his gag, "Welcome to my shop and laboratory! I'll just bet you're wondering what exactly you're dong here!"
"I must admit, I am curious why you went to the trouble of capturing me in particular," Gin said, meeting Kisuke's eyes with a look of challenge.
"Well," said Kisuke, in his 'getting down to business' voice, "You see, I have a little problem…and I'm thinking that, because it involves one of your little inventions, why, I think you might be just the person I need to solve my problem!"
"I have no idea what you are referring to, however, I'm less than likely to help you when I wake up here bound, gagged and without use of my spirit energy. Really, if you were looking to ask a favor…most would make a simple phone call or something!"
Kisuke grinned ruefully.
"Yeah, well, my phone service doesn't extend to Hueco Mundo."
"Unfortunate," said Gin, a little sarcastically, "but your phone issues and invention problems are not my problem! Now, unbind me!"
"See, that's where you're wrong. Let me see if I can explain so you'll understand. Don't worry, I'll go real slow, so even you can understand. You created a creature you called a Sleeper Hollow. Apparently, this hollow could be programmed with the identity of a target within Soul Society that it would acquire and transform into another Sleeper Hollow. The hollows would then reproduce…and they would hide themselves within Soul Society, transforming other shinigami to their hearts' content."
"Nice plan…" Gin said confrontationally, "Too bad for you, I don't know what you're talking about. I know of no such invention!"
"Sure you do!" insisted Kisuke, leaning closer to him, "You know…the one you used to set up Byakuya Kuchiki…so that it would transform him and use him to transform more shinigamis into hollows. You know, by taking Byakuya and using him that way, you probably could have taken down anyone else you wanted…maybe even Head Captain Yamamoto, himself! At least…that's what you were thinking, wasn't it? Come on…admit it! Who hasn't wanted to impress everyone by coming up with something capable of taking down the old man?"
"You're deluded," Gin said, not quite certain what to make of Kisuke's persistence.
"Oh, I don't think so," Kisuke said, his eyes glinting, "I don't think so at all. See…I happen to know for a fact just what an insane little invention you dreamed up. The reason I know that is because I have him here…Wanna see?"
Gin remained silent.
Kisuke lowered the lights in the room and pressed several buttons on a remote control. An image of Shuji appeared on the television screen in front of the restrained shinigami. Gin's eyes widened slightly, but he continued to keep silent.
"As you can see, he's been damaged. But we'll get to that in a minute. I just thought you'd want an accounting of what worked and what didn't. Your little Frankenstein was really somewhat impressive. It infiltrated the Seireitei, set itself up as a photographer and used that identity to scope out its target, in this case, Captain Kuchiki. It worked its way into Captain Kuchiki's orbit and actually did acquire him very briefly before its shinigami form was 'killed' and it was forced into hollow form. Then, the sneaky little devil slipped undetected into Kuchiki Manor and abducted the captain, then took him to Hueco Mundo. He lost his extensions when he tried to kill Captain Kuchiki and turn him into a hollow. So you see, your little invention did pretty well. He almost did it all. But see, here's the thing. Captain Kuchiki is in a pretty precarious state. He's just this side of becoming a hollow…see."
The picture on the television screen changed and Gin could see the red centers in the captain's eyes, and the wisps of forming bone floating in the air around him.
"We don't want Captain Kuchiki to become a hollow. Personally, I think he's scary enough just being himself!"
"So you wish for me to tell you how to stop it," said Gin, realization settling over him, "But why in the world would I want to do that? I'm just as happy with him becoming a Sleeper Hollow. In fact, I find the idea quite amusing."
"Yeah," said Kisuke cryptically, "I kinda thought you'd feel that way. So I thought that we could compromise…you know, you get to slink back to Las Noches alive and Captain Kuchiki gets to be a shinigami again. Can we do that?"
"I think you know what my answer will be," Gin replied coyly, "as in…not on your life! I will not help you. I don't care what you do to me."
"Hmm…" muttered Kisuke, gazing down at Gin, "I wonder how thoroughly you mean that. I mean, those are strong words…but are you willing to back them up with action…or will you crumble the minute I get rough with you? No, not you. You're a tough cookie, aren't you Gin? Being Aizen's little plaything…you must already know a thing or two about pain…so I imagine we needn't delve into torture. You probably have too high a tolerance. But there is one arena that you might be less likely to enjoy. You see, having a hollow here, and an injured one at that…one that hasn't eaten anything to sustain itself…I'm thinking that, to a hollow like that, even a skinny thing like you would be quite a tasty morsel. And here's the kicker…You'll still retain the knowledge we want in your little, hollow brain. So how about you help us get the tendrils out of the captain and keep him from becoming a hollow? Then we can avoid letting your own hollow eat you and we can send you back to your boyfriend instead of to the Soukyoku…"
"Hmm…" said Gin, grinning, "a very interesting offer, but I'm afraid that even if I wanted to, I can't help you. You know, don't you Kisuke, that once a shinigami starts showing symptoms…there's no going back. So…as you see, although I could help you with the removal of the tendrils, you can't stop Captain Kuchiki from becoming a hollow. His spirit centers have already been affected. No way to undo that…"
"You see…I knew you'd try to play games!" Kisuke said, smiling widely, "but you need to know, I'm smarter than that, Gin. And I know for a fact that what you're saying isn't true."
"And how would you know any such thing?" Gin asked, "It's not like you could have figured this hollow out so soon. That would take time…experimentation."
"Actually, I only used the power of logic. Let me explain. Your Sleeper Hollow cycles back and forth between hollow and shinigami. And for it to be undetectable, it has to flow shinigami reiatsu…not hollow. That means, that the spirit centers have to be cleared and uninfected before the hollow can take its shinigami form. I've surmised that what happens is that the spirit centers are cycled one way or the other, depending on what form the hollow opts to take. So it follows that if Captain Kuchiki is currently in transition, we can actually cycle him back to shinigami form and negate the process…as long as the final tendril hasn't pierced his heart. And as you can see…it hasn't. I think that it's that final tendril that seals the deal."
"So if you're so sure, then why don't you just reverse it yourself?" asked Gin, "Why go to all of the trouble to bring me here?"
Kisuke shrugged and laughed slyly.
"I thought you'd never ask!" he said in a low, dangerous voice, "You want to know why I brought you here? What I planned for you? Well…this is it…See, to get the reiatsu to cycle forward any more, that last tendril has to go somewhere. So what I can do is to connect it to the tendrils that are currently embedded in Captain Kuchiki. That way, if you decide not to help us, I can sink that last tendril into you, my friend…and when the hollow reiatsu cycles out, it will infect you instead!"
"That's crazy!" exclaimed Gin, "That will never work! All that will happen is that the…"
He stopped himself, smiling wickedly.
"Go ahead…Give it a try," Gin said in a challenging voice, "I dare you…"
"I have a better idea," Kisuke said, his eyes going dark, "Why don't we just wake Shuji and let him have a taste of you!"
He pushed several buttons on the television remote and touched the intercom button.
"Tessai…will you wake Shuji and bring him in here, please? I have a job for him…"
He turned back to Gin.
"I'm done playing games, you little weasel. Now, you're going to help, or you'll be a hollow before morning. If Captain Kuchiki's going to become a hollow and you're not going to help stop it, I've got no reason to keep you alive…"
The door opened and Tessai led a kido restrained Shuji to the examination table where Gin was restrained. Shuji gazed down at Gin and his eyes widened.
"You!" he growled, "How dare you!"
He closed in on Gin and Tessai loosened his bonds slightly. The hollow's hands reached for Gin and the shinigami struggled and tried to lean away. Tessai stopped the hollow just short of Gin.
"Now," said Kisuke, "I'll ask you one more time for your help, Gin…and if you don't agree, I'll figure it's a lost cause and let him tear you apart and eat you. You know he wants to…Who wouldn't after you made him and then discarded him like he was nothing!"
"He escaped!" Gin insisted.
"You were going to kill me!" roared the hollow, "Now, I'll kill you!"
He tore away from Tessai and his claws came down on a suddenly terrified Gin. Gin screamed, then everything around them froze as kido exploded from Kisuke's hands and froze Shuji in place. His claws had pierced Gin's chest slightly and blood leaked from beneath them. Gin stared, rapt, his chest rising and falling rapidly.
"Whew!" said Kisuke, smiling, "Well…that was close, wasn't it? You almost didn't get your chance to give me an answer. But it's okay now, Gin. You have a little time. That kido spell will hold him for, oh I'd say five minutes? Then it's all over. But it will fade nice and slow so you get to enjoy those claws for a good hour or two after he starts to move again. So give it some thought! Just don't be too long about it…"
Kisuke and Tessai turned and started toward the door. Gin stared daggers at them, spitting insults until they reached the door. As they began to walk out, he screamed defiantly and struggled madly against his bonds, unintentionally causing the claws to penetrate further.
Kisuke and Tessai waited calmly outside the door until the five minutes had almost elapsed, then re-entered just as the claws began to move very slightly. Furious at being cornered, but not wanting to actually die, Gin yelled at them to stop the claws. Kisuke smiled and moved closer.
"Tell me first how to cure Captain Kuchiki…"
"Come now…if I do that, you'll just kill me anyway!" Gin complained.
"Naw," Kisuke said, shaking his head, "If you're actually going to help us, then we need you to be the one to remove the tendrils. I have a feeling it's going to take a delicate hand that knows how they work. But I do need to know how to arrange the tendrils to reverse the hollowfying process."
The claws sank in deeper.
"All right…all right!" Gin said, flinching, "You have to re-attach the tendrils to Shuji and then drive the last tendril into his own heart. That will cause the reiatsu to cycle back out of Byakuya and into him. Then, when the captain's spirit centers are cleared, you have to remove the outer tendrils together and work your way inward two at a time until there's only one left. You do the last alone."
"Okay…" said Kisuke, turning away.
"Wait! What about Shuji?" cried Gin.
"Oh yeah…almost forgot!" exclaimed Kisuke, "So sorry!"
He sent a shock of spirit energy through his hand and into Shuji, dropping him in his tracks. Gin could quite contain a sigh of relief. Tessai picked up the hollow and carried him out of the room.
"Well?" said Gin expectantly, "I thought you needed me to remove the tendrils."
"Yeah," said Kisuke, "We'll get the room set up for that. But in the meantime, I thought you might enjoy a little bit of company."
"What do you mean?" asked Gin, sounding rattled.
The door opened and Renji Abarai stepped into the room.
"Ah, Renji," said Kisuke, "I was just thinking that Gin here could use some company while we set up the examination room! You know Gin, right?"
"Oh yeah!" said Renji in a sneering voice, "Gin and I go way back!"
"Good! Good!" said Kisuke, "Then you can keep him company while Tessai and I get things ready. Just…well…just be sure you don't bang him up too bad, Renji. We do need him to help Byakuya."
"Oh, don't worry," Renji assured him, "I won't hurt him…unless he asks for it."
Kisuke and Tessai left the room, leaving Renji alone with Gin.
"You wouldn't dare do anything…or Byakuya will die," Gin said quietly.
"Yeah," muttered Renji, "but I am going to make sure you don't try to double cross us."
He pulled up a chair and sat down near Gin.
"You might remember," Renji said quietly, "that this isn't the first time you have hurt my captain…or me."
He leaned closer and twisted a hand into his shihakusho, pulling him up slightly.
"You tortured Byakuya nearly to his breaking point…and we won't go into the shit you did to me. You are a miserable excuse for a living being and the world would be a hundred times better if I erased you from existence. If Byakuya didn't need you right now, I would already have killed you…and if you do anything to screw this up…nothing will protect you. I reached into Las Noches and dragged you out…and I can do it again! You get me?"
"Ooh," said Gin, "You're very scary, Renji. But if you lay a hand on me, my hands may just slip during the surgery. You wouldn't want that, would you?"
Renji took hold of his throat and leaned close to his face.
"And if anything happens to Byakuya because of you, I'll rip you to shreds before he takes his last breath…got me?"
"Oh yes," Gin said softly, "I think you and I understand each other perfectly. A compromise then. I make sure Byakuya lives and that he does not become a hollow, and in return, I never see your ugly face again…right?"
Renji laughed softly.
"And I thought you were stupid! Looks like you do have a brain cell or two."