AN: Hi all, hopefully you are well. Things aren't that great for me lately, but writing helps sort out my thoughts… At any rate, let's get this going! Thanks to Eldar-Melda for your kind review.
***DISCLAIMER TIME: I don't own Bleach or any of its characters.***
Ulquiorra was certain there was no way out of this situation. He asked the group from Seireitei to leave him behind, but it was clear in Yoruichi's voice that wouldn't be happening. Though he honestly didn't know what they would do. If they just waltz in through the front door there would be a blood bath in this bar.
"So, are you going to join us for that drink?" Nnoitra asked again regaining Ulquiorra's attention. Grimmjow sat with his usual devilish smile waiting for Ulquiorra's reply. As Ulquiorra scanned the room again, he momentarily saw Soifon moving in the shadows of the back of the bar. Ulquiorra's gaze was still cool as he simply nodded and went toward them.
"It's quite convenient…" Barragan said from his table.
"What's that?" Ulquiorra questioned as he took the drink Nnoitra handed him. Part of him was curious if it would be poisoned but he was fairly certain that they would want him to suffer more than that.
"You've made my job so much easier showing up this way," Barragan replied as he waved one of his men on to take Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra didn't even bother to set his drink down as he blocked the man's attack and swiftly punched him in the throat dropping him to the floor leaving him choking and spitting.
"Perhaps not as simple as you had thought?" Ulquiorra asked and a smirk made its way momentarily to his face before his placid gaze returned.
"I knew you would be a challenge, you don't think I would take on a contract without more information, do you?" Barragan said and Ulquiorra notice Barragan's hand waving forward again one of the men nodded and then walked over to a false wall opening it and pulling a restrained Orihime from the closet sized space. Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed on the man who held Orihime, a sorrowful and apologetic look painted itself on her face. Why hadn't Ichigo been keeping her safe? Without a second thought he quickly pulled a handgun from his back and shot the man holding Orihime directly in the head.
The room filled with chaos as Ulquiorra ran over to Orihime getting her out of the line of fire as the rest of the team flew in dropping much of Barragan's crew. Nnoitra, Grimmjow and Barragan had managed somehow to escape in the midst of everything going on.
"Well that was a little fun," Kenpachi remarked with a satisfied look at the bodies on the floor. Yoruichi shook her head stating that with all the gun fire they needed to move quickly before the police arrived. Everyone agreed and all accept Orihime and Ulquiorra went to leave. "C'mon you love birds will have time to hash things out later. We gotta get outta here!" Kenpachi said gruffly.
"What happened?" Ulquiorra asked calmly.
Orihime was frozen staring at Ulquiorra, he just killed a man and he seemed perfectly levelheaded. Was this who he really was?... Orihime didn't want to admit to herself that it scared her that he could take a life so quickly. Even though the situation was perilous there had to be a way for everyone to come out without dying… She wanted to believe that. Her nature made her never want to see that sort of harm come to others, even when they hurt her.
"Are you hurt?" Ulquiorra's voice was soft as were his hands on her arms as he looked over her to see if she was injured.
"Did it have to happen that way…?" she asked quietly as tears formed at the corners of her eyes. Ulquiorra frowned slightly and a muscle in his jaw twitched. He hated seeing her cry.
"I had no other choice… I couldn't let them harm you… I've already caused you to suffer an inordinate amount since I've met you… Perhaps it would be best if…" he had trouble bringing the words out, as much as he didn't want to be without her it seemed more and more she might be better off without him. He couldn't stand thinking about if she became victim to his life as his wife had. He had to care enough to let her go, for her to be safe.
Without a second thought she silenced him by wrapping her arms around him and squeezing him tightly. As much as she disliked the idea of killing she sympathized that this must have been difficult for him. She didn't want him to lose the kind person she knew he was. And so she would stay, no matter what might come, she couldn't let him go down a lonely path. "Don't you dare say that… I won't leave you. You're stuck with me."
"Orihime…" Ulquiorra whispered as he wrapped his arms around her and a single tear slowly slid down his cheek falling onto her shoulder.
Shunsui sat on the back deck of his house that was on the water enjoying some tea in silence as he watched the sun rise. Nanao was in the house making them breakfast. He was really enjoying these moments, with everything being so hectic at work it had been nice to come home with her and it was nice that she wasn't pushing him away anymore. He closed his eyes listening to the waves crashing in the background and was pulled from his enjoyment when a shadow loomed over him. He lazily opened one eye looking at the one who was blocking the sun.
"And what is it that you're doing here?" Shunsui questioned now opening both eyes waiting for Gin to respond. Gin sat down in the chair next to Shunsui and stared out at the rising sun.
"I need your help…" he admitted finally. Shunsui raised an eyebrow waiting for him to continue. Gin finally looked over at him; Gin's eyes were not their usual mischievous slits.
"You're worried about retribution I take it…" Shunsui said calmly, if Gin intended to keep Rangiku safe he would do anything necessary to help.
"I saw one of Aizen's people at my apartment the other day… Ditched my car and my phone… I need to find a place to keep Ran and Toshiro safe until this ends… If I could I'd take them far away from all of this, but I know she's not going to want to uproot Toshiro or leave her job," Gin's voice betrayed the concern he felt. Gin took a deep breath looking down, "I don't know if I can protect her…" he finally admitted what he could have gone his whole life not saying.
"I have a place in the country… If you can convince her, I'll let you use it for a safe house for them while we take care of this," Shunsui told him taking a sip of his tea.
"You know… I asked her to marry me. For what it's worth, I really do love her… I'd die for Rangiku, if that's what it takes," Gin said staring out over the water.
"You really shouldn't be so willing to rush into death," Shunsui remarked as he pulled out another cup pouring some tea and handing it to Gin.
"That's not it. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to die. I'd love to live a long life and make some babies ya know…" Gin told him with a slight smirk and his gaze became serious again. "But if it took my life to protect hers I would give it with a smile on my face."
"I never realized you were such an admirable fellow," Shunsui commented with a sort of approving nod. "I'll do as much as I can; you just have to tell me what exactly you are going to do about this situation."
"About what situation?" Nanao's voice called from the door way eyeing Gin with a bit of suspicion.
"Come sit with us, Gin will tell you everything," Shunsui said as he pulled a chair over by them motioning for her to have a seat.
"This is preposterous! You made us wait this long to tell us that you don't have the subject!?" Mayuri growled at SoiFon as she relayed the story of what happened on their failed mission.
"They're lucky to be alive," Jyuushiro chimed in. He had come against Nemu's request but she had been glad to see him since Mayuri had been getting so aggravated over the hours of waiting.
"It's unacceptable is what it is. Now I've wasted hours waiting when I could have been doing something more productive," Mayuri continued his complaint.
"I don't have time for this crying; I'm going back to my office. When we get a new plan, call me," Kenpachi told the group not wanting to listen to Mayuri's rant any more.
"New plan? Are you daft?" Ulquiorra questioned. Kenpachi turned glaring at him but waited for him to continue. "What we did will be taken as a declaration of war… And not only will it be Arrancar after all of us but Barragan as well. There's not any reasonable way that we can attempt this mission again. The critical mission will need to be the eradication of both Arrancar as well as Barragan's band of thugs."
Jyuushiro couldn't help the highly concerned look that came to his face. He never in his wildest dreams would have thought that such violence could come about in the corporate world. He looked over and could see the clear concern in Nemu's eyes as well. He felt helpless given that he wasn't the same as them, he did have the sort background for this.
"I'd be happy to take them on. It will be fun," Kenpachi replied with a confident smirk.
"And you'd be willing to bet Yachiru's life on that?" Ulquiorra questioned with a dark glance.
"I can take care of myself!" Yachiru piped up happily. Ulquiorra's jaw tensed and he gave a disappointed look to Kenpachi. He still had a difficult time with the fact that Kenpachi willingly if not delightedly brought her into this chaos.
"Any one of us has more training and experience than both of those groups combined. With some preparation we'll be able to take care of everything," SoiFon said, the look in her eyes completely fearless.
"Because we did so well this time…" Ulquiorra quipped with an unenthused gaze. "You'd be better off hiding in a hut in Nicaragua than fighting this battle."
"Hiding? Who the hell would hide? I damn sure won't. If I have to take them one by one myself I'll do it," Kenpachi told him. Ulquiorra groaned in annoyance at his statement.
"Why are you all still in my laboratory?" Mayuri interjected sick of hearing them go on. They all stopped looking at him with slight surprise. "I do not care what you do. Whether you go off and get yourselves killed or run and hide, as long as you do it outside of my lab. You are all bothersome and preventing me from getting on with my work. So get out." Mayuri commanded and they all still stood looking at him. "NOW!"
They all looked at each other and filed out of the lab making their way to another area. This conversation was far from over.
Rangiku was rushing around the apartment trying to get ready for work as Toshiro calmly waited in the living room which was their usual routine. He never could understand how she could always be so scattered every morning. Just as they were about to leave Rangiku's cell phone began to ring. She motioned for Toshiro to wait as she answered the call.
"Hello?" she said uncertain of who it might be since the number wasn't a contact in her phone.
"Hey love," Gin's familiar voice came over the phone. Her brow furrowed wondering why he wasn't calling from his own phone. Toshiro gave a sideways glance at the look on her face. She only motioned for him to keep waiting.
"Is everything alright? Why aren't you calling from your phone Gin?" she questioned even something so simple gave her concern. Toshiro's gaze became more serious wondering what Gin had gotten himself into and whether he was going to end up hurting Rangiku again.
"I can explain everything. I only ask one favor… You have to trust me," Gin told her and there was an odd tone to his voice that she couldn't recognize the emotion of.
"You know I do," she said reassuringly.
"Good, is Toshiro still with you?" he asked.
"Of course, we haven't left yet," she replied becoming more confused as this conversation went on.
"Perfect, I'm outside in one of Shunsui's cars. I need you both to come with me," he told her.
"Shunsui's car? Why do you have his car? What's going on Gin?" Rangiku began and her look became further concerned.
"I'll explain everything, as I said, but I just need you to trust me and come with me," he said and there was something like pleading in the end of his sentence.
"Alright, we'll be right down," she told him and ended the call.
"What is going on?" Toshiro said a slightly angered look making its way to his face.
"I honestly don't know. But we're going with Gin this morning," she said and went to open the door. Toshiro firmly slammed it shut.
"You're just going to blindly trust him like that!?" Toshiro yelled. Rangiku suddenly realized that she never did tell him about Gin proposed to her. Apparently now was as good a time as any…
"Yes, I have to. He will be my husband one day," she told him, she had a feeling there wasn't time to mince words. The tone of Gin's voice made her worried.
"YOUR WHAT?!" Toshiro's voice went a few octaves higher and shock washed over his features.
"He proposed to me Toshiro. Now I don't know what is going on but we need to trust him, he won't let any harm come to us. So let's just go with him," she said attempting to open the door again.
"I can't believe it… You always keep me in the dark. I can take care of myself!" he shouted as he went to walk past her.
"You're not going anywhere without me Toshiro. Something is happening and while I don't know what it is staying with Gin is probably the best chance we've got," she said firmly and grabbed his arm. "I won't see you get hurt. You know I will always be here for you, so just bear with me. We'll find out the truth together."
He huffed a bit but she was stronger than she looked so he couldn't get out of her grip anyways. He calmed slightly and conceded to her request. They hurriedly went out and down the stairs going out to the car where Gin was waiting.
"What took so long?" Gin asked with some concern as they both got into the sedan. He looked over at Toshiro who was shooting daggers his way with his eyes.
"We're all going to have to have a long talk about some things Gin…" Rangiku told him as they closed the doors and he pulled away from the curb. "First and foremost, what is this all about?"
"I don't want to do this in the car… It will just be a couple hours until we get to where we need to be," Gin said and continued driving following the directions to the country house that Shunsui had told him. The silence in the car was deafening. But he had to get them safe before they could know the truth of what was happening. He wasn't sure how Rangiku would take this and he didn't want her doing anything rash. Let alone how Toshiro was sure to respond, though he was fairly certain that Toshiro's response would be full of infuriation.
"Fine, we're here, tell us what you did?" Toshiro snarled as they pulled into the drive way and Gin parked.
"Let's go inside…" Gin replied calmly. Toshiro's eyes filled with fury as he refused to get out.
"I want answers now. Isn't it enough already that you've kidnapped us?" Toshiro said defiantly.
"Please… All I'm doing is trying to keep the both of you safe," Gin told him.
"Just give him a chance Toshiro. I'm as confused as you are, but I know he'd never put us in danger," Rangiku said with a hopeful look. Toshiro's look remained despondent but he acceded to her. They got out of the car and walked up to the house and went inside. He looked around for a light switch on the wall; Shunsui hadn't mentioned this old house didn't have power running to it.
"Well that's interesting… Very him…" Gin mumbled to himself after he began to realize there wasn't anything electric around.
"Very who? Tell us what's going on Gin. I'm really worried," Rangiku said and a frown formed on her face.
"It's Shunsui's house. He's going to let us use it for a bit… I think we'll probably want to sit down for this conversation," he told her and they went into a room and sat on pillows surrounding a low table.
Gin took a deep breath letting it out slowly and began to tell them the truth of his work with Arrancar and everything that he had done since the time they last saw him before he came back. At certain points both Rangiku and Toshiro cringed at his tale. He finally got to more recent events relating that with his defiance at the warehouse he now was in danger and knowing how Aizen worked that they would also be in danger. That was how Aizen worked, if he can't get to you directly he would use those most dear to you.
"So… What will you do… To get out of this?" Toshiro asked hesitantly. After these stories it was clear that Gin was no stranger to bloodshed. He never would have imagined Gin to be so hardened.
"Whatever it takes, I won't have Aizen hurting either of you. If it comes to it I have no qualms over taking his life or anyone else's who he might send," Gin said without taking any time to think about how words like that might frighten a child rather than give comfort as he saw the look on Toshiro's face. "Sorry, I don't mean to sound so cutthroat but this is the way of the world I went into those years ago… I promise you this though, I will protect you both. No matter what may come to pass, no matter what might happen. I want you both to know that."
Toshiro simply nodded quietly. He had a completely different perspective of Gin now. He didn't know how to feel about him now that he knew the truth. He started to regret so desperately wanting to know everything…
"Are you okay Tosh?" Rangiku asked as she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah…" Toshiro replied quietly still deep in his thoughts. While he was very hesitant about all of this he decided he would trust Gin. He knew that if nothing else Gin certainly wasn't lying to them.
"Alright, I think we need to get rid of this depressing atmosphere I got going. Why don't we see if he's got something to eat around here huh?" Gin asked attempting to lighten the mood. He knew things were about to get very serious and he wasn't sure when or if he would see them again depending on how things went so he wanted to make the most of their time together.