Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
A/N: I kind of made a mistake with the family name thing, but it probably won't be mentioned anymore after this.
It took some time before Ichimaru Gin was able to come back to his senses after learning of the shocking past that his best friend and the love of his life once shared. However, although it made him want to vomit just trying to force himself into imagining it, he still greatly desired to know the whole truth. Chrisalis had already gone ahead into the building to find his uncle, while Aizen continued to force his way out of his mother's tightening grasp outside. Unfortunately for the ungrateful bastard, he was having little success in escaping at the moment. Tousen and Kira were also interested in becoming better informed about the past of their friends.
"Gin, why are you so upset? You know that we've been friends since childhood, but had to go to different high schools," Matsumoto explained, "I just didn't tell you anything about it since there wasn't anything between Aizen and I anymore. We didn't even do much together. You're the one that I love the most!"
"I know that! I just...I just can't believe that you two actually dated! I mean, what are the odds that my roommate and best friend would actually be the ex of my girlfriend? It's almost too crazy to be a coincidence!" Gin cried, waving his hands about in an erratic fashion. He was desperately trying to put it all together in his mind, but it was giving him a migraine.
Aizen sighed. "Mom...this is all your fault..."
"My fault?" Aizen's mother snapped up, now changing her hug into a chokehold around Aizen's neck, "I can't help it if I have a good memory! Besides, you and Matsumoto would probably still be together if you weren't such a big baby about taking the next step in your relationship!"
"W-What the hell do you think you're saying in public, mother? Didn't you ever learn not too reveal such private information so carelessly?" Aizen exclaimed.
"Don't you dare talk to me that way after meeting for the first time in so long! Do you think I could ever forget about how you started bawling like a baby, waking up your father, your brother and I, the moment she tried to get your pants off? You were making such a scene that it even woke up some of the neighbors for crying out loud!"
"Why did you have to remember that? Besides, I thought I was being raped!"
"Liar! He consented, right, Matsumoto?" Aizen's mother looked over to the strawberry-blonde, who nodded in response. "See? You did, right?"
"W...Well...I guess I did...but why are we bringing that up now? And I didn't think sex was going to involve what it actually dd! There was no way I could do something like that!"
"It's because you say things like that that all of the boys down the street used to call you a queer!"
"Why do we have to bring that back up again? Just...let...go...of me!"
Gin, oddly enough, began to smile. "Well, that's a relief! Although now I kind of pity you, Aizen, but at the same time, I want to laugh my head off..."
"Kira's already ahead of ya!" Tousen exclaimed as he watched his friend rolling around on the floor, struggling hard not to burst out into a crazed fit of laughter. His face was almost as red as Aizen's was, but it was for a completely different reason. The reality of it was that Kira was thinking back to a hilarious event from the past, and he wasn't actually paying attention to what the others were talking about.
"It's not funny! It was...it was a very traumatic experience for me! That she-devil bitch of yours tried to take advantage of me!" Aizen threw a glare in Matsumoto's direction, but she was not in the least bit fazed by it. "And I really wish we didn't talk about it! It was a good number of years ago anyway!"
"Don't worry, I won't hold it against you..." Gin remarked, but then muttered quietly under his breath, "Cap'n Unbeatable VIRGIN Butterfly..."
"I HEARD THAT! AND YOU HAVEN'T CALLED ME 'CAPTAIN' IN A LONG TIME!"
"Yeah, I think I forgot about that, to tell the truth."
"Me too."
Suddenly, Aizen's mother released her son from the chokehold. Although it had seemed at first that she was just playing around, there was a noticeable bruise on Aizen's neck. "Well, in any case, since you are all good friends of my son Aizen, there's no problem at all with you joining us at our reunion! I really want to catch up on things with you too, Matsumoto!"
"Ha ha, same here, Mrs. A!"
Aizen rubbed his neck, coughing. "W-Why didn't you just say that in the first place...?"
Inside the farmhouse was the other members of Aizen's family who had arrived for the reunion. Nearly everyone there had a mullet, except for a select few from Aizen's father's side. Despite the bitter man's claims to the contrary, it really did look like the kind of family that Aizen would fit into, or at least blend into. Tousen was mildly surprised at just how friendly and welcoming these people were compared to the mullet-haired bastard they're so familiar with. Aizen's mother and Matsumoto had already gone off somewhere into the crowd to chat amongst themselves.
"You know what would be really good?"
"What?"
"FLYING...PANTS!"
"Holy shit, you're right!"
'These people are a little weird...' Gin thought. 'But...I feel at ease with them all the same,'
At the same time, Chrisalis was giving Tousen a very thorough look-over, and he said, "You know, don't be offended by this, but you look like the kind of guy who could be forgotten easily..."
"I get that alot, to be honest," Tousen solemnly turned his head away.
"Oh...I'm sorry...by the way, I want you to meet my father, who's Aizen's uncle,"
"Hello there, sir. Nice to meet...uh..." Tousen abruptly lost his train of thought when he laid his eyes upon Chrisalis's father. The tall and imposing figure resembled the majority of Aizen's family, except he had no eyebrows, much longer hair, and what appeared to be butterfly wings emerging from his back.
"What the hell?"
Aizen wiped away the beads of sweat that were clinging to his brow, sighing. The heat inside the tightly packed barn was overwhelming, and the drinks available did little to be of any use. There was a large number of places he would have much rather been at at this very moment. Large crowds made him uncomfortable, and his family just reminded him of how different and out of place he really is. There was no way he would openly express his feelings about this to anyone, though. It was bad enough his friends had found out about his inability to cope with intimacy, so humiliating himself further was not a pleasant idea.
He thought back to what had happened on the bus, and that creepy Kuugo Ginjou fellow. The fact that he knew about Strawberry, who existed only inside Aizen's mind, and he was able to somehow vanish from sight as well as erase everyone's (but Aizen's) memories of him, proved without a doubt that he was definitely nowhere near a normal human being. Just thinking back to that cocky little grin he wore sent a shiver up Aizen's spine; there was definitely some malice hidden behind it.
'Damn...when this is all over, I'm gonna go and find that son of a bitch...'
"Hi, Aizen," said Kuugo Ginjou, waving as he walked past with a bowl of steaming-hot ramen in his hands. Aizen's mouth fell agape.
'I...I FOUND HIM ALREADY!'
Aizen grabbed hold of Ginjou's sleeve and forcefully dragged the man over into a secluded corner, not caring in the slightest that ramen was spilling all over the floor.
"Oi! Dude! You're fucking up my ramen!"
"Quiet, you!"
Once they were out of earshot from his family and friends, Aizen slammed his knee against Ginjou's abdomen, nearly causing the older-looking man to vomit. "Ha, it looks like I can hit you after all, so you're not some weird apparition. Now tell me what the hell are you doing here...!" Aizen snarled through clenched teeth. It took a few seconds for Ginjou to stop coughing and spitting up tiny chunks of noodles and fish cake on Aizen's shirt.
"I...I told you we'd meet again at the family reunion, didn't I?"
"Yeah, but this is way too soon, don't you think? You're supposed to wait a while longer before you show up again!"
"I'm allowed to do whatever I want. By the time this is all over, nothing will even matter anymore, so stop whining about it."
Aizen took a few steps back, giving Ginjou an odd look. "...Just who or what are you?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Ginjou smirked.
"Yes, I would. Please tell me?"
"I ain't telling you shit. Not yet, anyway. I gotta wait until the moment is right."
"It's not making you look any cooler by doing that, you know."
Ginjou actually looked taken aback by Aizen's insulting comment. "S-Shut up! It's my choice! In any case, my dear friend Aizen, you should be very careful, because once my comrades arrive, then things will be getting a little...hectic."
Aizen violently grabbed Ginjou by the shirt, shouting into the stoic man's face, "What do you plan to do, you son of a bitch?"
"Just ask Strawberry. Look, I can't stay and chat. I got stuff to do; toodles!"
"Wha-?" Once again, in the height of the tension, Ginjou vanished from sight. Aizen cursed under his breath; for some reason, it looked like it was his responsibility alone to ensure that nothing bad happened at this family reunion. He was about to go and do something, anything that might be helpful in preparing for whatever Ginjou had in mind, when a familiar voice called out to him.
"...Brother?"
It was a young man, somewhere in his early 20s, with short brown hair and glasses. His face resembled Aizen's to a T. He looked quite concerned about how stressed Aizen seemed. He was someone that Aizen had known since birth, and although they lived together for their whole childhoods, they operated completely different in terms of personality and interests.
"Oh...it's you...my goody-two-shoes of a twin brother." Aizen scowled.
