I cast my eyes over the rest of the division and sent them out in their teams. Clean-up crew was especially rebellious today; I decided they could do another quarter for daring to comment I was abusing my power. Patrol teams left for the various districts of Seireitei. The remnants were sent as dispatchers and dojo assistants at the Academy. And I had some top-level documents for the thirteenth captain and the eighth division to check through before I delivered them to Tousen.

It was already three days since Aizen-sama had left with search force number two after that disastrous first one Soi Fon led. I was certain he had been the one to thwart it, after sifting through gossip and rumors of an inside traitor. A noise made me look up from the papers in my arms – a bad habit I adopted from Aizen-sama, but thus far I hadn't collided with any wall or pillars yet.

Kurotsuchi was slouching about in a snit past the fifth division office; I carefully avoided him by ducking into an alley. Little Nemu trailed after him, desperately seeking his approval, and I knew she would never get it. Sure enough, she got backhanded for not walking fast enough.

With a small sigh of relief at not being the target of Kurotsuchi's ire, I trotted down to the other end of the alley and rounded the corner. Then I stopped in my tracks.

Ran was kissing a man, her breathy moans clearly audible as he moved against her.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"What the fucking hell were you thinking!?"

I stood shoulders back, chest out. Kurosawa was on his feet, roaring vulgarities at me that could probably reach the soutaichou. "She was behaving in an inappropriate manner," I answered when he paused for breath.

"You fucking got screwed by your own captain on a regular basis, and she's behaving inappropriately?" The captain was aghast and resumed pacing. "You have no cause, Ichimaru!"

"I have cause." I maintained my non-smile, my calm manner, my all-too-unreadable aura. "She was a lieutenant and she was behaving inappropriately in public."

"Hypocritical bastard, what 'bout you and Aizen, eh?"

My eyes flashed open for a split second, my mask slipping for just an instant. "We keep our private lives private, Kurosawa-taichou."

"Hah. Aizen's lil' lapdog. That dickhead really trained you well."

Suddenly Ran was trying to pull me back again, for the second time that day. "Gin! GIN!! Back off! Back off now! That's an effin' order!"

"He insulted my captain," I breathed out, my gaze fixed on the solitary eyeball at the point of Shinsou. Just breathe, Kurosawa Shino. Just breathe a syllable wrong and I'll skewer your eye into the fucking wall and with your brain spattered across the white walls-

"Stand down, Ichimaru Gin." A calm voice cut into my thoughts.

I didn't move. Then I felt an arm hook me from behind and drag me back.

In my mind I muttered, "Ikorose, Shinsou."

The blade darted forward and met with a dull thunk. I blinked.

Ukitake-taichou blocked my sword with the sheath of his own and I was aware of Kyoraku Shunsui behind me. The two waited until I retracted Shinsou. The tenth division captain was stunned that I had actually drawn on him, but the silence of the room was soon broken.

Kurosawa was livid. "Fucking lil' bastard attacked me!"

"From what I heard you deserved it," Ukitake-taichou was unexpectedly harsh. "He bore all your insults without showing any temper, but that doesn't mean he didn't have any."

"And with Aizen not here to defend or discipline his lieutenant, you had no right to detain someone not of your division."

"He bloody attacked Ran!"

Kyoraku gave her a slow once-over. "She's not hurt," he pointed out. "And she's not as angry as you are."

Kurosawa paused in his rant. "You two takin' his side?"

"The side that's right," said Ukitake-taichou. "He's in the wrong for drawing his sword on you, but Aizen will deal with that. You keep a tight rein on your tongue, Shino, or you'll never get a wife."

The tenth division captain swore under his breath and Kyoraku waved me out. I walked away from the office, still slightly bewildered at the turn of events.

Then Ran caught up with me. "Hey."

"Hi." This was the first time she was speaking to me in a very long time. "I'm sorry I hurt him."

Her hair was longer, and they now fell in gentle waves as she shook her head. "He'll be alright."

There wasn't really anything else we could say. There was nothing else I could say, not really.

Sorry I almost killed your new boytoy?

Sorry I attacked your captain?

Sorry I couldn't be who you wanted me to be?

"Scarf," I said. It was something new. "Quite nice, but I don't think ivory is your color."

She fingered the edges. "Hides the hickeys well enough."

We looked at each other, then I turned and left, the folder of papers still clutched to my chest.

It was September, I remembered. And I knew where to get the perfect birthday present.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

When I returned to the division I noticed the blinking light on the communicator. It was one he hijacked from the Twelfth; we used it nightly as he spent time in the human world, and it was untraceable. He made sure of that, having tinkered with it and adjusting the frequency.

"Hey."

"Hello."

My heart skipped a beat. "How's it going?"

"Bad. The setup's ready, but I can't get into it."

"Hmm. Equipment failure?"

"The equipment is perfectly fine, thank you," he answered a little brusquely. "You checked it yourself, remember?"

I smiled to myself, resting on the edge of the desk. "I do. What do you need?"

"Getting power to run through the circuits."

"Tall order," I commented, rearranging the papers on my desk distractedly. "What do you see?"

"An extended link between a constant and a variable."

"Any way to remove the variable?" I moved to his desk, digging into his second drawer. Ah-hah. There it was.

He sighed. "It should be gone in the next five to seven minutes. I need everything to be up and running in that time."

"Wait for the constant to be isolated," I commanded. "I can't guarantee 'up and running', but perhaps I can get some juice over to ya."

"Get to it then." His voice was now a low growl. He was getting impatient. "Conditions won't be any more ideal than tonight."

As ideas ran through my mind at lightning speed, I smirked and opened the bottle of scented oil I extracted from his desk.