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The Captain of the Third Division


Kyouraku Shunsui

Captain of the 8th division

Best friend of Jūshirō Ukitake

Drinking buddy of Rangiku Matsumoto

Best party planner in Seireitei

Yamamoto's dog of war

Someone wise said, "I'm fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in." He wholeheartedly concurs. He had been a young man who became one of those older men now.


Have you ever tried reading during an Apocalypse? Well, Shunsui could tell you currently what that felt like? Flipping the virtual pages of the Hojō book on the tablet provided by Nanao frantically, he was trying to find a way out of this mess for all of them. Above his head, his pal Jūshirō was playing mouse and cats with those teenage terrors. Knowing Ju-chan, he knew he was probably nearing the point of no return. He was getting physically exhausted and terribly frustrated. It was the best combination to let the rough battle-worn soldier inside him out.

On cue, Jūshirō faded. The two arrancars blinked, caught unprepared. He reappeared sheathing his sword in his scabbard. While they were trying to send a combined gran rei cero, he glided past them, forcing them to let go of each other's hands. He skidded in the air as if on a virtual surfboard, mortally stabbing them both with his zanpakutō. They disappeared before he had time to sheath back his zanpakutō.

But Ju-chan's relief was short-lived. On the hill, Omaeda got swallowed by that devil instrument. Everything disappeared under a blanket of white light. Then, Geren's unusual pattern was seemingly neutralized alternatively by Soi Fon's bankai and Dengeki's kido, a peace also short-lived, as both got owned by that Primeros Enzo, Enzo who seemed entirely too dedicated with wiping the floor with Dengeki. Someone started to run away. Good thinking! Shunsui blinked in surprise. That was Rangiku Matsumoto. Four chains fell on the Seireitei one by one. A primitive roar resonated like thunder. Jūshirō went down on one knee in the air, his head suddenly boiling. He started coughing blood repeatedly. What was that?

Shunsui lifted his head. That couldn't be… He put the tablet inside his kosode with lightning-fast precision just in time to catch Jūshirō before he crashed unconscious in his arms.

Slowly putting his friend down on the trembling ground, Shunsui checked his vitals and turned again to Muken's gates. Two gigantic eyes blinked open in the shadow of that door, signaling that something huge and unfriendly wanted to come out.

Shunsui opened the book again before he felt a drastic change in the atmosphere. He looked up. Matsumoto Rangiku jumped from that hill. Believe it or not, he heard distinctly the noise her body made when she collided with earth. Jūshirō bolted awake, searching his face for confirmation. There was almost an eerie silence that follows. But Jūshirō simply dusted his clothes back up and stole the tablet in his hand.

Shunsui's gaze couldn't tear away from the place Rangiku landed. His chest was tight. He remembered her drunken smile and the scent of her skin sweating with plum wine. All the time, she laughed with Nanao too. There was smoke rising in the air. Was she pushed? Did she jump? Was she scared? Nanao. He turned his gaze following the mad dash of his lieutenant in the forest toward Rangiku's death bed.

"Let's try that!" Jūshirō said, pulling on his sleeves.

Shunsui remained frozen.

"She's gone. She was a lovely young woman. Nothing we can do about it. You will worry about Nanao later." Jūshirō snapped.

Shunsui sighed. Trust Jūshirō to keep a level-head facing death.

"We can't close that door. It's going to open no matter what." He told his best friend.

"Well, there's a Guardian behind that door. Programmed to destroy every living being, he considered an enemy to his cause."

"Let me guess that includes innocent bystanders. He is programmed to annihilate us all."

"Bingo!" Jūshirō said.

"We are all gonna die."

"Nope. We're not. Fortunately, there's a way here. It's costly but doable."

"What are we waiting for?"

"It's a transgression spell. So… »

« Oh! There's a price to pay… I knew there's always a catch!"

"Well…"

"Lead the way, gentle knight, for this is our last feast."

Jūshirō burst out laughing, and it all sounded foreign in the midst of this chaotic mess. Shunsui frowned. What was wrong with him? Couldn't he read a mood?

"I almost forgot you become so poetic when things become dire. I will tell Nanao..."

He faded.

"You can't tell her if you're dead."

"No, I'm gonna survive this just to tell her. You're the one doing the spell." Ju-chan teased.

The blonde faded. Shunsui followed him and reappeared on top of the hill, a few feet from a stunned Enzo.

Getting his bearing back at the sight of the two captains, Enzo stepped away from the edge.

"Dead meat!" Enzo growled.

Jūshirō checked Soi Fon and Dengeki's vitals while Shunsui bowed down politely.

"Leader of the insurrection, I presumed. Shunsui Kyouraku. Captain of the 8th division. A pleasure to meet you in such gruesome circumstances."

The earth grumbled over and over. But Enzo started walking toward him with swag, nonchalantly playing with his spear, all traces of his previous outbursts gone.

"You're here to join the fun. Good. I can't say things work out exactly as I plan, I'm afraid. But the situation keeps turning around to my advantage, so who am I to complain?"

"I can see that. Everybody makes mistakes."

His face contorted with anger.

"I don't make mistakes! Unwilling people surround me! It's not on me if no one can't follow a fucking script !"

"We aim to misbehave… I mean to please, of course."

"You… are the comic captain?" Enzo said, deadpan.

Shunsui shrugged amiably.

"Didn't you just push Matsumoto Rangiku off a cliff?!"

Enzo stopped dead in his tracks.

"What?"

"Didn't you just push her?"

Enzo frowned in confusion. He failed to understand Shunsui's angle here.

"She's dead, so what!"

"Oh! It's nothing! I just wanted to check that the woman behind you could only be a ghost. You know, since you say she's dead and all!"

Enzo spun around just in time for Matsumoto to strike his smug ugly face with her fist. The woman recoiled immediately, groaning immediately in pain. It must have broken a dozen bones in her hand. Yet, his Hierro remained unscratched like marble. He stood there with wide eyes while she comically jumped up and down.

"Oh, that hurts, Son of a bitch!"

"I told you let me clean up, sweetie! Why are you so stubborn? "

Enzo remained frozen. Shunsui started to grin.

"You never clean up behind you, Ichimaru Gin. That's the principal issue in our relationship. Look at the stain you made."

She said, facing Enzo with a dead cold stare.

"It's never too late to change, honey. What do you say, pumpkin pie? I mean, Enzoraki-san. That was your name, right? Long time no see. A little bird told me you asked around for me." Gin teased.

There was a tornado of spiritual pressure each step he took.

The ex-captain of the third division swaggered slowly from behind a curtain of dust and fallen debris, his hands nonchalantly joined behind his back, with a regal demeanor, enveloped in his immaculate Arrancar coat. His skin was white as snow, seemingly durable like Hierro, his smile was just as cruel and deceiving as it used to. But it was his eyes that clashed the most with the rest. He stood there, staring at the world with the most innocent baby blue eyes. Yet, Enzo felt like they were sharp ice shards stabbing his chest open from the inside.

Nanao ran toward her captain while Rangiku stepped away slowly from Enzo.

"I told you. Our boy is star-struck. Isn't that cute?" Rangiku said, holding out her hand for Gin. He grabbed her possessively and kissed her neck. They looked every bit like the mischievous children god living in the temple of Mount Miroku.

Gin was mentally ready when Rangiku playfully slapped him. He owed her that much.

"Idiot ! Idiot ! Idiot !"

Gin stood his ground. His lips stretched into his usual smirk. His collar was crumpled between her clenched fingers.

"I knew it. I knew you were somewhere. I needed to find you. I remembered everything you ever taught me. I wasn't sure it worked, but I had to try..."

" What is this half-baked logic, Ran-chan? It made half a lick of sense to risk this life on a whim. Yet, I'm proud of you."

He whispered in her ears. Gin leaned over to bring their foreheads together.

"You are cold." She whispered in his neck, her breath warm on his marble skin.

"I'm a little dead, you know. I died many times...technically speaking...on the path that connects Heaven and Hell. I'm glad I said I was sorry in case we'd miss each other at the crossroad of our twisted destinies."

"Don't make me punch you again."

"I just wanted to see you smile again… Look at you, you look so radiant."

She did just that, gave him the brightest, shiniest smile. You could say that Hell was paved now with Gin Ichimaru's good intentions. He took a tentative step back, teasing. Kissing the back of her hand softly, he finally let go.

Enzo Weavorpine hadn't moved much since Rangiku successfully had thrown herself off the cliff and resurrected herself and her lover. He hadn't made much progress. He watched with an almost absent look the couple approaching. Gin Ichimaru. Ichimaru was alive. Gin Ichimaru. Gin Ichimaru ... Gin Ichimaru was walking in his direction. A smile stretched his lips to the ears. Enzo was not a monster. The real monster ... stood a few feet in front of him. The monster was walking towards him. Behind this angelic façade… There was a monster.

Gin crossed right next to him. Enzo's eyes widened in stupefaction. Gin brushed past him, his overbearing aura invading Enzo's mind. What? The Primeros rewound the scene over and over in his mind. Was he just ignored?

His white coat floated behind him like a specter. Gin Ichimaru. Enzo glanced at Rangiku then follow Gin again and Shunsui.

Gin stooped next to Manatsu Dengeki. They all watched as Jūshirō massaged her ki point, trying to stimulate her regenerative skills. Gin tilted his head, checking the woman from head to toe. The "new him" was pissing blood on the floor. He sighed and crouched down beside her. She opened her eyes wide. Gin opened an eyelid, surprised. She had fuchsia eyes. Curious! Her eyes were pure crystalline and pink. She, too, immediately recognized him. A first convulsion shook her entrails. Jūshirō tried to steady her head. Manatsu was unable to say a word, blood rushing down her throat. A streak of blood stained the corner of her lips. She was really in bad shape. Tears gathered in her eyes. He could read the humiliation in her pupils so frankly. What an interesting woman? She lifted her neck slightly, trying to look him in the eye, opening her mouth. She was suffocating. It suddenly passed in her eyes, like a shadow. She went from surprise to anger, to wonder, then finally to acceptance. Well, at least he didn't have to do the introductions. Gin gave Jūshirō a nod so the latter could let go. He got out from his pocket, a shard of blood-red reiasekki.

"Gin…"

Gin silenced him quickly. He put two fingers on the young woman's forehead. In a few seconds, he transferred so much reiatsu to her to accelerate her organs and cells' regeneration and cells that she lost consciousness again. Her wounds started closing immediately. What would Kira do without a captain? He was wholly capable of devoting himself full time to poetry. No one wanted that, right? The world did not need one more tortured poet. He grabbed her wrist and lifted her again. He removed her haori with a single gesture. He yanked the coat out in the air and finally put it on. It still suited him like a glove. Was he surprised? No, he knew it would fit him perfectly.

After which, he turned towards Enzo. Would he understand the message? Jikanakuma brushed his face, tearing off a few strands of gray hair in the process. He dodged. The spear struck the ground violently, leaving its mark on the rocky, unstable ground.

"Well, Captain Ichimaru, it looks like we will leave this in your hands," Shunsui said as he and Jūshirō helped Dengeki up, Nanao in tow.


Gin Ichimaru

Former commander of the armies of Aizen

Former Captain of the Third Division

Former Prisoner of the Tower of Regrets

Former chairman of the Gotei 13 Haiku Club

Former Event planner in Las Noches

Self-appointed Captain of the Third Division

Yamamoto's Dog of War

He had turned into a snake ... had devoured humans and with the same mouth that had declared his love for Rangiku Matsumoto. On the other hand, Rangiku crossed a universe, defied logic and bigger instances, generally didn't give a fuck about any of his sacrifices, stomped on his pride, slammed him for his idiocy, and brought him back to earth manu militari. Who would dare suggest they were anything but a match made in Heaven?


The last drop of blood inside Gin Ichimaru dripped on the metallic floor of the standing sarcophagus he was in, making an indecent racket in the silent castle where all the monsters were gone. Then nothing.

Nelliel stepped away from Szayel Appollo Granz's machine. Tia sighed. The royal tapestry on the wall fell.

" We tried everything. There's nothing more we can do. "

Nelliel shook her head in denial.

This couldn't be.

"Let's go get Grimmjow. He won't be able to last too long where he is." Tia suggested.

Nelliel sighed heavily. She knew she was right. It's not like they hadn't tried everything for the past couple of hours. They tried every parameter in the machine. They gave him blood. They use Reiasekki stones. They shot him full of improbable drugs. They tried spells. He remained in that same state between life and death with no brain function, no blood flow, no reiatsu circulation. It was almost as if he was…

As if he was dormant.

Tia suddenly spun on herself toward the machine. Dormant. No blood flow. No reiatsu circulation. No brain functions. No blood flow. No reiatsu circulation. No brain functions. Her inner beast growled in recognition, surprising Nel beside.

"Tia? What is it?"

Tia couldn't speak. No blood flow. No reiatsu circulation. No brain Functions. No blood flow. A soul suspended in time. A Soul Dormant.

"Kneel."

"What?"

"Kneel and pray… We haven't tried praying. Pray, he won't hold it against us." Tia whispered as she slowly crawled on her knees.

His body was frozen for something resembling eternity. It was a tranquil 'death' he experienced. Something like the temporary extinction of all his desires and needs. He went to sleep in the Sarcophagus. How long did it last hours or days? Time like everything else, seemed non-existent.

Then without warning it, all ceased to be peaceful as pain traveled him once more, as his body became aware of his loss before his brain could process it. He lost something right there. He lost something. As he tried to access lost memories of her, his soul soared toward Heaven and Hell. She was the only thing he vowed to remember.

Gin wasn't in the Sarcophagus. At least if his body was physically there, he himself wasn't. He'd just been called by a purpose greater than himself. He had traveled beyond his years, visited hundreds of dimensions before he finally found it. Time and Space spread and stretched in front of him. He started his journey by searching through a blazing Karakura, treading through corpses and floating souls. Souls leaving their corporal bodies to enter the "device." Isshin Kurosaki's car drove through the packed streets like crazy and parked in front of the Urahara shop, leaving a caoutchouc trail on the asphalt. Yet, undisturbed, Chad and his girlfriend were making out. At least their souls were… Was it good to be young?

Ichigo Kurosaki got immediately out of the SUV but stopped himself when he noticed Chad's body on the ground. He froze as he realized it was too late for his friend. The kid oddly turned toward Gin's spot, as if aware of his presence. He stared in Gin's direction, still blind. But the moment passed. Gin did not linger. He followed the convoy of dead souls to Jigokucho. He lost Ichigo's friend there. It took him days to trail a cargo of souls in their journey toward the nine infernal dimensions, knowing he just needed one of them to be ripe for transition. Eventually, it will happen. One would be mature enough. One of them would lead him to the Factory. Perched on the edge of a cliff, he watched thousands of souls escorted by Servants in Bōkyakusabaku, the Desert of Oblivion, the place where they shall forget their existence as they traveled through dunes and canyons. He swam in the Bounty Lake, where the souls wash away their sins. He followed the cattle for something like a strange millennium until they made their way toward their last transitions. Fortunately, time was also a matter of interpretation there.

Bingo. He finally found it—the Gates of the Factory.

That's when he rode the clouds back down, falling through cosmic layers after cosmic layers, tearing himself from the current, crashing back into his body again, like a meteor entering a black hole, triggering a set of explosions in Szayel's lab and his awakening. Tia just had time to cover her head on the floor. The surgical table soared above her and stuck itself in the wall. Nel jumped and found shelter behind a tall storage cupboard. It glided on the floor behind her, creaking, attracted by an invisible force. The machine started again as if animated with a new will. The tank filled with heated liquid gold, streaming from glass pipes in the ceiling. The red Reiasekki stone Tia found earlier started to shine with a trepid intensity in the dark. Electricity sizzled in the air. The room turned a critical red. Nel grabbed Tia's hand and pulled her to safety. Both Vasto Lorde held onto each other hard.

Audiomachine - The New Earth

As the Machine engine roared so loud. It flickered in the dark, sparkling with energy. Tia held Nel's hand to her chest. Both women watched the walls undulate around them. Gradually, the walls undulated to dissolve to an atomic level. But it wasn't the strangest thing that happened. The rooms of Las Noches started to move, rearranging themselves. The dome hiding the moon disappeared, melted away. Despite its floor caught under Hitsugaya's bankai, the throne room magically remodeled itself, dissolving the three seats to erect just one presiding over four modest seats. The tapestry in the old Barragan's room. The chimney. The Espada table. The chairs. Aizen's library. Walls and random furniture turned to reishi dust. The particles floated in the air like orbs.

In the desert, every Hollows turned to Las Noches. The Gillians stopped fighting each other. In the forest of Menos, the creatures bowed respectfully toward Las Noches, weeping heavily. Their tears soon formed a stream which turned into a torrent in a matter of seconds...

Rushing down it did toward Infinity... Toward the Precipice of Defeat... Toward the Heart of the Palace.

The ground vibrated harder. The Reiasekki stones shone brighter. Beneath Las Noches, the torrents of tears formed an intricate circuit, bright waterfalls formed, rapids flick up against its surface, boulders rise out of the water like the bows of a sunken fleet, remnants of the old architecture. The foundations were elevated, and the stairs rose above the water level. Dunes turned into the perfect material for new walls and a fresh start. The waterfalls turned into crystalline flowers, spawning more virgin Reiasekki gems in the throne room. The room that had been providentially turned by Hitsugaya in an ice-box. Las Noches rose from its ashes, reborn and sparkling like jewels.

The earth stood suddenly still. Nel and Tia exchanged a worried glance. Nel tried to stand, but Tia shook her head, keeping her still behind her. The door of the white Sarcophagus exploded against the wall and turned to pieces. Tia peeked quickly over her shoulder just enough to realize the tank was empty. Gin was gone.

She stood in the middle of her new surrounding, not really understanding what just happened.

A thousand-year forward or past, his hair down his neck, his bang covering his eyes, Gin stood in front of the infernal Gates of the Factory again, trying to decide if he will destroy the thing or… wait patiently for the doors to open for him. He didn't have to wait for long, the mechanism triggered, the door opened slowly. In the shadow, a Guardian started a slow retreat, never revealing its ugly features. It was the kind made with stardust, venom, and wildfire, the kind he remembered Someone dedicated built with care, in other words, the very deadly kind. It growled low as it disappeared in the shadow, making the walls undulate in his wake. Gin crossed the threshold of the Factory uninvited but tolerated. He couldn't even explain his ease, as he navigated through the maze, passed the assembly lines, and searched through the sea of bland dispossessed souls, his precious possession.

He suddenly looked up and stared at the balcony. A woman was leaning over, seemingly bored beyond her years. Their eyes locked together. She frowned in confusion and ordered the freezing of all machines. Gin kept Shinso close in his sleeves as she made her way toward him. She was almost running. Silver hair flying out of her traditional bun, she walked faster despite her Kimono becoming a hindrance. Gin tilted his head. She looked like a glass doll. Something foreign. Yet familiar. She kept staring at him with eyes that couldn't comprehend his presence.

"Ikki? Is that you?"

Ikki? The woman gasped loudly. She breathed hard, holding her chest. It was as if she knew him from somewhere. He didn't have much time to ponder. Something shifted behind her. Gin smirked as a silhouette came standing behind the Silver doll. He would recognize this soul anywhere.

"Gin…" It whispered.

She made it. She remembered. She rode the clouds. Rangiku's face became less blurry and bland, and she progressively got her features back, unbeknownst to their host. Standing there with glorious red hair and bright lucid blue eyes. Faced with two women gently staring at him with tears in their eyes. Gin smirked. He was always going to choose the same girl over and over. That was his girl. A tear traveled his cheek. She remembered.

"I'm not sure about this, Gin. You have so much reiatsu. I'm not as strong as you."

"Well, it's less a matter of reiatsu than a matter of will. Believe in yourself. That's the first rule. This will be a fight but not a physical one."

"Are we going to die?"

"Yes."

"Will it hurt?"

"Probably. Yes. It will. It won't last long, though."

He grabbed her by her neck, spinning her, so her back faced the precipice. He locked eyes with her.

"Yet, you will never feel freedom like that. You will never feel joy like that. You will never get to be strong like that. Real power is when you can change your fate. Real power is not to let anyone decide your next step. Real power is being able to control the wheel."

Her eyes closed. She smiled and let go.

The raindrops trickled down the narrow angles of his perfectly drawn chin. His silver hair dripped down the collar of his white coat. Gin let go of her hand reluctantly and separated. He did promise to clean up after all.

Gin brushed past Enzo Weavorpine and ignore him. Enzo's eyes widened in stupefaction. He could only peek over his shoulder. His white coat floated behind him like a specter, Gin Ichimaru was alive. Enzo glanced at Rangiku then follow Gin again and Shunsui.

Gin stopped over Manatsu Dengeki. Jūshirō massaged her Ki point, trying to stimulate her regenerative skills, transferring some reiatsu. Gin tilted his head, checking the woman from head to toe. The "new him" was pissing blood on the floor. He sighed and crouched down beside her. She opened her eyes wide. Gin opened one blue eyelid, surprised. She had fuchsia eyes. Astonishing! Her eyes were pure crystalline and pink. She, too, immediately recognized him. A first convulsion shook her entrails. Jūshirō tried to steady her head. But the woman, stubborn in her own right, pushed back a little. Manatsu was unable to say a word, blood rushing down her throat. A streak of blood stained the corner of her lips. She was really in bad shape. Tears gathered in her eyes. He could read the humiliation in her pupils so frankly. What an interesting woman? She lifted her neck slightly, trying to look him in the eye, opening her mouth. She was suffocating. It suddenly passed in her eyes, like a shadow. She went from surprise to anger, to wonder, then finally to acceptance.

She was pissed off because Gin dared put his hands on her lieutenant and show his face. She was confused about the expression on his face. She was confused about his presence period. Well, at least they didn't have to do the introductions. That quieted her heart. They stared at each other like long acquaintances. Manatsu Dengeki. Gin Ichimaru. He gave her a very boyish smile for a split second. She wondered at his pallid expression. His skin was so pale. Oh, Takumi, her wife, would have found him gorgeous! Takumi! Oh! She almost forgot about her! She closed her eyes, feeling her life slipped away.

Gin gave Jūshirō a nod so the latter could let go. He got out from his pocket, a shard of blood-red Reiasekki.

"Gin… that's…"

Gin silenced him quickly. He put two fingers on the young woman's forehead. In a few seconds, he transferred so much reiatsu to her to accelerate her organs' regeneration that she lost consciousness again. Her wounds started closing immediately. What would Kira do without a captain? He was wholly capable of devoting himself full time to poetry. No one wanted that, right? The world did not need one more tortured poet. He grabbed her wrist and lifted her again. He removed her haori with a single gesture. He yanked the coat out in the air and finally put it on. It still suited him like a glove. Was he surprised? No, he knew it would fit him perfectly. To answer Nanao-chan's earlier question, it's not like he knew anything about what they were fighting for. Yet, Enzo pissed on his prize and called it vengeance.

How dare he? How dare this guy try to breathe in the same air as Rangiku? How dare he try to touch what was his again? How dare he pretend that Gin had ever made him suffer to the level of what he inflicted on his girl? How dare he pretend to be a victim? Who was he to think his meager existence matter to Gin or the Fucking universe? That type of hate alone deserved his undivided attention.

And somebody should let that door open… Let Aizen walk out of there free. You will see which side Gin Ichimaru would be on. Gin Ichimaru was always on Gin Ichimaru's side. Nanao-chan should know by now.

Gin faced Enzo directly. Would he get the message? Jikanakuma brushed his face, tearing off a few strands of gray hair in the process. He dodged. The spear struck the ground violently, leaving its mark on the rocky, unstable ground. Well, what a boy wonder! He did get the message.

"Well, Captain Ichimaru, looks like we will leave this in your hands," Shunsui said as he and Jūshirō helped an unconscious Dengeki up, Nanao in tow.

"Shunsui?"

While dodging one of Jikanakuma's attack, Gin threw the Reiasekki stone at his old ally. Shunsui caught it and disappeared.

Shinso and Jikanakuma met at last. At the same time as Muken gradually anchors itself to Soul Society in a sickening noise. The collision of the two worlds caused a large explosion that colored the Seireitei in green and yellow. The blast pushed the two opponents further apart.

Enraged, Enzo swung again. The air sizzled around them. He stepped aside, avoiding Jikanakuma at the last minute. Enzo disappeared to better take him from behind. Gin praised him for his initiative with a kick. He crushed the face of the Primeros under his foot. Enzo crashed on the ground face first, tasting dark, putrid Hollow blood on his tongue. He stared at that bitch, Rangiku, watching it all and almost growled.

Gin stooped slowly to his level.

"Are you gonna s and beg me to end your end your life quickly?"

Striking the ground twice, Enzo growled then laughed maniacally, unable to stop himself. It was probably contagious as Gin started to laugh too.

" I was shaking when I came … I was shaking earlier. I mean, you're a Primeros now. Aizen's dirty little secret. He must have kept you guys for a reason. I told myself maybe you won't win this one, Gin. But I see that you haven't changed one bit since." Gin teased.

With a roar of rage, his eyes bulging, Enzo straightened up and kicked Gin on the floor. Too late, he was behind him, whispering in his ears.

"I don't think I have as much imagination as I did back then. I got significantly older, you might say. Maybe even a bit senile. Yet, I will try to be creative, for your sake, Pumpkinhead. "

They chased each other, each side landing powerful blows on the other. They danced around Rangiku, their silhouettes just a blur, a tornado of intents. Blood was flying around in heavy droplets that splashed her yukata. Rangiku's heart grew tense. The tension grew exponentially, and she saw the intent in every deliberate strike. She tried to move away, not letting herself get caught in the fight. At this rate, the hill was going to collapse. This fight had been an intricately choreographed dance of destruction planned long ahead. Everywhere she looked, there were signs of despair.

Suddenly, one hand snaked around her waist uninvited, and Rangiku was forcefully pulled into their dance, forced to be a shield, forced to play the role of the victim again. She didn't scream. She fought back.


Next chapter = Your wish is my Command