"Why is the house filled with lieutenants?" Toshiro demanded from the hall that ran the length of the Third Division Captain's residence. On his right, the usually dark kitchen was lit up and he could see Hinamori, Kira, and Shiba Miyako getting tea and snacks ready, and was that the human girl Orihime helpfully suggesting adding a pinch of chili powder and ketchup to the rice crackers?

And on his other side the sitting room had been expanded by removing the sliding doors to the next room and pushing back the couch against the far closet. A second low table had been brought in, and spread throughout the space were Lieutenants Shiba, Ise, Hisagi, and Abarai, and of course his mother so that made five lieutenants in that room to add to the other two, but then there were also the other three humans, Kin-chan asleep on the couch, Aiko asleep on Hisagi's lap, and his father, standing on the porch with his back to everyone and holding Yuki, obviously trying to make it clear he wasn't a part of the current invasion of his home. "And other annoying people?" Toshiro added to his question, just in case anyone might not realize he wasn't thrilled to see them. "Don't all of you have your own captains to harass?"

"I hope you don't consider me an annoyance, Shiro-kun," Miyako said as she stepped up beside him with a tea tray.

He glared at her. She was one of very few people who could get away with calling him that, partly because she'd looked after him since he was a baby, but mostly because he didn't outrank her and had yet to find a way to make people he couldn't boss around stop. "Of course not, Shiba-dono," he answered. He'd noticed quite a while back that she hated that title and had started using it in revenge for 'Shiro-kun', when she'd refused to agree that a captain ought to be addressed with slightly more dignity. "But I do wonder what brings you here at this hour?"

She frowned slightly at the title but chose to ignore it. "Captain Unohana sent Renji-kun for Orihime to help with Rukia. I came along because I hoped to be of some help, but I'm afraid I've mostly been useful in preparing tea."

She crossed into the other room and set down the teapot on the table. Most of the crowd seemed already to have cups, and she offered refills.

"We didn't plan an invasion, Captain," Kaien said. "After the search for the Arrancar was called off I came here looking for Miyako and the others. I think Hisagi arrived about the same time looking for his wife, and Kira and Abarai were already here because of Rukia. Captain Kuchiki's taken her home now; he didn't want anyone but Division Four coming along so here we are. We thought we'd talk strategy if you don't mind."

"Strategy?" Toshiro repeated doubtfully.

"An Arrancar came to Seireitei today and confronted two lieutenants," Kaien said. "Fortunately he wasn't looking to harm them because if he had been neither was in a position to fight back. We want to do whatever we have to to make sure nothing like that ever happens again."

Toshiro's eyes went to his mother. The only sake bottle on the table was beside her, but he was relieved to see she didn't look drunk. This time the sake was just the crutch that was helping her smile so brightly back at him. "Don't worry, Shiro-chan," she told him. "It's not going to happen again."

He'd only received a vague report of what had happened. He knew his mother and Lieutenant Ise had seen the Arrancar that had brought Rukia home, an Arrancar his father had said no one under captain level should confront, but now, looking around the group, he suddenly realized his mother was only alive because Aizen wanted her to be. If he'd ordered her dead she would be.

"It was standing right where you are," Nanao said softly. "And we didn't know where the children were. I couldn't risk a high level kido."

"You're supposed to be under guard," Toshiro said, turning back to his mother. "Where were they?"

"They're dead," Kira said, stepping past Toshiro to add a tray of sweet bean cakes to the snacks on the table. "So are two of our men who were stationed on the south wall and our Fifth Seat, who was alone in a practice field between here and the wall. We think he was killed because he happened to be in the Arrancar's path. It didn't look like he had a chance to fight."

Toshiro glanced at his father. He hadn't lost a man since his first year as captain, now three more in a day. He wondered if it had even registered or the idea that Rangiku had been threatened was so big that everything else seemed entirely insignificant.

"The Arrancar killed four men from the Stealth Squad and a Fifth Seat without anyone noticing?" The men from the Stealth Squad were supposed to be strong enough to prevent Gin from taking off with Rangiku, granted they had a few tricks specifically for that task, but, still, they should have been strong enough to fight back.

"Yes, sir," Kira said, he too glanced at Gin, but his captain still stood on the porch, swaying slowly back and forth to keep the baby asleep. His initial panic seemed to have vanished completely, but Kira knew Gin well enough at this point to realize the panic might have been suppressed, but it was probably shredding him internally. "It looks like Rangiku-san is going to need to be protected by at least two lieutenants any time you or your father isn't here. She can come to the division offices during the day so it'll mostly be for captains meetings and special assignments."

Rangiku sighed, and Toshiro could tell she wasn't thrilled by the idea of being protected by a bunch of her coworkers. He was glad she wasn't telling everyone she could protect herself, but he hadn't been here for the first half of the meeting so maybe she'd already been forced to give in. "You're okay with spending the day in the division offices?" he had to ask.

This time Rangiku took a drink of sake. "I guess I don't really have much choice. It's easier for everyone else that way. Your daddy can keep us safe."

"Dad," Toshiro said. No one else had the nerve to address him, and they obviously needed his opinion if they were going to be making strategies for dealing with Arrancar. "Will that work? You think two lieutenants can handle one of Aizen's Arrancar?"

Gin turned slowly. He was smiling that deadly smile that always sent chills down people's spines, and they never were quite sure why. "One Arrancar, sure, why not?" he said pleasantly.

"You think he's going to send more?" Toshiro asked. He wasn't sure there was anything he hated more in the universe than that smile.

Gin shrugged. "No idea. Didn't expect him to send Rukia all wrapped and tied in a bundle just for me. Should have thought of it, but I didn't. Didn't expect he'd take Tosen back either--why would he do that? Tosen failed; he's weak; he lost to Ichigo and had a lot more trouble with Kaien than he should have. If anything Aizen should have had Ulquiorra kill him. Odd, isn't it? Aizen always does everything for a reason."

"Then why did he do this? Just to scare us?"

Gin shrugged. "Maybe."

Yukiko stirred against Gin's shoulder, and for a moment he shushed her and patted her back, which made such a strange picture that Toshiro blinked in disbelief. Since when did his dad act like a dad?

"You all might want to make sure Kuchiki didn't take it as a personal invitation to visit Hueco Mundo though," Gin added.

"You've got to be kidding me," Toshiro said, as he looked down on his father, kneeling on his office floor in the dark. Gin was bare chested, his kosode and shitagi were discarded on the couch, and he was staring at Shinso's naked blade in his hands. The blade was pointed inward.

Gin did not raise his head. "Without me you will have the same chance everyone else has of surviving this," he said softly. "He will have no reason to hunt you down and no reason to torture you."

"How did a coward like you ever get to be a captain?" Toshiro demanded, hopping down from the windowsill. "If Aizen gets his hands on Mom he is going to make her suffer whether or not you're alive to see it. He's going to make her suffer because you chose her, and he's going to take her apart trying to figure out why. You just don't want to be around to see it. You saw what he did to Rukia, and you're afraid to see that happen to Mom, but you're not going to protect her. You're going to run away, and that," he said nodding at Shiso. "Is the only way you've got left to run."

"I can't protect her, Shiro," Gin said softly as he lowered the zanpakuto to the floor. "I am not strong enough to fight him head on. That was a fact I had to accept a very long time ago. If I was going to kill him I had to do it before he knew it was coming. I had to get one hit, and it had to be enough. One chance was all I was ever going to have, but I didn't take it, and now it's too late--everything I did is meaningless now, my entire life wasted because it was all for a moment that is never going to happen."

"Then do you wish you'd let him kill me--or let him try, anyway? You knew Unohana was coming; I probably would have survived. Doing nothing would have been smarter, I guess. You'd still have your chance."

Gin finally raised his head, and he looked up at his oldest son. Toshiro's expression was hard and cold as usual, giving nothing away. He knew stepping in front of Aizen's blade had made an impression on the boy, that it was probably the first time he'd actually shown Toshiro that he loved him, and it had meant something to him. But, looking at him now, he couldn't even see that Toshiro thought it was anything other than just plain stupid.

"No, Shiro," he said. If there was ever a time to be honest with his son this was it. "I have done very little in my life that I can be proud of, but that, shielding you from Aizen, is one time I made the right choice. You are my son. Whatever the cost, I will protect you."

Toshiro looked away, and Gin wondered what he was thinking. He was always so difficult to read. Just like his father, he held everything in. Gin knew it was a useful skill, but at the same time he wished the boy had inherited some of his mother's openness. She was always happy and always surrounded by people who loved her. He did not want to see Toshiro end up like him, closed off and alone.

"If you get your hit are you sure you can kill him?" Toshiro asked abruptly.

Gin smiled, not surprised Toshiro had changed topics, leaving any discussion of emotions behind as quickly as he could. He would always prefer to discuss what to do over why--and maybe he was right. Maybe Gin had allowed himself too much time dwelling in the fear and hopelessness Aizen so expertly inspired. No one was dead; there was still time to act as long as his own fear did not paralyze him. Toshiro's question reminded him that, no matter how despairing he felt, he was not powerless. He had spent years upon years perfecting a deadly bankai.

Gin looked down at Shinso, and he realized that if it weren't for Toshiro he would have driven the blade through his own heart, letting Aizen win without even giving him a fight. Toshiro was right; he was a coward. It was not time to run. It was time to fight. "As long as Aizen is still a shinigami if I can strike him once he will die."

Toshiro nodded. "Then we will get you your one strike, and we'll do it before he's had time to remake himself with the Hogyoku. With the help of the other captains there is no reason we cannot make that happen."

Gin sheathed Shinso and stood up. "With the help of the other captains? I don't know if you've noticed, Shiro, but I'm not very popular at the moment. It seems unlikely that we're going to be able to talk all the captains into a plan that depends on me to kill Aizen. I'm not sure they'd believe I was really going to do it."

"Maybe not, but I think we can at least convince them we need to act quickly," Toshiro said, looking determined. "Every day he has the Hogyoku he could be making his army larger and stronger. In comparison we might as well be sitting here twiddling our thumbs. As soon as we're back up to full strength we need to go on the offensive, and when we do, Dad, I'll make sure you get your strike. You just make sure you make it count."

Gin smiled back at him. He had never expected this, to actually work with Toshiro toward a common goal. It occurred to him that for the first time in his life he was not on his own. "I will," he promised. Maybe there really was a chance together they could succeed.