It really was a lovely garden in the moonlight. The water flowing over a miniature waterfall and spilling into a still pond shimmered and sparkled, and the pale flowers on the overhanging tree glowed faintly with reflected light. Fireflies flickered brighter sparks of light and the air was filled with the scent of night-blooming jasmine.
Gin sighed as he dropped down from the overhanging roof to land silently onto the porch. It did seem like the nobility got the best of everything, but then their wives probably didn't allow their small children to attack their gardens with shovels; he really shouldn't complain.
He turned to the open room that belonged to the exquisite view. It was, of course, elegantly proportioned, small, like the garden, but with no expense spared in the art and fixtures. There was a tray with an empty bottle of high-end sake and a half-finished meal. The couple who it had been brought for had been distracted by other activities if the rumpled bedding and their own current state of disrobement was any indicator.
They were both asleep, the girl curled up on her side on the edge of the futon, the man on his back, snoring loudly.
Gin frowned. That really was spoiling the melodic sound of the waterfall.
He sighed, wondering how he was going to wake them without getting screamed at. He didn't particularly want to scare the girl in the first place--she hadn't done anything; the man's wife probably wouldn't agree, but Gin was hardly the morality police--he really would have preferred to do this when no one else was around, but it seemed like something that needed to be done immediately--but he really hated being screamed at.
He finally decided to wake her first and crossed the floor to her side. He shook her gently by the shoulder and whispered her name, "An-chan, An-chan."
After a few seconds the girl blinked blearily. Gin knew the minute she realized he was there because she froze like a mouse caught in a cat's gaze.
He grinned hugely and raised a finger to his lips. "Shhh."
She stared back at him.
He let go of her shoulder and pointed to the door.
She continued to stare.
Gin sighed. He forgot, sometimes, how intimidating he could be, especially to those outside the Gotei. A captain's power was considered god-like, and if they happened to know about him in particular that added a whole other layer of fear, based on only partially true rumors and his infamous smile.
"Go," he whispered, pointing to the door again.
She let out a whimper and leapt to her feet, running to the door as quickly as she could. It didn't matter where she went. There was only one elderly serving woman in the house. Shiba Hidemitsu had not even brought any bodyguards with him because this particular mistress was a Shihoin and if anyone found out he was seeing her the inter house scandal would be quite messy.
One moment he was watching the girl run for the door and the next Shiso was in his hand and the blade, pointed behind him, was within an inch of Hidemitsu's throat. The man had awoken and was really, really foolishly reaching for his sword.
Gin swiftly turned and stood, and as he did Shinso's blade adjusted length to remain at Hidemitsu's throat. "Oh, you're awake," he said, pleasantly, smiling his most friendly and off-putting smile.
"You have no right--"
"Well, I would have made an appointment, but you were all booked, and to be honest with you I have the worst time keeping appointments. I'm much better with this sort of thing, just dropping by for a chat, you know," he answered with a pleasant smile he knew for a fact was terror inducing. "Here's the thing, Shiba-dono or is it only Shiba-sama--that's another thing I have a terrible time keeping up with, titles, but it doesn't really matter, does it, Hidemitsu-kun?"
The man barely glanced up from the steel blade at his throat. "No, Captain, I don't think it does."
"Here's the thing," Gin said, and he squatted down next to Hidemitsu so he could look him in the eye, and Shinso shrank to the length of a dagger. A dagger to the neck was such a nice, intimate way to kill someone; it was almost a pity it wouldn't be necessary. "You've been giving Shiba--Kaien a hard time, which is your right; I have absolutely no argument with that. He really needs to learn how to handle the lot of you, though I think you'd be wiser to be grateful you don't have your very own Byakuya to make all your lives miserable, but, like I said, that's really your own business. The bit I care about is all the top secret information you fellows have been getting and who's been pushing the idea of a Yamamoto conspiracy in the noble families. You're high enough up the ladder you must have some idea where it's coming from. Give me a name and it had better be the right one or we will be doing this again tomorrow night, and you can let me know what it feels like to be stalked by an unstable captain who's already gotten away with somewhere approaching a hundred murders."
Hidemitsu stared back at him. Gin had watched the man's fear grow the longer he spoke. He was trembling now so much that he was going to have to watch out or he was going to accidentally cut his own throat. There was no way he was in any state to lie, but it was also obvious he was afraid to tell what he knew.
"Ogawara--Ogawara Eiji, the Seventh Seat of the Ninth," he finally spat out. "He is the brother of my cousin's wife. He has been giving us inside information on the Gotei for years. He told me all about your testimony."
Gin frowned. "He's dead." Of course he was. Aizen wasn't the sort to leave loose ends. There would be no way to trace anything back to him.
"Is he?" Hidemitsu did his best to sound surprised but his best wasn't very good.
"Not very nice to put the blame on a dead man," Gin said.
"I swear on my father's grave he was my source," Hidemitsu answered. His voice trembled but Gin was pretty sure he was telling the truth. How disappointing.
"And your new source?" Gin asked.
"I don't have one, I swear."
Gin frowned. What a waste of time. "And the Yamamoto conspiracy, whose bright idea was that?"
"I don't know. The Kuchikis, someone high up in the Kuchikis. They're unhappy with the way Rukia was treated. They think someone should have realized Central 46 was under Aizen's control. They have letters that show Byakuya was trying to get her released, that he threatened to do something if Yamamoto did not intervene when Central 46 didn't respond. Some of the Kuchikis think Yamamoto was baiting Byakuya, and he intended to force Byakuya to intervene and kill him when he did--they say you are Yamamoto's errand boy. You've been working for him the whole time. It was him, not Aizen, you were really serving when you murdered all those people, and Aizen is the real smokescreen."
Gin tilted his head to one side, considering the man's words. "You more than half believe that, don't you?" he asked finally.
"Everything has worked out very well for the General."
Gin almost laughed. "We'll see about that." He stood abruptly, but then he paused. A strange, almost floral incense was floating into the room.
"That's an odd smell, isn't it?" Or that's what he tried to say. His mouth didn't seem to want to cooperate. He turned his head slowly to see the girl in the open doorway with an incense burner in her hands and a scarf around her nose and mouth. That wasn't good.
He only had time to be impressed that she'd managed to find something he wasn't immune to before he lost consciousness.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
It was only because Gin recognized Soifon's voice that he didn't immediately free himself from the ridiculously flimsy bits of cord someone had tied around his wrists. He really had to wonder if they had any idea what they were dealing with. If you managed to knock a captain unconscious you really should slit his throat immediately and count yourself lucky. He supposed calling Soifon wasn't too terrible a second choice though.
"It was lucky you had that potion," she was saying.
"Yes, I was given it for protection," a familiar girl's voice answered. That was An-chan. "I never thought I would have to use it on a captain."
A small foot slammed solidly into his shoulder. "I can tell you're waking up, Ichimaru," Soifon said. "You got anything to say before I end you?"
He snapped the cords, and, ignoring the girl's fearful gasp, sat slowly. He was still feeling a little light-headed and queasy--what the hell was that stuff? And he looked around in some confusion.
He was in the same room as before, but now it was well-lit. Hidemitsu was gone along with any sign he had ever been there, and in his place was Soifon and a good portion of her punishment squad.
Gin looked past the reiatsu radiating captain to the girl cowering in her shadow. She looked young and silly and helpless. He had certainly underestimated her. "Well done, An-chan," he told her. "Where did you get that incense? You should sell it to Kurotsuchi and make yourself a small fortune. I'd buy it myself, but I'm always broke. I blame it on Ran, but--"
"Have you no shame?" Soifon interrupted, her voice was filled with tightly controlled rage. "You broke into this woman's home and attacked her--"
"What's that?" Gin said, raising his head sharply.
"I will see you pay this time, Ichimaru. The Gotei may have forgiven your previous crimes, but you will not get away with attacking a woman of my family--"
"That's the silliest thing I've heard all night. I don't attack people! Well, I do, but only for good reason, and I don't attack women. What a horrible thing to suggest! Really, An-chan, I am quite insulted. And after I was considerate enough to let you leave without even a threat. Seems like I'm the only one with manners around here."
"Manners!" The girl shrieked. "You were going to kill--me." She stumbled over the last bit, but Soifon didn't seem to care; her finger with its deadly claw twitched with definite intent.
"If I was going to kill someone, that someone would be dead," Gin tried to explain. His eyes were focused on Soifon's zanpakuto which was uncomfortably close. He had long since decided that if he ever wanted to take on the captain of the Second it would be from a nice, comfortable distance, and if she made the slightest move in his direction he was ready to run faster than he'd ever run before. "I only came for a little chat with someone, and as that someone is no longer here I'd be more than happy to leave--c'mon, Soifon, I'm twisted, evil scum, but I'm not that particular variety of twisted, evil scum."
Soifon looked back at the younger woman. "Was he after you or someone else?"
An-chan's head dropped but she didn't answer.
"Maybe I ought to tell Captain Soifon our mutual friend's name so she can find out what really happened," Gin suggested.
"It wasn't me," the girl said quickly. "He didn't threaten me."
Soifon stepped forward. "I don't care who you were after, Ichimaru," she said darkly. "You broke into a Shihoin home and terrified a member of the Shihoin family. I don't care if you weren't trying to scare her. You have no right to be here, and if you ever set one foot on Shihoin property uninvited ever again I will kill you."
"Understood," Gin said, and he got to his feet. "Do you mind if I go now? Ran's going to be annoyed as it is that I'm getting back so late."
"I cannot begin to imagine what that woman sees in you," Soifon said.
"Me neither," Gin agreed with a shrug. "But I have given up arguing." Then he was gone.