DV: If this POV seems utterly out of left-field, don't worry, it's supposed to be. We decided to take pity and show you at least some of the concussive waves through what was canon.

US- Ahh… don't you just love it when a plan comes together? Especially one that involves stealing the McGuffin and utterly wrecking the canon plot? Either way, things are afoot! … well, they will be next time. Until then, enjoy Something Completely Different. After all, the M-Team are hardly the only main characters here...

Disclaimer: Since Bleach is over...and this is not, we clearly don't own it. But we do thank Kubo for an interesting base to work off of.

Gin I

The one thing Ichimaru Gin knew with absolute certainty was that his 'boss' was a troublesome man. Oh yes, he hated him and fully intended to kill him, but that didn't change things. While Gin could respect many things about Aizen, albeit grudgingly, and hate much more, he would still consider him to be troublesome.

After all, he was always scheming. Yet, as soon as one unknown variable strikes he just has to go and change his plans, putting in measures to activate one of his no doubt many backups. Certainly, Aizen probably had good reasons for doing so, but it annoyed the Third Squad Captain that he didn't know these reasons, and knew even less of just what all these backups were.

After all, just how much trouble could two unknown Ryoka appearing from nowhere and killing a single insignificant Captain cause?

Apparently a lot, as Aizen had decided to switch to his Plan B- a completely different idea to his original plan.

The snake found this to be really unnecessary. Why change so much when the original idea was good enough anyway? Still, some of the details Aizen had revealed about his Plan B were quite interesting, and in many ways Plan B was just as promising as Plan A. One such interesting point was the role he would play in it, for one thing.

"Sorry, Kurosaki Ichigo, but it looks like I have to take you into custody. No hard feelings, it's just orders, okay?" He smiled widely in the way that he knew people found discomforting, having confronted Ichigo and his two companions on the orders of the Gotei 13 and Aizen alike.

The orange haired teen paled, as did his two companions. The other two took off in the other direction, clearly hoping to escape.

Ichimaru could easily cut them down before they left the area, but in a way it was better to let them escape. He no longer had to put effort into isolating Ichigo, as his 'companions' had done the work for him. Besides which, it wasn't like Gin actually cared if Aizen's plan went off without a hitch. It was unlikely, but maybe those two could throw some sort of wrench in the work of Aizen's plan, or at least make him sweat a little.

Soon Gin would be in a much worse position to target Aizen, so undermining him now was key. Alas, letting Ichigo himself go was too much- he only had so much leeway, with both Aizen and the Gotei 13 suspicious of his motives.

"So you're here to capture me, huh?" The orange head practically growled, unslinging the massive butchers knife he called a Zanpakuto. "I won't be taken out so easily! I don't care if you're a Captain, I refuse to lose until I've rescued Rukia!"

"Hmmm… you can try, but either way, I will be cutting you down today…" he threatened darkly, drawing his own blade, "Let's see if you are even capable of surviving my Shikai, shall we?"

Then Gin thrust, releasing his Shikai silently, and the fight began. Ichigo ducked over to the side as the thin blade passed over his left shoulder with millimeters to spare. Only for the blade to slice downwards into his collarbone.

The fifteen year old grunted in pain, leaping back to try and escape the edge from cutting more. The blade extended though, and only cut more.

In the end, Gin had been ordered to go easy on the kid, to try and motivate that insane talent to improve that Aizen insisted he had. But at this moment, Gin was just far too fast for someone as green as Ichigo to face.

"I…won't…lose!" Ichigo roared, his spiritual pressure exploding. He used his massive blade as leverage, almost prying the blade from his body. Gin allowed it, and watched as Ichigo acted like it was a massive achievement, stopping the sword from digging in deeper.

"Didn't you know? That was just me warming up… the fact that you were even hit by such a slow attack is disappointing."

Ichigo grit his teeth, eyes stuck in a glare as he grabbed his sword with both hands, making the rookie mistake of leaving his body open by going for an overhead blow. It was deflected easily, while the counter from Gin left a bloody trail across his side.

"I've decided." announced the Captain, seeing a perfect way of both weakening the boy while also giving him the apparent 'motivation' his boss required him to provide. "I'm gonna take my time with you. I'm gonna show you just how weak you really are. Every time you fail to strike me, I'll cut you. Every time you falter, I'll make you bleed. For every opening, every flaw, every failure, I'll strike. Now… why don't you try and prove me wrong?"

The rookie charged, and the battle continued. Swing after swing, hit after hit, again and again the teen attacked relentlessly, but every time was blocked and punished with another cut he was unable to defend against.

Ichimaru Gin could tell he was getting tired- get weak. He was losing blood quickly, and he could tell that he was losing this fight.

"Why… can't… I… hit you already!?" Ichigo yelled, with another painfully direct attack.

"That's pretty simple. You're weak. You may have beaten Lieutenant Abarai, but what did you think the power gap between captains and lieutenants are? Not to mention Abarai-kun is one of the weaker lieutenants."

Ichigo said nothing, but Gin could imagine the words rolling about in his head. 'That can't be true', 'I can't be that weak', 'I can't save Rukia as I am now'.

"Ya get your problem yet, Ichigo? You hesitate, you don't think, you know nothing. I am a Captain, the pinnacle of what a Shinigami can reach. I have mastered my Shikai to the point of perfection, and have reached this point through my own merits. And yet, all you do is swing your sword around wildly. You can't possibly succeed."

"Don't say it." Ichigo warned.

"You can't save her." he sneered, emphasising the discouraging words, "You just don't want to save her enough. If you can't see my attacks coming, or block them, or even make me bleed, then you just aren't trying hard enough, are you?"

SPLAT! For a single moment Ichimaru stopped holding back, and launched his sword forwards in rapid thrust It plunged straight through Ichigo's stomach, then retracted as equally fast.

All Ichigo had time to see was a blur, then he had fallen to the floor defeated.

"If you really want to save her, then get up. Show me, Kurosaki Ichigo. Show me your resolve… or be devoured like the prey that you are."

"There." Thought Gin. "If that isn't enough to kick start his 'growth' then I have no clue what will. I've done my part now, and Aizen can't complain. Either he stays down and I take him into custody, as per the plan, or he gets back up with more resolve, fights me awhile, and is then taken down. Either way… I've won."

All the snake did then was wait, and watch. Aizen had taken an unhealthy interest him, and he wanted to know why. Just what had he seen in the young Shinigami?

Then, he saw it. A twitch. Inch by inch Ichigo's hand crept towards the dropped blade, then clutched it tight.

"So you are gonna get up, huh?" Gin muttered.

Second by second, Ichigo recovered. Despite the massive injuries, all the cuts and tears, the hole in his stomach and the slice through his collarbone- despite all this, he was getting back to his feet.

"You're resilient, I'll give ya that."

However, Ichigo didn't seem to be listening. There was a vacant look in his eye as if he was looking beyond Gin, seeing something that only he could perceive. "You're right… I'm scared. I look back, and I hesitate. But… I want to know you! To get stronger with you! I want to win!"

In an act of desperation, Ichigo launched himself at Gin, intent on attempting to take the captain out with a single blow, "Zangetsu! This is it! My Resolve! My Getsuga Tensho!"

The wave of crescent shaped energy blasted its way through the area, flattening the landscape as it passed. For a single second, Gin opened his normally closed eyes, betraying the small amount of surprise that he felt. 'That is quite a potent attack.'

Then the wave was almost upon him, and he reacted, retracting his Zanpakuto to his side and shunpo-ing out of danger

When the dust cleared, Ichimaru Gin was not to be found. If one was to look closer though, it would reveal the fact that the Captain hadn't quite been fast enough to totally evade the threat. A small shred of his captain's haori floated to the ground, apparently severed from the main bulk of the uniform.

Gin smirked as he stood behind Ichigo as the boy collapsed from exhaustion. He laid a hand on Ichigo's shoulder, giving the poor boy his most unsettling smirk. "Now that was a little bit better." it had certainly been much more potent than anything he'd displayed earlier. "I guess I'd better take you into custody before you bleed out, huh?"

Once the boy was in prison… well, that's when things would get interesting. How events would turn out would really depend on what happened then, and whether the boy was rescued from the prison by his friends, or if other events occurred.

Either way Gin would do what he did best: slink in the darkness, then strike when it best suited him. He'd come out on top. He always did.