Heroes Come Back

Chapter 11

Scene 1

Ichigo and nakamas sped to his house, his friends briefly mentioning the plan to trap the newly escaped Aizen along the way. What he didn't expect was to see the front door to his house opened, his wife kneeling on the floor next to Nemu.

"Hime? What happened?" he asked, worried, as he helped her stand up.

"Ichigo! Our baby... Our baby... What should I do? Ichigo! Tell me what should I do? "

No No No... Not his daughter!

His heart sank deeper and deeper as he heard her crying desperately. The distressed auburn haired had both her hands in her messy and tangled hair, her tears flowing uncontrollably.

Nemu then stepped forward and gave a brief recap of how Mika was stolen from her side by a masked female with golden blonde hair. She begged for their forgiveness and apologised over and over again.

"How could you let that happen? Did you fight her?" Tatsuki clenched her fists as she glared at Nemu.

Ishida and Chad shared a knowing look. Then while Ishida brought Nemu away from the centre of the topic, Chad tried to calm Tatsuki down.

"...Think Aizen is behind this?"

"The only golden blonde who is strong enough has to be her..."

The nakamas turned their focus to Ichigo and Orihime, who didn't seem to notice their surroundings.

Ichigo had his arms protectively wrapped around his wife's form, holding her trembling form close. Orihime clung onto the fabric of his sleeves for dear life as he placed his lips on her forehead and solemnly promised, "Don't worry Hime, I'll bring our baby back. I'll protect her."

Scene 2

They left their hideout before the sun rose.

"Where is she?" Aizen asked.

The silver head gave his master a sadistic smile and silently said one word.

"Dead."

Aizen raised his brows.

"I'm glad you finally got rid of that woman, But I always thought you had strong emotions for her..."

"She was in the way." Gin shrugged nonchalantly.

As they made their way through the forrest, Gin soon led Aizen to the entrance to the council's hideout.

"So this is the so-called-council's hideout?"

"Yes," Gin smiled as he swiftly pointed his sword to Aizen's back.

"It is also the place you will be defeated, Aizen-sama,"

The brown haired man frowned.

"In the end, you betray me."

"I was with the council all along." He continued, "All these while, I was sent by the council. I've been reporting the bad deeds you've committed. I was just waiting for the right time – to kill you."

The forrest was still as Aizen stood calmly, back facing the silver haired man. A gust of wind blew the fallen leaves, signalling fast-moving intruders on their way. Aizen knew he didn't stand a chance if more of his enemies arrived.

"Alright, alright," Aizen dropped his sword and slowly extended his arms.

Gin's sword was fast, but not as fast as the pistol that Aizen held. He shot Gin in the arm, causing Gin to drop his own sword. Then he turned to face him and pointed the pistol to where his heart lay.

Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger.

I'm glad I said sorry...

Pain spread through his whole body. He was slowly paralysed, he was gradually fading away. His lids were heavy, but he smiled as he always did. All his flashbacks were memories with her, he had no regrets.

"Aizen! Give it up now,"

Quickly scanning his surrounding, the dark haired man realised he was surrounded by a circle of troops led by Ichigo and his nakamas.

"Nice to see you, Ichigo," Aizen turned to face his nephew.

"There's no use, you have no where to run," Ichigo managed to strike the pistol in two.

"I was the one who gave you power and trained you to become the strong warrior you are. Are you honestly going to kill your uncle? "

"I appreciate you taking me under your wing, but that was just for your benefit – so consider us equal,"

"Well not so fast, if you want your precious little girl alive."

Ichigo froze.

"Aizennn! How could you be so cruel? She is your grandniece."

Ichigo motioned for Aizen to pick up his sword. The two of them charged at each other in full force.

"To be honest, I never considered you my nephew," Aizen said nonchalantly as he thought of how he got rid of his sister and her husband, "Besides, I won't be using that tone if my daughter were in enemy hands."

"Exactly,"

This time, Aizen froze.

Scene 3

The strawberry blonde ran as fast as her legs could muster. She had to get help!

After he had raped her in the dungeon, Gin had kissed her lips with all his might before tracing kisses to her earlobes. Sliding the dungeon key and a small pistol into her hands, he whispered where Halibel would be keeping Mika safe while he and Aizen confronted Ichigo and the council in exchange for freedom.

"I'm sorry Ran, I tried to keep you out of harms way many times but you just keep appearing, I wished you never knew anything,"

"No! I'm glad you told me. I knew you couldn't be bad. I just knew... the man I've fallen in love with was not a bad person. Isn't there another way? Why don't you come with me now?"

"No matter what happens, just promise me you'll live on happily. I just want to see you happy."

She nodded and held his hands.

"Gin, I love you! Please be safe, I'll wait for you."

He nodded and let go of her.

"There's no time, hurry and go now. Be careful,"

She reached the council's hideout and passed Gin's message to the elders.

Kisuke and Yoruichi sent Shinji to Ichigo, while they followed Rangiku to give Halibel a surprise visit to retrieve Mika.

Now, as she desperately ran back to the council's hideout, she tried her best to fight the tears forming.

You have to be safe, love!

How could I ever have doubted you, my love!

The forrest was still as.

Then, all she heard was the trigger - and her world shattered.

Scene 4

"Exactly,"

"Mika is safe with Orihime now, Ichigo,"

The group turned their attention to the two elders who arrived, along with Rangiku.

Ichigo gave an inward sigh of relief.

Aizen raised his sword again, but Ichigo swiftly took down Aizen's only weapon. Meanwhile, Kisuke and Yoruichi had their swords on both side's of Aizen's neck – rendering him motionless. Shinji wasted no time in hand cuffing the brown haired man's hands behind him.

Rangiku's breathing was heavy as she approached the silver head, hers tear drops never ending as she kneeled to cradle Gin. She held one of his hand close, even if she wanted to hug him tightly, but she wanted to avoid causing him more pain.

"You're gonna be okay, the fight is over, we'll bring you to a medic and... just don't leave me Gin!"

"Ran-chan, I love you." He placed a hand to her cheeks, but it slide off lifelessly seconds later.

He was smiling at their first encounter, he was still smiling even if it were their last.

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Blitch out (22 August 2010)

A/N: First off, I KNEW IT!

(spoiler alert) Gin was always a double-agent in my fic, cos deep down I believe he's a spy that ran off with Aizen so he can kill him! But I didn't expect him to be dead but what to do, Ichigo is useless and late. GinRan is love! I started this fic couple of years back, and while it's AU I tried to incorporate scenes from the actual manga – this chapter was written before I read the recent month's update! So I'm glad that it's actually in line with the actual on-going plot! Anyway, this chapter is short because it was cut off from the previous chapter, but I'm quite happy with the way it turn out rather than trying to prolong it - Hope you guys enjoy it too!

Thanks a million for taking the time to read & leaving me motivating reviews that keeps me going on! *glomps* You guys are my muse!

Zodious – i'm glad you've pointed them out, i need another pair of glasses these days. You made my day with the review, cheers.

Turtle-chan666 – it's great to hear about your journal, good luck with your writing, i look forward to it. have a wonderful day too

Hikari-hime 01 – you're too kind, i'm glad you found the short update good. And hope you enjoyed this one too.

Ever Angel 27 – I've never intended for Gin to be bad, I hope you're happy with the way it turns out. I'm actually kinda of sad Gin has to die in the manga, I mean there's plenty of other weaker characters that can die haha.

Mickiressa - i missed you too! Hope you're doing well! Your kind & generous praise for my work really makes me happy.

AmyRoselover – i'm glad you're still in tune despite my late updates *hugs*

Princess-myu – finally haha, sorry for making you wait for such a long time, hope the update is satisfactory.

xBlueFlamingox – i'm surprised how my fic turned out to be same as the actual bleach plot even if it's au. I reckon Ran ain't as poor thing as Gin =(

missdramatikkkk – hey, i'm back cos i miss your reviews that always made me laugh. I'll try my best to bring in more spice =p

Please review! Need to feel the love. Plus, it's gonna be one of the last times for this fic! Next chapter - The Finale.

I may leave Gin to be dead or alive depending on your review requests!