"Why aren't you wearing your lieutenant's badge?" Rangiku asked Gin as they sat at their table in the crowded bar.
"Forgot to put it on," he shrugged in reply.
"It kind of defeats the purpose of celebrating your promotion if you don't have the proof with you," she teased him.
"Eh, it don't really matter anyway; it ain't required 'cept at the meetings. I don't need it to drink with ya." And he proceeded to sway heavily from side to side as though already tipsy.
His performance caused Rangiku to giggle. She reclined back in her seat with a mischievous smirk. "Well, you better prove it by getting me some sake."
"Sure thin'," Gin agreed as he got up to fetch their beverages.
At this Gin got up to fetch their beverages. Rangiku waited patiently for her friend to return, absorbed in twirling the pickled vegetable dish before her, a frown starting to appear on her face as she pondered recent events. As proud as she was of Gin on his promotion, she wished the position had opened up for him under better circumstances.
"Hey there, beautiful."
Interrupted from her musings, Rangiku glanced disinterestedly at the guy who had just helped himself to the seat next to her. He was a plain-looking man with dark hair cut close to his scalp and small curly sideburns running a little bit in front of his ears. His features were average, not too handsome, but not particularly hideous either. His most outstanding attribute was the cocky, arrogant grin on his lips that probably encapsulated his personality.
"Can I get you a drink?" he offered.
"I've already got someone attending to that, thank you," she gave a polite smile in return.
"I'm sure I can provide you something of finer quality." Not at all fazed by her subtle denial, he pulled out a jug of sake. "Are you sure I can't tempt you?"
"Quite." Her reply came brusquely this time. She might have been gentler in turning down his advances, had there not been a distinctive leer in his eyes that told her he was only interested in one thing from her, and seemed rather determined to get it.
As if to prove the aforementioned point, he placed his jug on the table in front of her in spite of her refusal.
"The name's Sato Tarō," he said confidently. "Twelfth Seat of the Fifth Division."
"That's nice," the Eighth Seat of the Eighth replied in a manner that clearly stated her lack of interest, and pointedly did not even glance at his offering.
"Aren't you going to grace me with your name?"
"Since you'll be leaving in a moment, I don't see that as necessary." Bright blue eyes gazed disinterestedly off at a wall.
"I'm not going anywhere," he affirmed. "The company's fine right where I'm sitting."
"I wish I could say the same." With that she deliberately pushed over his jar, allowing it to wobble all over the table.
Tarō chuckled without batting an eyelash. "You're feisty; I like that."
"Didja make a new friend, Rangiku?"
Her head came around, and she smiled in relief as she saw Gin arrive with their liquor.
"Rangiku, what a beautiful name," the unwelcome suitor sang in compliment, and then amiably asked Gin, "And who might you be, kiddo?"
"The name's Ichimaru Gin," he replied. "You?"
"Sato Tarō." No mention was made of his rank this time, perhaps indicating he didn't feel it worthwhile.
"Pleased to meet ya."
"Likewise," Tarō returned. "I don't want to sound rude, but would you mind giving Ran-chan and I some privacy?"
"Don't call me 'Ran-chan'," Rangiku snapped at him. Her patience with this lout was fast wearing thin.
"Okay, sorry," the womanizer raised his hands defensively. "I didn't mean to make you mad. What nickname would you prefer?"
"Eighth Seat Matsumoto," the girl answered coldly.
"No need to be so formal," Tarō chuckled, seemingly unbothered by her senior rank. "We're all friends here."
"Gin is my friend," Rangiku replied snippily, with no further attempt at civility. "You are an annoyance. Go away."
"He's been botherin' ya?" Gin asked, placing the platter of drinks on the table.
"I just want to spend some time with a beautiful girl," Tarō spoke in his defense. "Is that a crime?"
"It is when you're harassing her," Rangiku made a point to scoot further away from him in the booth, but Tarō seemed to take this as an invitation and proceeded to follow suit.
"I'm not harassing you," the annoyance protested. "I'm simply talking."
"And refusing to leave when I ask you."
"See, this is what it looks like when girls play hard to get," Tarō threw a conspiratorial wink at Gin. "When they get like this, the only thing you can do is try harder."
Her voice now came out in a growl. "I'm only going to say this once, buster. When a girl says, 'no,' she means 'no.'"
"They only say that to save face." Oblivious to any potential peril he might be in, the man who was now getting an upgrade from "Annoyance" to "Creep." "Trust me, by the end of the night, they're always enjoying themselves."
That was the final straw. Rangiku grabbed Sato by the shihakusho and proceeded to drag him upright and out of the booth, heading towards the exit. The lecher put up no resistance, laughing in amusement like it was all part of the game.
Gin smirked at the sight; he knew what was going to come next. Picking up his jar of sake, the impish teenager followed his friend out the door and prepared to watch the spectacle. On his way out, he nabbed Tarō's brew for good measure; not for his own consumption, since there was a good chance it was drugged with something intended to make his victim feel more… cooperative. But it seemed like a useful item to keep in his inventory.
Illuminated by the full moon, Gin observed with amusement how Rangiku violently released her unwanted suitor's uniform in the middle of the street to spin around.
"Oh-ho!" Sato smirked. "You want to go at it right…?"
This was as far as he got before he found himself on the receiving end of the beautiful blonde's skill as a hakuda expert. Her fist struck at the dead center of Sato's face, and all could tell by the sound that his nose was now broken as he staggered back with a curse.
"You little b-!"
A follow-up strike to his solar plexus caused him to double over. Rangiku concluded her chastisement by chopping her hands down on his lowered shoulders and sending him crashing to the ground. Satisfied that he was down, she turned to rejoin Gin.
But lover boy was not done yet. He slowly pulled himself to his feet, and glared at Rangiku's back, his friendly façade vanished. Predicting what was going to happen next, Gin pointed meaningfully behind her. It was all the warning she needed.
Sato wordlessly charged forward in hopes of catching her off-guard, but Rangiku easily sidestepped the assault and delivered a swift kick to his ribs. Knocked off-balance, her not-so-friendly suitor fell to the ground again. He rose, this time quicker, and gave Rangiku a positively withering glare. Neither she nor Gin was impressed.
Suddenly, their new playmate ducked past them and ran back into the building.
"Somehow, I doubt he's given up," Gin commented.
"Me neither," Rangiku agreed. "Come on, let's go before he comes back."
Before they could act on her words, Sato returned, this time with two other men. One was about the same height and bald, while the other one looked a head taller and had dark hair with bangs that framed either side of his forehead. Interestingly enough, Sato was standing to the side of the tall man, indicating that this new guy in the middle was the leader of this little clique. All three of them ignored Gin and focused their attention on Rangiku.
"She may look like a pretty little thing, but she's also a feisty one," the lounge lizard warned his pals.
"I can't believe you need back-up for this girl," the bald one sneered.
"Hey, she's tougher than she looks," Sato said a little defensively. "Besides, this way we can all share her."
"Excuse me?!" Rangiku glared at the three scumbags, her ire rising not only at what they planned to do to her, but also at the casual manner Sato suggested it, implying this was not their first time ganging up on a girl.
For his part, Gin had quietly set the jars down, and prepared to intervene if necessary. He was quite willing to let his friend handle things by herself if she could, but the moment it looked like she was out of her depth, he would eagerly render assistance.
"Listen, Ran-chan," Sato said. "I tried to be nice and give you a chance for both of us to have fun tonight, but I guess you're one of those types who like doing it the hard way."
"Fine by me," Baldy grinned as he cracked his knuckles. "I like the hard way."
"I think you'd all better leave." Their lone opponent assumed a standard combat stance. She had to admit no small part of her wanted them to stay so she could beat a lesson about respecting women into their heads.
"And I think you should shut up and learn your place," the leader growled. "I am Tanaka Ichirō, Third Seat of the Fifth Division, and I'm giving you one chance to stand down and accept what you've got coming to you."
"As lieutenant of the Eighth Division," Gin spoke up for the first time. "I say ya don't need to listen to anythin' he says, and feel free to defend yerself."
The Thug Trio looked at the silver-haired boy for the first time.
"You? A lieutenant?" Tanaka scoffed. "What kind of idiots do you think we are?"
"The ugly, nasty kind," he immediately riposted, grin firmly in place.
The bald officer looked about ready to throw down with him, but Sato held him back. "Ignore him, Akio-san, he's just a stupid kid; c'mon, let's just focus on the pretty girl. Am I right?"
Shrugging off Sato's hand roughly, his partners-in-crime nonetheless returned their attention to Rangiku.
Tanaka was the first to move. He reached out to grab the girl's arm, only to receive a punch to the gut for his effort. Winded by the surprising strength of his opponent, the Third Seat stepped back to catch his breath while his underlings charged forward.
Swiftly and smoothly, Rangiku ducked below their fists and crouched to the ground. She swept a leg out that knocked the hairless man off his feet, and followed up by springing up with an uppercut to Tarō's chin. The instigator of the whole affair staggered back and almost fell over, but just managed to catch his balance in time.
Before Rangiku could take advantage of Tarō's weakness, Tanaka attacked her once more with a noticeably faster swing than his subordinates. Rangiku just managed to block the blow with her crossed forearms, but the force still made her scoot back several centimeters and would leave a bruise.
Though Rangiku was currently only an Eighth Seat, she was a talented woman due for a promotion of her own soon, and was undoubtedly destined for the upper echelons. One on one with the two lower ranked thugs, she would have won easily, and only would have had little more difficulty in besting both of them at once.
But the deciding factor was the Third Seat. Even though Tanaka seemed to be a subpar example of his rank, his spiritual power was still far greater than the Eighth Seat's. Sparring matches with Gin proved that if the lead thug were her only opponent, Rangiku would have secured out a win through skill or cunning, but with a pair of lackeys to contend with as well, she was outmatched.
From his spot on the ground, Akio had recovered from his sudden fall. While Rangiku was holding back Tanaka's fist, the smooth-headed man reentered the fight by grabbing the girl's ankles and yanked. With a surprised yelp, Rangiku fell. Quickly recovering, she sat up and prepared to violently express her displeasure, only to be stopped by Tanaka as he grabbed her wrists and pulled them behind her back. She tried to pull out of his grip, but unfortunately the man was just strong enough to earn his rank as Third Seat, and so was able to keep Rangiku from escaping.
"You should have played nice," Tanaka growled lowly into her ear, squeezing her wrists hard enough to leave bruises, and eliciting a quick hiss of pain from the captive.
"Thanks, guys," Sato grinned as he leered at the struggling prisoner. "Let's find a private spot where we can f-!"
Captor and victim alike gaped at how the would-be rapist's sentence had been cut short. First of all, Sato was no longer near them. Instead, a brief glance showed he was several meters away, flat on his back and moaning in pain. Standing over him with one foot on his chest was Gin.
If Rangiku was talented, then Gin was blessed. His outstanding achievements not only included graduating the Academy in two years but also rising to the position of lieutenant in a less than a decade, an accomplishment only one other person in the Gotei 13 could say they matched. When one took into account that most vice-captains usually had to spend the better part of a century working up to that position, such rapid advancement was nothing short of astonishing. And though Rangiku liked to think that she was more skilled in hakuda, his far greater reiatsu levels enabled corresponding levels of speed and power that promised he would make short work of their opponents.
Satisfaction at her assailant's fate only escalated when she noticed the expression on her best friend's face as he looked down at the man he had just beaten. His normally hidden eyes were now revealed that lovely blue shade Rangiku had always found to be so pretty, and his eyebrows seemed to have inched towards each other just enough to create a barely noticeable furrow between them. The pale lips which were usually drawn back into a smile were now a straight, stern line with no hint of either genuine or feigned humor in them.
In short, Gin was glaring.
While she loathed to be a damsel in distress, Rangiku had to admit, she rather liked seeing her friend so protective of her, and so decided to just relax and enjoy the show.
As though on cue, her bald assailant released her legs and charged at Gin. The next thing she knew, the attacker went flying through the air to violently collide with a wall. Rangiku was pretty sure she heard some bones break, but the whimpering told her that Akio was both alive and at least semi-conscious.
"Ouch," Rangiku winced unsympathetically.
His initial target put out of his mind, Tanaka charged at Gin in a fit of fury. He threw a jab, but the smaller shinigami flawlessly countered by leaping into the air to land softly on the bully's overextended arm. Nonverbal taunt complete, Gin snapped a kick forward at his enemy's throat, and immediately leapt up again. The older man choked and collapsed to his knees with both hands to his throat, growing purple as he strove to draw in breath. The prodigy finished up by landing with both feet on his enemy's head and slamming him face-first to the ground with enough force to crack bone, if not pavement.
Rangiku fully intended to chastise Gin for forcing the ground to be acquainted with that ugly mug.
Seeing the fate of his comrades and gaining a second wind, Tarō started to quietly crawl away on his hands and knees, hoping that Gin's attention would still be diverted.
He froze when a pair of legs simply appeared in front of him. Slowly, Sato looked up and gulped.
"Where do ya think yer goin'?" the young serpent hissed softly as a small but sadistic smile slithered onto his lips.
The subtle but potent venom in Gin's voice paralyzed Tarō with terror, and sent shivers up Rangiku's spine; her friend could certainly be scary when he wanted to be.
Assuming the show was over, she got to her feet and was about to congratulate Gin on his victory when he spoke again.
"Why ya in such a hurry?" he questioned his prey. "Ya wanted to have some fun, right? Where d'ya wanna start?"
Tarō gave no answer, still trapped within the paralyzing snare of terror, and now even Rangiku was starting to worry. He was just teasing him, right? Just freaking the guy out for a bit of payback? He wouldn't actually do anything more now that the fight was over, right?
His next words did nothing to reassure her. "Don't know? Well, if yer all outta ideas, I got a few myself. How 'bout I start off by breakin' yer fingers one at a time? If I can do it right, we'd be able to have some fun without worryin' 'bout yer blood makin' a mess all o'er the place."
Nausea pooled in Rangiku's stomach at his casual description of torture, and even more so with every passing moment it seemed like he fully intended to provide visual aids as well. Giving them a well-deserved beatdown in a fight was one thing but this… this was too much.
"Sound like a plan? Good, let's get started!"
"Whoa, Gin, stop!" she objected.
He looked back to her curiously. "Hmm, what is it, Rangiku?"
"You've already beaten them," the girl explained shakily. "Now we can turn them in for their actions."
"Oh, we will… eventually." Then after a moment's silence, he asked, "Ya want first crack at him?"
"No!" Rangiku snapped, and pressed, "Just stop! You don't need to hurt them anymore."
"They were lookin' to rape ya, Rangiku," her friend replied resolutely. "I'm gonna make sure they don't entertain such thoughts again."
"I think you've already made that clear." Rangiku was growing more and more disturbed by his eagerness to inflict pain. Even for scumbags like these, cold-blooded torture did not sit right with her.
"This is one o' those lessons that needs reinforcement."
"Look, they certainly deserve whatever you plan to do to them, but that doesn't make it right," Rangiku argued.
Gin looked skeptical, like he wasn't sure what point she was trying to get across. "Makin' these guys pay for what they tried to do to ya ain't right?"
She crossed her arms to glare at him in resolution. "Making sure they're punished is right. Taking pleasure in inflicting pain is not."
"What's so bad 'bout havin' fun while punishin' people who hurt you?"
They stared at each other, and Rangiku paled as she realized that Gin was honestly confused as to why it was bad to be cruel. "Gin, you're scaring me a little bit."
That got his attention.
"Why? I just saved ya!" he asserted with more vehemence than she expected.
"And believe me, I'm very grateful you did," Rangiku assured him, feeling a little out of her depth here. Never before had she wished Lisa or Captain Kyōraku were with them. "But you're taking it too far. When you take pleasure in torturing people, even those who deserve it, you're no better than they are."
"I think I've already proven who's better," Gin gestured to the three defeated slugs.
"I meant ethically, not physically," she clarified.
Gin watched her for a moment, then said in a cold voice, "As long as yer taken care of, I don't really care much 'bout ethics."
"Well, you should!" Rangiku snapped, frustrated that a geniu like him was so slow in comprehending such an important matter. "You've already done your part to protect me! Anything more would just be for your own satisfaction, just like how they were going to use me for their own satisfaction! And what if next time you want to torture someone, there's not even the pretext of defending me?"
He just continued to regard her with a puzzled look. In a twisted way, it reminded Rangiku of a confused dog, only this canine looked like he wanted to calmly tear people limb from limb.
"Why are you defendin' 'em so much?" Gin finally asked.
"I'm not," she replied. "I'm defending you."
"Huh?" His head tilted to one side.
"Gin, if you continue to torture these men, you'll go down a dark path that I don't think you'll walk away from," Rangiku warned. "So, please, listen to me: stop now, and don't let yourself become a monster."
For a while nothing more was said. The young serpent looked down at Tarō, the only assailant still conscious, and the one who had instigated the whole incident. He had remained in his terror-induced paralysis throughout the entire conversation, very much aware that imminent agony was only held in check by the very girl he had wronged, and having the sense to keep his mouth shut.
Rangiku held her breath, petrified by the thought that Gin would not listen to her, that he would indulge in his thirst for revenge. If he did, what would she do then? Try to stop him? It was not certain she even could; he was faster, stronger, and smarter than she was, and frankly despite her lecture on ethics, a dark part of her felt that those slime deserved whatever torments her serpentine friend could concoct. But if she did not even try, would she be any better than Gin in that regard? Wouldn't she essentially be his accomplice?
In her mind, an eternity passed as she imagined her possible choices if Gin decided to ignore her words. In reality, it was only seconds before he relented. "I still dunno why, but if it matters so much to ya, I'll stop now."
Rangiku exhaled sharply in relief, as did Tarō, who slumped to the ground in the knowledge he had been spared the serpent's wrath.
"Thank you, Gin," she whispered.
Despite warnings from Lisa and Odaka about the potential for this years before, Rangiku had always been skeptical that the boy who had saved her life and looked after her ever since could be capable of such cruelty. Granted, she always knew that he was odd, antisocial, even a bit mean at times, but tonight was the first time she had seen Gin's sadistic side laid bare before her, the first time she saw why most people avoided him.
What would have happened if she had not stopped him from exacting full vengeance on those three men? The young woman shuddered and chose not to pursue that line of thought, but one thing was clear to her now. While she had never entertained thoughts about leaving Gin's side, what she witnessed tonight made her determined to always be with him, for his own sake.
In a way, Rangiku was actually grateful for this episode. If she had not witnessed Gin's cruel tendencies now, how long would she have refused to believe he had them? Would his pleasure in causing pain had taken deeper root and become irremovable by the time she discovered it? Fortunately, she would never have to find out. She would talk to Kyōraku and convince him to assign her to the lieutenant's side whenever possible. No matter how long it took, Rangiku swore to make Gin learn not only how to interact with other people, but also the basics of morality.
A pained groan drew the attention of the three conscious individuals towards the slowly rising Third Seat.
"You two are dead meat," Tanaka growled through bloody lips. "You have no idea who you're messing with."
"Tanaka-san, wait…" Tarō tried to warn his superior, obviously having enough self-preservation to know the situation he was in.
"Shut up!" the officer barked furiously, and rounded on the pair from the Eighth. "Listen well, brats, I don't care if you're stronger than you look, one night you're going to get what's coming to you, and I will be there to enjoy every…"
"Third Seat Tanaka!" a new voice interrupted him.
Surprisingly, the short-tempered ruffian actually went rigid at the sound of the new arrival, who was walking calmly towards them, his face set in a serious expression of controlled anger. The armband denoted his rank as vice-captain, and the badge identified his division as the Fifth.
"Mind your tongue," Lieutenant Aizen Sōsuke spoke with quiet condemnation. "You are addressing a superior officer."
The brute did not appear to understand the statement for a moment. But then snapped his head to Gin again in shocked comprehension.
"You mean the brat wasn't lying?!" Tanaka demanded incredulously. "What kind of moron would appoint a dumb kid as their lieutenant?"
"If ya were payin' attention earlier, ya would've heard me say the Eighth Division," Gin answered. "An' contrary to what he likes people to believe, Kyōraku-taichō ain't no idiot."
"Tch, now I'm not surprised," the Third Seat grumbled. "He was probably drunk when he gave you that badge, or maybe even your girlfriend…"
"Tanaka-san," Aizen spoke in such a way that Rangiku once more wondered if she was about to witness a massacre. "You, as well as Narita-san and Sato-san, can consider yourselves under arrest for insubordination by assaulting Ichimaru-fukutaichō. Do not compound the charge by insulting a captain."
Gin noticed with interest how Tanaka's eyes flashed with terror at the slight warning tone in the lieutenant's voice.
"O-of course, Aizen-fukutaichō," he said as he bowed in penitence.
"Very good," the bespectacled man affirmed. "Now, both of you should take Narita-san to the Fourth Division. The three of you will stay there until I retrieve you and decide on what disciplinary actions to take towards you. I do not need to inform you of the consequences of disobeying that order."
The two relatively uninjured men nodded meekly and dragged their unconscious member away. Once they were gone, Aizen turned to his peers and asked in a gentler tone, "May I have the full story of what happened here?"
"Those three wanted to rape Rangiku," Gin summarized bluntly. "I gave 'em a brief lesson on why that was a bad idea."
"So I saw," the Fifth's lieutenant noted with a raised eyebrow. Then, in a more conciliatory manner, "I apologize profusely for their actions, and I will assist you in reporting this matter to the captains so they face judgment. I knew they were not the most reputable shinigami in the Gotei 13, but I did not realize they were this depraved."
"Yeah, funny how people can surprise you like that," the silver-haired boy replied. "Seems to be the trend lately."
Rangiku blinked. She was pretty sure no one else but her would be able to detect it, but Gin's comment seemed to hold a certain amount of sarcasm, as if he did not believe Aizen's words. But that didn't make sense, because everything she had heard about Aizen Sōsuke said he was everything a model shinigami should be. Then again, Gin was more perceptive than most people; was there a hidden side to Aizen only he could see?
She mentally shook her head at her paranoia; it was far more likely Gin was still miffed at his fun being cut short, and was just unfairly taking it out on his fellow Second Seat.
The older lieutenant seemed to pick up on Gin's mood, because his baritone had a subtle edge to it as he replied, "Indeed."
Not wanting a passive-aggressive standoff between these two, Rangiku tugged on her friend's sleeve. "Come on, Gin, let's head back to the Eighth and report this to Kyōraku-taichō."
"Sure," the argent lieutenant shrugged easily as he stopped long enough to collect his sake jars and followed her lead. "See ya, Aizen-fukutaichō."
"Thank you for your help," Rangiku added.
"Of course," Aizen replied in a friendlier manner than before.
"And… you have my condolences, for what happened to your captain," she continued sympathetically.
The older man blinked and smiled wanly. "I appreciate your thoughts, Matsumoto-san. You have my sympathies as well, for Yadōmaru-fukutaichō."
With that exchange complete, the two friends ambled back to their barracks at the Eighth. After a couple minutes of walking, Gin suddenly broke the silence with, "Don't trust him, Rangiku."
"What?" she turned to regard him in surprise. "You mean Aizen-fukutaichō? Why not?"
"'Cause his smile is faker than mine," he explained.
"You're just being paranoid," Rangiku insisted, though it did confirm the impression she'd had before.
"If ya want me to listen to ya 'bout this ethics stuff," he turned to gaze at her seriously, "ya should listen to me on who's trustworthy or not."
She blinked at the direness of his tone.
"All right, I'll keep an eye out for him," Rangiku relented. While she was still not convinced that the Fifth's lieutenant was the threat Gin thought him to be, she supposed it would not hurt to be cautious.
Aizen watched as the two young shinigami walk away, his eyes particularly focused on the silver-haired boy.
He had of course heard of Ichimaru Gin's accomplishments until now, and listened to the rumors of the boy's creepy aura. Unfortunately, other than his introduction at the lieutenant's meeting the other day, tonight was the first time Aizen had been able to meet him in person. The result was both fascinating and disappointing.
On the one hand, Ichimaru Gin was as intelligent and strong as his reputation had predicted. He even possessed a ruthless and cruel streak in him that Aizen would have found quite useful in his service. But what impressed him most of all was the fact that his mask of a model shinigami did not seem to fool the kit.
The mastermind was fairly certain Ichimaru had not seen through his disguise, but the fact that he had detected it at all was impressive. A subordinate savvy enough to not be fooled by his deception would be a risky undertaking, as it meant that Ichimaru had greater odds than anyone else at successfully betraying him. But the benefits of having such an astute servant could be equally rewarding.
Of course, with such an admirable résumé, there were still downsides. Chief of them was his friend Matsumoto Rangiku. Aizen had watched most of the affair between his three underlings and the two Eighth Division officers. He witnessed how Ichimaru had acted towards the men who dared harm his friend, and more importantly, he saw how Matsumoto had reined him in. Even though Ichimaru shared Aizen's lack of moral concerns, the boy still chose to listen to the girl instead of following his own impulses. This meant that even if Aizen successfully recruited him, the fox would still heed Matsumoto over him in a given situation. But more importantly, in Aizen's personal opinion, such a choice meant that Ichimaru was unwilling to reach his true potential.
The aspiring deity supposed if he really wanted Ichimaru to have a more agreeable attitude, he could have the girl killed. With her dead and his moral compass askew, Aizen could recruit the boy with the promise of revenge on the guilty party. But he knew better than to actually implement this plan. If the prodigy was good enough to see through his mask, then he would certainly find out that Aizen was behind his friend's death. Once that happened, there would be no stopping Ichimaru from pursuing revenge, and unlike most other individuals he had come across, the snake was actually a threat. A threat Aizen was sure he could handle, but a threat nonetheless.
In the end, even though Ichimaru was strong and smart and certainly an individual not to be underestimated, he was not good subordinate material. All the same, it would be prudent to keep an eye on him. But right now, he needed to ensure that his three minions would not spill any secrets…
With that the two lieutenants went their separate ways, following very different paths.
Author's Note: Returning readers might be surprised to see this segment already, as in the original version, this was a bonus chapter released a year after the main body had been published. This time, since the previous chapter ended after Gin became a lieutenant, I figured this was a good time to show this incident.
Aside from a few minor edits on descriptions and word choice, the only real difference from the original version was that here, Rangiku allows herself to enjoy the thugs' beatdown for a little bit. In AGNH v1.0, I had her immediately get concerned about Gin after seeing him glare, seeing it as a major OoC moment. I decided to change this, as both the glare and a bit of schadenfreude in this scenario would be much more fitting, and Rangiku wouldn't be alarmed until he Gin started to take things too far.
The three thugs in this chapter are the same ones who hurt Rangiku in canon, and in turn set Gin off on his quest for revenge. I wrote about how they might have met their demise in canon at Gin's hands in my oneshot, "Hit List."
Originally, this was just a small segment on how an encounter between Gin, Rangiku, and those three thugs would go in this AU. It was not intended to be anything significant, but as I expanded on this chapter, I realized that I had stumbled upon a turning point in Gin's character growth: this is the first time Rangiku realizes she is Gin's Morality Chain and exercises that authority.
And despite its widespread use in the fandom, I cannot recall an instance in canon where Gin or anyone refers to Rangiku as "Ran-chan."
Contrary to popular belief, Gin does not fit the definition of a sociopath, as there are several criteria he lacks that qualify him for that description. He's not impulsive, he doesn't have a grandiose sense of self-worth, he is capable of empathy, he is capable of accepting the responsibility of his actions and showing remorse, and while he certainly lies a lot, it's not compulsive for him like it is with a true sociopath.
Still, while not a sociopath, Gin's antisocial and amoral traits does mean that Rangiku has her work cut out for her.
Interestingly enough, while it was not my design at the time, the way I wrote Sato Tarō's character is closer to a true sociopath than canon Gin.
And we have arrived at the end of the first story arc of "A Grudge Not Held, 2nd Ed." To put in perspective of how ambitious I'm being with this reboot, in the original version we would only be about 4,400 words into the first chapter (well, maybe closer to 10K if we include the original version of this chapter, which was uploaded later), but we are already about 60K words with what is basically the prologue arc.
There will now be a break, as I have not finished the next part which covers the hundred years between the Hollowfication Incident and the start of the Soul Society arc. Fortunately, I have the Soul Society arc already written, so once I finish the Hundred Years Interlude, we can go on without interruption when we reach that point.
But until then, I plan and write.
With this being the last chapter for the time being, I want to give another big thank you to Tomas the Betrayer for being my beta-reader.
A big thank you to LoveGlutton, Black' Victor Cachat, X59, codeinfosfat for their reviews!
Omake: Shinigami Illustrated Guide
"Let me get this straight," Kyōraku said in response to young Rangiku's request. "You want me to make sure that whenever Gin's out on assignment, you're by his side."
"That's right," she confirmed. "I'm worried about his ethical development. If I'm there to step in when it's needed, I'm sure I can prevent Gin from making certain… mistakes."
"Hmm, that's a fair reason," the captain considered. "And this has nothing to do with your feelings for him?"
"What?" Rangiku squawked as her face reddened in rage (not embarrassment!). "Have you been talking with Nanao-chan?!"
"Oh, she figured it out, too?" Kyōraku murmured without surprise. "Can't say I'm shocked; she's a smart girl."
"She's mistaken! And so are you!" she protested hotly. "Wait, how many people are making that same mistake?!"
"Pretty much everyone who knows you two," the pink-clad charmer shrugged nonchalantly, barely keeping his amusement concealed at his subordinate's horrified expression. "There are even a few who think you two are already together but are trying to keep it a secret."
Rangiku floundered wordlessly for a few moments at the new information. Deciding there was no dignified end to this conversation, she instead jumped back to the original topic.
"Do you agree to my request to stay by Gin's side during missions or not?" she gritted out.
"Of course," the captain gave his permission with a knowing smile.
"Thank you, Kyōraku-taichō!" the girl quickly bowed and rushed out the room.
"Ah, young love," the deceptively old fighter murmured to himself as he leaned back and pulled his hat over his eyes. "If those two aren't at least together in twenty years, I'll burn my kimono and then scold them for being dense idiots."