8 Chapter: 08

Today was the day of execution.

All captains readied themselves, some to watch it and some to stop it; while some for a completely different purpose altogether.

The day was clear, with a gust of wind now and then.

Wearing his Captain Haori with number 3 at the back, Gin adjusted his sword on his waist and left the 3rd Division with his Lieutenant Izuru Kira following after him.

The moment he stepped out of the 3rd Division compound, a gust of wind hit his face making him take a deep breath.

"It is quite good… the weather that is." He muttered, turning his gaze towards the hill where the execution was to take place. "Sadly, I won't be there to enjoy it."

He lamented the fact that he couldn't be there to enjoy the epic entry of Ichigo, or how he won't be able to have much fun himself.

'Guess I'll drown myself in the sadistic pleasure of seeing other people crying as I hurt their loved ones…. I seriously need a break…'

He sighed at the grim thoughts within his mind before looking toward Kira.

"Let's go, Kira-kun." He turned around, his haroi fluttering in the wind as he walked forward. Kira nodded, and silently followed after him.

"It is weird, right?" While walking, Gin softly muttered. Loud enough for Kira to raise his head and gaze at the back of his captain in confusion. "Feelings, Kira-kun, feelings. We are dead. A ghost. Yet we have a heart and a soul. Despite us being nothing but a living construct of Reiatsu, we have emotions… something only a living being should have. Not us."

"Captain…?" Kira called out to him with a bewildered tone, not understanding what Gin was talking about.

"Say, Kira-kun, if Momo's life is in danger, will you use your life to protect her?" Gin stopped and asked without turning around.

"Huh?" Bewilderment and confusion apparent over his face, Kira inquired yet with slight apprehension. "... What are you talking about, Captain Ichimaru?"

"Your feelings." Gin turned, his azure pupils stared down at stunned Kira. With a smirk, he asked once again. "Will you?"

"I—Yes! If I can save her life, I will do it." Kira answered as sweat trickled down his forehead. He didn't understand why Gin would ask such a question, but the pressure coming from the gaze of his captain didn't allow him to ask it of him.

Gin smirked.

"That's a deal, Kira-kun. If you fail in protecting her, as a punishment, I will get a copy of your Zanpakuto's ability."

He wanted to see if this was possible. Till now, it was a given and taken in trade. Gin wondered: Was it possible to just copy an ability rather than take it? So he decided to put that in use. And Kira's ability to double the weight of anything he touched wasn't bad in the least.

A good test subject.

"Captain… Ichimaru?"

"I will be moving to Seijōtōkyorin with Momo." Gin turned around and said. "If you do not want her dead, then make sure no one enters Seijōtōkyorin. If it's a captain, then stopping the Lieutenant should suffice. Otherwise…"

He didn't complete his sentence. And before the terrified Kira could inquire what his captain meant by what he said, he had already lost track of Gin. He could only stand there, staring blankly ahead. No idea of what he should be doing.

1

The sky of the Soul Society was clear with occasional gusts of wind.

It was unusually quiet in the Seireitei today. The time of execution was nearing and Kuchiki Rukia was already being taken to the execution stand.

Some captains stood and waited for the execution to begin, while others rebelled against the execution; fighting with their own comrades in hope of stopping it.

Soon. The silence of Seireitei was taken over by an explosion at Sokyoku Hill! The execution was interrupted! As if that was the queue, many different explosions started occurring all over the Seireitei.

At one place buildings were being destroyed as if made up of fragile wood while at the other place, a huge giant of energy formed, waving down its sword, cutting the very ground apart like the wrath of god!

The peace and serenity of the Seireitei were destroyed just like that. All that was now left was mayhem and chaos.

The silver-haired captain stopped at the entrance of Seijōtōkyorin—a giant thin tower-like towards where Central 46 resides—and turned around to look at the huge giant of energy swinging its sword at whatever enemy it was fighting.

His lips curled up slightly as he internally thought.

'Walmart Susano.'

Snickering, he turned and looked at the nervous girl.

"Why have you taken me here, Captain Gin?"

"Have you ever been to Seijōtōkyorin before, Momo?" Gin inquired, turning around and starting to walk in with Hinamori following after him with a confused nervous expression.

"No. I have not." She shook her head. "This place is off-limits to anyone, even to Captain-Commander."

Gin nodded.

"I wanted you to meet someone here."

"Meet?"

As he reached inside and Hinamori followed after him, he turned around with his usually smiling face and answered.

"Look behind you. That is the person I wanted you to meet."

Confused, Hinamori turned around. A shock ran past her body as she stood stunned at her place.

"Captain… Aizen?" She muttered dreamily. Not believing the person standing at the entrance was real. How could it be? She saw his dead body with her own eyes!

"It has been hard on you, Hinamori-san." Aizen smiled softly as Hinmaori kept muttering his name, over and over, slowly crawling her way to him before stretching her hands and gripping his haori. "Look at you. You have become so thin."

He placed his hand over her head, a gesture Hinamori was all too familiar with and smiled. "I am sorry for leaving everything to you, Hinamori-san. But I had something that needed to be done. For which, my disappearance was necessary."

"Captain Aizen… Captain Aizen… You are alive. Captain Aizen." She kept muttering his name. Placing her head on his chest, she cried. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Hinamori-san." Aizen instantly replied. "And so, goodbye."

"Huh?"

The sound of flesh tearing apart resounded in the silent hall of Seijōtōkyorin. With the hilt of a sword in his hand, the tip extended out of Hinamori's chest. Blood flowed softly around the edges of the sword, dripping down one by one to the ground.

"Captain… Aizen…?" Bewilderment. Confusion. Hinamori, not understanding what was going on, could only stare at the emotionless face of her captain as he pulled the sword out of her body which limped down to the ground with an audible thud.

"Aya~ And she was such a cute girl too. You really have a wild taste, Captain Aizen." Gin said jokingly. Staring at the body of Hinamori as he felt the ability of Kira's sword entering his mind. "Not even leaving such a pitiful girl alone."

"It is the fate of the weak to be used by those in power." Aizen simply answered and turned around. "Let's go."

"... Yes. Captain Aizen." Smiling, Gin followed after Aizen but both of them stopped the moment they exited the door.

"—?!" Hitsugaya's eyes widened. He had run as fast as he could after learning from Kira that Hinamori was also in Seijōtōkyorin but never had he expected to meet a dead person here. "Aizen…?"

"It has been a while, Toshiro."

2

"All Captains, Vice-Captains, and Proxy Vice-Captains of all Gotei 13… and… all Ryoka. This is Isane Kotetsu, Vice-Captain of the Fourth Division! Hear my words. This is an urgent message from Captain Retsu Unohana of the Fourth Division and myself! Listen carefully, what I am about to tell you is the truth. Fifth Division Captain Sosuke Aizen, Third Division Captain Ichimaru Gin, and Ninth Division Captain Kaname Tosen have rebelled against the Soul Society! I repeat—"

"Oh my. What are we gonna do, Captain Aizen~ All of Gotei 13 is now after our lives." Gin sarcastically called out, teleporting to the top of Sokyoku Hill, staring at how Aizen decimated and played with Renji as if he was a child.

"Yes. It sure is scary." Aizen snickered as if mocking the very existence of Gotei 13.

Hearing it, Gin chuckled.

"You sure are enjoying your time." He raised his finger and pointed particularly nowhere. "Guess I will do it too then."

[Bakudō #61. Rikujōkōrō]

The black blur that was rushing towards Aizen halted. Falling to the ground and skidding all the way to Gin's footsteps, creating a trail of dust behind—It was Kurosaki Ichigo!

"Now well, Kurosaki-san, why don't you entertain me instead? As you can see, Captain Aizen is very busy right now."

"You—?!" Ichigo's eyes widened before he shouted out loud. "Ichimaru Gin! You bastard! Unbind me this instant!"

"Okay~" Gin happily smiled, undoing the spell over Ichigo much to the bafflement of the youth but he didn't dwell too much over it and once again rushed towards Aizen; yet, once again, his eyes widened as the world slowed down around him.

In his running position, he stared at the coming sword ready to decapitate him. Instinctually, he raised his sword to stop it.

CLANG

A loud sound of metal clashing reverberated as Ichigo was thrown backward. He hurriedly backflipped and balanced the momentum before landing on the ground, skidding some distance between him and Gin.

"I didn't permit you to go after Captain Aizen, Kurosaki-san. You really love to make things difficult, don't you?"

"Ichimaru!" Ichigo gritted his teeth. "Whose side are you on?!"

"What an idiotic question." Gin lamented. "Sometimes I really feel sad for your future partner. With such big intelligence, I won't be surprised if you find yourself cucked sometime in the future, you know."

Holding his sword in his hand, Grin smirked. Staring down at Ichigo, he stated.

"I have always been at the side of Captain Aizen."

"Bastard!" Ichigo shouted and vanished. He appeared behind Gin and slashed at his back, which was blocked by Gin's sword—He didn't even turn to look at him! It was as if he already knew he was going to slash there!

"Bastard, bastard, bastard. You really lack some vocabulary, don't you? How boring."

Ichigo grit his teeth, vanishing once again, and attacking Gin's side which he once again blocked without much issue.

"Way too predicted, Kurosaki-san. You will never be able to even reach Captain Aizen at this rate. You are disappointing me now. I would rather fight with Princess Yoruichi… at least I get to see some jiggle physique."

"What…" Ichigo jumped high in the air, his sword shining in darkish red color, he slashed. "... the fuck are you talking about!!?"

"Oh." Gin raised a brow before raising his hand, much to the widening eyes of the orange-haired teenager, and backslap the crescent slash away. "Surprising indeed. I guess taking away the Quincy Bloodline helped you get more assimilated with your Hollow side."

"H-How—!?" Ichigo's mouth was wide open. He was sweating hard. The wound on his chest has long since opened, bleeding, yet he seemed to forget everything as he stared stunned at the fact that his strongest attack was back slapped away like an annoying fly.

"What do you mean, how?" Gin tilted his head and smiled. The moment Ichigo blinked, Gin was already behind his back as he slashed, cutting open his back as blood gushed out into the fountain. "It's simple. Kurosaki-san… You are pitifully weak."

THUD

His body fell as he felt his vision getting darker and darker. Colour leaving his face, he couldn't believe it. Weak? He? Even after all that training, and all that hardship, was he still too weak to save his friends? Then what was the point of all this?

"It's funny, isn't it?" Gin asked, unsheathing his sword. "That you really think that you can reach the level of a captain just because you were able to learn Bankai. Kurosaki-san… having talent doesn't mean you are special. There are many people in the world with talent, but do you see every talented person leading the world? Obviously not!"

Walking past Ichigo who had started to lose consciousness, only the sound of Gin seemed to remain in his mind. "Word hard, Kurosaki-san, work hard. And when you think you have reached your limit, come to me. I am always open to a deal."

Staring at the hazy figure of Gin walking away, Ichigo clenched his fists tightly. He felt weak. Way too weak. Pathetic and weak. He could only clench his teeth in hopelessness and try his best to not lose consciousness.

3

Aizen's facial expression was constricted.

Empty. Kuchiki Rukia's chest was empty! Why? He had everything calculated and tested. Hogyoku should be sealed inside the soul of Kuchiki Rukia. He knew it. That is why he planned all of this! Rukia's transfer to Karakura Town, her giving power to Ichigo and forcefully bringing her back to the Soul Society. Her execution; all of it was planned to get Hogyoku out of her soul!

"Captain Aizen… Might you be looking for this?"

Aizen turned around, a frown over his face as he stared at the smirking Gin with Hogyoku in his hand. With a wave of his hand, he threw Rukia aside and stared at Gin.

"... What is the meaning of this, Gin?" His voice grave, he asked.

"Actually…" Gin stared toward Rukia who was coughing as the hole within her chest closed. "I have taken quite a liking to Rukia, so I decided to take Hogyoku out of her body myself. I thought it would make things easier for you too. After all, no one wants to do extra work if they can get things for free, right?"

"Is that so?" With one hand over his sword, Aizen raised his hand with a smile. "Then, Gin… Hogyoku."

"Not so fast, Captain Aizen." Gin smirked, making Aizen tighten his hold over the hilt of his sword as a displeased expression formed over his face.

"Gin. I am not in the mood of playing your games. Hogyoku… give it to me, now!"

"Let's make a deal, Captain Aizen." Ignoring the entrance of Byakuya who hurriedly checked Rukia, Gin stared at the angry Aizen with his usual expression. "You see, I respect you, no doubt about it. But if you want me to work for you, you need to be the strongest out there."

"... Isn't it obvious?"

"It is, yes. Of course." Gin nodded his head, admitting that Aizen was the strongest one here. "Just, what if you were to lose to someone in the future? That would be quite… a letdown, don't you think?"

"What are you talking about, Gin?"

"It's simple, Captain Aizen. If you were to be defeated in the future, by anyone, then all your powers with Hogyoku would belong to me. As long as you agree to that, I will give it to you. I mean, you won't mind agreeing to this little request of your subordinate if it means clearing his doubt, right?"

Aizen stared at Gin in silence before his smile returned.

"Very well. If I am ever defeated in the future, then all of my powers with Hogyoku will belong to you. Does that satisfy you?"

"It does!" Gin smirked and threw the Hogyoku towards Aizen who easily caught it. Staring at it with fascination, he softly muttered.

"I won't mind it this time, Gin, but do NOT try to test my patience in the future. I will not be lenient next time."

"... I understand… Captain Aizen." Gin bowed as if accepting any punishment given to him by Aizen yet the grin that seemed to grow with each passing second over his face was completely hidden from everyone.

"AIZEN!" Just then, a loud shout disturbed everyone as an anthropomorphic wolf landed behind Aizen, shattering the ground. He raised his sword and wanted to slash at Aizen.

[Hadō #90. Kurohitsugi]

Aizen wasn't having any of the bullshit after being played by Gin. He completely ignored the wolf and used one of the highest-level of Kido that could even bend space-time itself if used with its full power!

'Heh! I can use full-powered without any incantations.' Gin snickered internally. After reading through all Kido spells, he had already learned them by buying them directly from the world itself! 'If only I had enough money to buy The Almighty… Why is it so fucking expensive?!'

Lost in his thought, he completely ignored the fact that right now he, Tosen, and Aizen were surrounded by the whole Gotei 13! Such a line-up, even the current Gin didn't dare to say he could take them all alone himself.

Yes. He might have the strongest Reiatsu among those present here, but that didn't mean he was the strongest here. His swordsmanship was lower than Yamamoto and Unohana. His hand-to-hand combat was lower than Yoruichi and Soifon.

'Though if it's pure strength and Kido, I am sure not a single person here can beat me.'

"Gin!" Rangiku, who had been having weird dreams these last days, stared up as Gin, Aizen, and Tosen were flying into the air towards the dimension gap created above in the sky. She couldn't understand why Gin would betray the Soul Society nor did Gin explain anything.

He just looked down and waved with a smile.

"Let's meet again, Rangiku, Princess Yoruichi. I will miss you."

"..." Yoruichi had a weird expression on her face, but she already knew Gin's intention so she didn't say much.

On the other hand, Ukitake also seemed to know something as he narrowed his eyes before sighing.

'What a crude method…' He shook his head and remained silent.

Unohana narrowed her eyes, feeling as if something was a mission, while Rukia seemed to be lost in her own thoughts after hearing that Gin seemed to start liking her.

She couldn't help but blush before shaking her head vehemently. What in the hell was she thinking?! She couldn't believe it herself!

With the closing of the dimension gap, the silence lost to Seireitei returned. Leaving behind everyone with a different thought process.

…

AN: Ah well, I cut all unnecessary scenes which would only prolong the arc, like Aizen taunting Unohana or Toshiro. I mean, who wants to read about side characters, am I right?

And before anyone says: Aizen shouldn't have agreed to the deal or he should have at least thought about it once.

Well, he did. But he thought too fast for your mortal mind to comprehend. So git good.

On the other hand, no matter how strong or smart you are, even you cannot face the unknown. In this case, the essence. Hence, Aizen's verbal 'promise' is going to come back and bite his ass.

As they say, everyone is afraid of the unknown for a reason.

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