Chapter Text
"I will rip you apart." The expression on that Ryoka's face was almost priceless. Such a serious thing he was. He couldn't but laugh even a little. Gin coudln't imagine just how much fun this point in their mission was going to be. Sure he was promised a get away, but this was worth the long wait they had.
"You're such an interesting guy. Aren't you afraid of me?" The orange haired Ryoka had to be Kurosaki. A glance at the others showed a big ole' cast of people behind him- including the cat Captain Aizen said would be with them.
"Absolutely no-"
"Oi! Stop messing around Ichigo! Let's retreat first!" The cat spoke. Huh. Gin knew he found what Captain Aizen had sent him for. Those humans were such a breath of fresh air for the dead. The switch in facial expressions, besides being so quick and obvious, had a truth to it as if that was what he was really feeling. It probably was. The cat he wasn't sure of though. Was it Urahara or Shihouin? Or somebody else entirely.
Something was off, though.
The boy was arguing with the cat and seemed to have no awareness of what exactly was going on. For a moment, only brief, Gin wondered about the holes in his Captain's plan- there were none as of yet. Maybe...just maybe. He interrupted the odd conversation between Ichigo? and the cat.
"Why do ya want in here so badly anyway? To see the pretty boy- Kuchiki?" Wow. Again with the fact reactions- this kid was really interesting! The pale one tensed up in the shoulders and step half back. That one was more ready for a fight than he appeared.
"Eh?! You know the jerk going to kill his sister?!" The cat was besides itself now as it was trying to claw its way out of the grip of another dark skinned kid besides a rather buxom girl and some guy with glasses. Bor-ring! Best speed this up, some of the unranked shinigami were finally coming to the chaos.
"Well Ichi-berry, " The kid looked comically agree at this name, he so had to get Kana-Chan to use it. " I think I can help ya a bit there. Got to hurry though!" He shunpued over to the kid and pulled him aside. Man he loved those expressions. The kid was spurting at him about some nonsense.
"Stop! Ichigo get back here now!" The cat was frantic and that legwork looked familiar even if it was in another form. That was defiantly Shihouin With one arm draped over Ichigo's shoulder, Gin pointed his zanpakto toward the soon-to-be-former Gate Guardian before any of the other merry band could come in.
"Ticket for one though. Shoot to kill, Shinsou." Shinsou basted through the Giant's stomach and sent him flying into one of the village house. This was a good morning! A new playmate, fun, and destruction, what more could he ask for?
"What the hell was that, fox-face?! Why-" Smiling even wide her clamped his free hand against Ichigo's mouth leaving only muffled noises of anger and he tightened the shoulder grip. Seemed like he wasn't the only one that was going to be giving out nicknames.
"I'll explain, but we've gots to go. Captain Aizen's going to looove you!" And they were off before any of the little ants, as Aizen liked to call them, even saw them.
...
After the blur ended, Ichigo found himself in an empty hallway of sorts with no windows and large doorways. Faintly there was a smell of blood around but that could have just been from fox-face's sword. He found himself just leaning against the wall with Zangetsu's pressure comforting him.
'I hope Jidanbou is alright. Orihime could probably patch him up but how are they all doing? Yoruichi is so going to kill me.' He made a face. Never in his entire life of fighting punks to gangsters to most recently hollows, did he ever thing he'd be afraid of a cat! Whispers from the next room over stopped and another person followed fox-face, only he looked..well normal. More normal then any other person he had met in the past few weeks. Almost ridiculously normal.
"Hello there, Ryoka. You seem to have wandered a little far from your home, haven't you?" He spoke softly and in charge. Kind of like how a teacher was supposed to. Not that they ever really talked to him.
"What's a Ryoka?" The man's composure left him for a minute and behind the dorky glasses Ichigo thought he saw eyes widening. The smile on his face only got brighter and more assuring.
"A Ryoka is a wonderer from outside the walls of the Seireitei. And pardon our rudeness, I am Captain Sousuke Aizen of the Fifth Division and my comrade behind me," Fox-face. " is Gin Ichimaru of the Third Division." A swift look back and forth between the two faces brought Ichigo only one conclusion. He's still fox-face as long as he's dubbed Ichi-berry. This was like primary school all over again come to think of it.
Oh wait. They need his name.
"Ichigo Kurosaki. You want to help Rukia?" Aizen looked a little surprised while fox-faced chuckled so much his shoulder's shook.
"Rukia you say? Not Kuchiki-sama?" He must have seen how puzzled I looked, cause he went right to the heart of the question.
"Dear boy. Where are you from?" Ichigo hesitated. Should he really be telling the enemy about what was going on? But then again...they could have just killed me before. It was worth a shot and Yoruichi was going to kill him anyway. He explained everything to them. From Rukia's hollow, to her brother (Kuchiki-hime for Gin. I'm liking him more and more) to Urahara and how he became a shinigami again. Gin had long since perched on the wall next to me, almost making me feel cornered but at the same time disarming that with jokes. Aizen however looked a little odd. By the end of the explanation he was laughing and holding his head.
"What so funny about Rukai getting killed?!" He was starting to piss me off. Without warning he pulled me up from the slouch and held my shoulder up for eye to eye contact. This guy had height on me I didn't notice before.
"...Urahara...didn't tell you anything? Giving away shinigami powers and not reporting back is an offense without a doubt, but not execution worthy. She's being murdered because of something Urahara put inside of her Gigai. It is a devices that transcends the line between Hollow and Shinigami. Only a few seated officers know this. I thought at least he would have told you everything about this mission." Aizen walked away and talked to fox-face who looked serious when he wasn't smiling.
'I know I shouldn't believe a Shinigami but Urahara might do something as fucked up as that not tell anybody. This is the only thing that really makes sense. Damnit!' Both of the captains were looking at him.
"Ichi-berry" Fox-face " We've gots to go to our meeting now." Aizen finished the thought.
"Please, stay in the rooms down that hallway but do not pass this room. Its warded so no other shinigami can get in..or out for that matter. I think we'll be able to help each other out." When they left Ichigo sat down on the stairs and looked around at the large dark building he was in. If he concentrated a bit he could feel the energy brimming around them.
"Rukia...you'd better be okay at the end of this." This wasn't the plan at all.
But he never was told the plan, was he? Ichigo lingered on that particular note.