15 Chapter: 15

Hueco Mundo, a place where Hollow resided. It was deserted, filled with nothing but white sand and dunes for as far as an eye could see. A crescent moon hung over its sky, all around the year—if such a way of quantifying time even existed—it never changed its position. Weird dry tree branches rooted out of the ground made up of some quartz-like material.

Dry winds blew here, enough to give rashes to any humane inhabitant.

By all means, this wasn't a place for a normal person to live in. It was harsh, even by Shinigami standards who would bring, certainly, a robe to protect themselves from the harsh environment of Hueco Mundo.

The only exception to this rule so far should be that orange-haired youth as he ran towards the distant white castle without any worries in the world. Or in fact he indeed was worried about his friend that was kidnapped into that white castle, just that he didn't show it on his face.

Followed after him were two more people—a bespectacled man and a muscular man.

All three of them were here to rescue Orihime from Aizen. And even though they were utterly overwhelmed in numbers, it didn't seem to hinder their advance in the least. It was as if they didn't care about the disadvantages of numbers. Arrogance or ignorance perhaps? Either way, they looked tired.

"How far is it?" Ichigo grumbled in annoyance as sweat fell down his face. Truly, the closer you reach your goal, the further it seems. Their running to this white castle was a perfect example of it. For a second, Ichigo wondered if they were having hallucinations or something. Maybe they were under Aizen's Zanpakuto or something.

"How would I know? It's not like I have a tool to measure distance here." Uryu, a Quincy unlike Ichigo, replied in annoyance. It really was weird to see Quincy helping a Shinigami. More so after the 1000-year war that had happened between the two forces ended up with the global extinction of Quincies.

But Uryu seemed to have a weird sense of friendship with Ichigo. According to him, since Soul Society decided to not help Ichigo in rescuing Orihime, Ichigo was no longer at the side of Shinigami despite him being a Shinigami. So he didn't find any reason to not help him in rescuing their friend.

A twisted narrative, but it seemed to work for him.

"You really are useless, Ishida. Really, what's the point of bringing you with me if you can't even tell me how far we are from the castle?" Ichigo replied with a matter-of-fact tone that definitely trickled Uryu at the wrong spot.

"It seems to me that you are in a very grave mistake, Kurosaki. I'm not coming with you, but you are going in the same direction as I am. There is a difference in perception here. I hope you keep that in mind for the future… reference."

"Doesn't change the fact that you're still useless." Ichigo mercilessly replied. His tone was quite languid despite him sweating from tiredness, he wasn't gasping for breath.

Uryu's brows twitched in annoyance at what Ichigo had just said but a single deep breath seemed to calm him down.

"... On the other hand, it shouldn't be long; at most, one or two more hours."

"So you indeed can measure something. I knew it."

"What do you take me for, Kurosaki?"

To Uryu's question, Ichigo shrugged his shoulders.

"A nerd."

Despite their bickering with each other, none of them seemed to be really angry. To an outsider, it might as well sound like two friends trying to pass time by poking at each other. And it indeed looked as such to Chad yet he sighed tridely. Though it indeed looked as such, listening to them seemed to tire the swol man.

"—!?" Suddenly, Ichigo's eyes widened as his speed lowered. "That…"

At a distance, behind the gust of white sand, a hazy silhouette of a man seemed to be waving as if trying to get a better grasp on the world, trying to solidify its existence. The sudden existence of this silhouette seemed to put the trio on high alert as all of them stopped in their tracks.

"An Arrancar?" Uryu questioned himself more than others. They knew that Arrancars, an evolved hollow, now existed within Hueco Mundo; and that all of them seemed to be working under Sosuke Aizen. If it really was an Arrancar of a higher position, things might get a little troublesome for them.

Yet, none of the trio was afraid. They jumped with Hueco Mundo knowing its danger. There was no point in standing and trembling in the face of danger now. That was the same as becoming a laughing stock, and none of the three wanted that.

"You…!?" Ichigo's eyes widened as the image of a silver-haired smiling man became clear to him. An apparent bloodlust rose from within his body as his hand reached for the bandaged hilt of his sword at his back. "Ichimaru Gin!"

"Kurosaki, calm down!" Uryu hurridly gripped Ichigo's hand, stopping him from attacking the approaching man. Looking at him whose grin enlarged ever so subtly the moment Ichigo called out to him, Uryu felt his stomach crunching. He had a really bad feeling, and it arose the moment Ichigo touched his sword.

The purpose of Ichimaru Gin was still hidden under a veil of fog for everyone as Uryu could tell from how Soul Society treated this matter, there definitely laid an undermining meaning behind it; especially when he witnessed the fight between Gin and Urahara from a distance.

There seemed to be this weird understanding between the trio of Gin, Yoruichi, and Urahara—from Uryu's point of view, it looked like they were acting rather than fighting.

All of this made him highly cautious of this man. If he could, he would rather not fight with him right now.

"Well, well. Isn't it our precious Substitute-Shinigami and his friends? How have you been doing on this fine day, Kurosaki-san? I hope you find the environment of Hueco Mundo accommodative enough." The silver-haired man spoke in a tone of a jester, a smirk never leaving his face as he continued. "Though I guess it indeed does get quite boring after some time. So I decided to come and entertain our guests! I do hope I'm not intruding on anything."

"What do you want, Ichimaru Gin!? Give Orihime back! Why would you kidnap her!?" Ichigo didn't seem to be in the mood for a polite exchange of words as he angrily questioned Gin. It was apparent that he was barely holding himself from not attacking Gin right now.

"How rude. Youngsters these days… Really, what should I do with you?" Gin opened his eyes slightly, letting his azure pupil appear in front of them as they glowed ominously. "Funnily enough, Kurosaki-san, how can you be sure that Captain Aizen hasn't killed that little girl yet?"

"Huh?" A dumbfounded voice left Ichigo's mouth as if he didn't understand what Gin was saying. No! He did. Just, he refused to believe that Orihime was dead already. If that really happened, he would never be able to forgive himself.

"Don't listen to him, Kuro—"

"Isn't that right, Kurosaki-san? If you think long enough about it, then it just doesn't make sense. What's the point for Captain Aizen to order me to capture that innocent girl if not for her powers? With Hogyoku, anything is possible. Killing Orihime-san and stripping her of her powers… Don't you think it makes sense, Kurosaki-san?"

Ichigo's breathing hiked as his grip around his hilt tightened, hard enough for his hand to bleed; his eyes were bloodshot, and he looked towards Gin with gritted teeth. A voice, as if suppressed to its limit, resounded within his vocal cord.

"If something happened to Orihime, Ichimaru Gin, I swear—!" A burst of Reiatsu surged out of Ichigo's body, blowing away the sand around him as the air creaked due to the sheer amount of Reiatsu possessed by him.

"Kurosaki!" Uryu gritted his teeth. Things were moving at the worst pace. At this rate, Ichigo might lose all sense of reason and attack Gin. In that state, for an experienced fighter like Gin, killing Ichigo would be the same as squatting a fly.

"How scary…" Not even a slight worry could be found in Gin's voice as Ichigo's Reiatsu fell upon his body. It seemed to just bounce off as if hitting an invisible wall. "Actually, I'm at your side, Kurosaki-san."

Gin's sudden confession threw the trio of friends off once again as he curled the whole topic into another direction abruptly. He placed his hand over his chest and a melancholy expression formed on his face. His voice, as if lamenting, sounded sad and filled with emotions.

"In actuality, Captain Aizen took something very important from someone very dear to me. Someone, I wouldn't mind giving my life for. Due to it, now that someone is living a life of a cripple and such an effect would even travel with her to the next life. How could I tolerate such a thing!?"

He clenched his fists together before looking towards baffled Ichigo.

"That's why I decided to avenge her! I acted and played the part of Captain Aizen's minion so as to find only one single moment where Captain Aizen has his guard down, a single moment where I can avenge that person!"

His voice sounded so genuine that, for a second, the trio almost sympathised with him before they hurriedly came out of their stunning states terrified.

"Why don't we join hands, Kurosaki-san? You are the only person who isn't under Captain Aizen's sword and has enough potential to kill him. With us joining together, I'm sure we will be able to defeat Captain Aizen."

"Don't listen to him, Kurosaki. We don't know if what he is saying is true or not. He could very well be trying to fool us!" Obviously, Uryu didn't believe a single thing that came out of Gin's mouth. Showing the doubt clear on his face, he muttered to Ichigo.

With a frown on his face, Ichigo questioned with a tone that suggested he was in a clear confusion.

"Then why did you kidnap Orihime?"

"I did not." Gin denied it and sighed, showing his unwillingness through his expression and tone. "As you know, I cannot defy Captain Aizen. It was he who ordered me to kidnap Orihime-san. I merely followed it. As for what reason he ordered such? I can only think it is due to her powers."

"Her powers?" Ichigo couldn't remember anything special about Orihime's power, except for healing and creating barriers, there really wasn't anything special about it.

"Yes." A grave expression came over Gin's face. "Orihime-san's power… According to Captain Aizen, she has the power to 'Reject God's Work or an Event' in simplest terms, she can reject anything that has occurred in time. That is the reason why she is able to heal any kind of injury. She rejects the very source of those injuries, making it so they never appeared in time, healing the person in the process."

"Such a thing…" Ichigo's eyes widened, followed by Uryu and Chad. Despite him not being versed much about the supernatural side of the world, Ichigo still understood the weight behind Gin's words. If Orihime's power really rejected an event from happening, he could understand the allure it had for someone like Aizen who sought power!

"That's why, Kurosaki-san, why don't we ally ourselves?" Gin pressed. "In fact, if you agree to my certain demands, I will make sure that Captain Aizen will not kill Orihime. I'll use 'this body' to save her!"

Not aware of the underlying meaning of Gin's words, Ichigo stared at Gin in contemplation.

It was not like he believed what Gin was saying, but he indeed remembered something peculiar during his meeting with Yoruichi. Something that could very well prove what he said was true or not.

And Gin clearly saw through what Ichigo was thinking as he raised his hand and a contract appeared there. He casually threw it towards Ichigo who caught it.

"Read it."

Ichigo, giving Gin a scrutinising look, looked at the contract.

—Everything that I, Ichimaru Gin, have said so far about my reason for working with Aizen Sosuke and Orihime's real power is the truth. If I'm lying, this body shall die.

Ichigo's brow frowned seeing the severe punishment but this at least showed Ichimaru Gin was being sincere with him. Nodding once again, he passed the contract back to Gin who signed it without any hesitation.

Nothing happened.

"See?" Gin raised his hand, showing Ichigo that he was alive and all. "I wasn't lying."

Seeing this, Ichigo finally sighed as something seemed to lift off his shoulder as he sheathed his sword and looked towards Gin with a relaxed expression, rubbing the back of his head, and asked.

"So? What are the terms you were talking about?"

Gin smiled.

"I'm glad we can finally talk it out. I'm sure you will not be disappointed, Kurosaki-san."

…

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