Chapter: 09

Dull and stale—that was the best word Gin could find to describe Hueco Mundo. A place where Hollow resides; where night never left and the crescent moon always stayed still at its place. Huge dunes and weird minerals like twigs growing out of the white sand.

It really was a dull place.

Arrancars, or Espadas—honestly he cared neither for them—didn't interest him either. The only person who really interested him was Nell and her ability to "eat" Reiatsu. Sadly, she was already kicked out of the castle, and Gin couldn't really blatantly go out and get her back.

Though the real reason was he didn't want to take care of a child… a hyperactive masochist one at that.

The only person left for him to go and have fun with was Tier Harribel who didn't entertain his presence at all. For something pity and unreasonable such as—

"Snake. You smell like a snake. I do not particularly like dealing with people who won't blink before betraying their own."

"How rude. You are making my heart bleed with truth, Tier." Placing his hand over his chest, Gin lamented.

Tier clicked her tongue in annoyance. He really annoyed her. More so when he didn't deny her accusation of betraying others. It was as if he accepted that as truth and she didn't like it in the least.

Believe it or not, Tier—despite being a Hollow—was more humane than humans. She didn't like killing nor did she like fighting. She was a pacifist, and if circumstances allowed, she rather not initiate combat but solve everything over a verbal fight.

It was a very delusional thinking, and she didn't need anyone else to remind her of that. She was fully aware of the horror and reality of the world she was living in. There was no denying it. Yet, she stuck to her principles. Where would be her honor if she can't even stick to what she believes?

She also had great care for her people and comrades. That is why she didn't particularly like Gin who smelled like a snake. She didn't know if it was due to his face or the way he talked, either way, she didn't like his presence around her.

'But the fact that I can't force him out is infuriating!' There was no rule of not attacking another Espada or anything. Nor was there any rule to not attack higher ranking personals like Gin or Tosen. But, whether she wanted to admit it or not, Gin was her comrade—both were working under the same boss, Aizen Sosuke.

So even though she didn't like him, she wasn't rude enough to blatantly attack him to make him leave. The best she could do was attack him verbally… something Gin took quite easily with his never-changing smile.

… Another thing she didn't like about him. Infuriating might be the easiest and simplest word she could find to describe his smile that seemed to be mocking the existence of every living being around him.

Staring at his face, who was looking at her with his never-changing smile and not saying anything else, Tier felt her muscles twitching with annoyance.

"... What do you want?"

"To play a game. Any game." Gin answered. "Of course with our lives on the line. Or there will be no fun, won't you think?"

"I do not have time to play your games."

"Um. Must be hard to have so much stuff to do~"

"—Tsk." She once again clicked her tongue in annoyance before looking towards the smirking Gin. "Alright. I will play but change the conditions. I am not really too keen on dying right now."

"Of course~ How about the loser serving the winner?"

"I do not serve anyone but Lord Aizen." Her eyes narrowed, looking at the Gin without much change in her expression.

"Do not lose then. It's simple."

"... Not playing. Change the terms."

"Oh my. It is not good to be so optimistic, Tier. I understand that me losing itself can be called a miracle, but to lose all hope even before the game even started is sad."

"Then get lost!"

"Ma~ ma~ Calm down. Violence is never the answer." Ignoring Tier gritting her teeth in anger and annoyance, Gin continued with a smirk. "But out of my love for you—"

"I'd rather die."

"—I'll change the bets. How about the winner can order the other person once? Oh. And just to make sure, the order cannot be like hurting someone else. It has to be a simple order."

"As in?" Tier asked curiously. Her interest kicked in. She sure would love to see Gin serving her like a butler. Having an arrogant man working under them seemed to give women a weird form of pleasure. Maybe it was the same as how men like dominating women? Who knows.

"Simple order like acting, cleaning the room, serving tea, etcetera."

Tier thought for a while before nodding. "Very well. I can agree to such terms. So what is the game?"

Gin smirked. Something Tier definitely didn't appreciate. Tier felt as if she had ended up playing in his hands, not a feeling she appreciated really.

"As I said, let's leave it all to luck." He explained. "You think of a number within your head and I'll try to guess it. The one guessed the closest wins."

She frowned. "Isn't it too much of a wild goose chase?"

"If you want, we can range the numbers. Like, choosing a number between one to hundred or one to thousand. I'll leave it all up to you."

"Let's set the range to 3 to 103 then."

"As you wish." Gin didn't reject it as he took the cup of tea placed by Arrancar 56th Cyan Sung-Sun. "Let's start then. You can go first or do you want me to go first?"

"You go." Tier answered, making Gin shrug.

"I have thought of a number."

A weird atmosphere seemed to form between the smiling Gin and Tier as she evidently glared at him, trying to get any hint out of him but failing miserably seeing as how his expression hasn't changed since the moment she met him for the first time. It definitely didn't help her in reading what he was thinking.

After an intense staring contest, she sighed and said a random number that came to her mind.

"Five."

"Bo, bo! You were so close, dear Tier. It was three. Still, quite close."

A happy expression formed over Tier's face and a look of admiration over her Fraccion. She was glad that her guess wasn't far off.

Gin smiled.

"Are you curious to know why I chose three?"

"Not really."

"It's because every Espada chosen as third has a weird habit of not fighting." Gin answered anyway. The main reason he didn't go and search for Nell himself was that he didn't want to get Aizen's attention, which was already on him after his little… stunt he pulled in the Soul Society.

Which means, he needed someone else to do it. And Tier was the perfect choice for this. After all, like Nell, Tier also had great comradery with her fellow Hollows. He didn't doubt that if given enough information, she would definitely save Nell or bring her to herself at least.

He just needed to wait patiently while others did work for him.

"... What do you mean?" Tier frowned.

"Oh. Me and my poor slip of the tongue." Gin chuckled. "Maybe if you search east-west from here, outside of Las Noches, you will find something really interesting."

Her frown deepened but Gin didn't give her enough time to think and stated. "Have you thought of a number yet?"

"... Yes."

"Good." Gin smiled, creating suspense as everyone quietly stared at what he would choose. "It's three."

"You sound quite confident in your choice. I won't mind if you want to change it."

"No. It's alright." Gin smirked. "It's three."

"..." Tier stared at his face as the annoyance that had vanished prior once again burst out as she stared at the teasing grin on the silver-haired Shinigami. "... How did you know?"

"I'm just that lucky~" Of course that was bullshit since he was using Future Sight to see what number she had chosen to answer her correctly.

The purpose of this game wasn't only to get her to get Nell after all.

"Tsk. It was rigged from the start." Tier clicked her tongue, knowing that Gin definitely had a way to know the number she had in her mind from the start.

"Well. It indeed was quite a productive use of time… at least here in this place." Gin stated before standing up. Turning around, he left; only leaving behind his voice for Tier. "East-west, don't forget. I'm sure it will be an interesting endeavor in a world as bland as this."

"..."

"Lady Tier… should we go and scout the area?" Seeing her mistress deep in thought, Sung-Sun bowed and asked.

"Hah! Sung-Sun, you bitch! You want to steal the whole spotlight, do you think I will allow it in my presence!?" Emilou Apacci, another of Tier's Fraccion shouted. "Tier-sama! Order me and I shall go and upturn everything in the east-west to find you something interesting!"

"Humph. As if you aren't trying to steal it." Franceska Mila Rose, 55th Arrancar, and another of Tier's Fraccion spoke much to the annoyance of Emilou.

"What did you say, you big-titted woman!?"

"At least I have some. Unlike someone who barely qualifies as a woman."

"This is it. Imma kill you bastard!"

"Sigh… How annoying. That is why I do not like staying with lower intellectual life forms."

"Huh!?"

"You three…" Tier massaged her head, seeing her Fraccion fighting, something she was quite used to by this point.

She would be lying if she said she wasn't interested in checking out the place where Gin pointed them. Despite the feeling that she was playing within Gin's hand, Tier's curiosity about the fact that this might be related to the previous number three had won over the formal.

"Sung-Sun, Emilou, Rose. No need to fight." All three of them became quiet as they bowed towards Tier, showing their respect for her, while she continued staring at the dull sky of Hueco Mundo. "All three of you may go and search the area. If you find anything interesting, bring it back to me."

"Yes, Lady Tier!"

'I just hope it doesn't cause any problem…' Tier internally thought. Gin was a weird and mysterious person in her eyes, even more so than Aizen. At least they knew Aizen's goal… or at least what he allowed them to know, but Gin was different as his every action seemed to be shrouded in some veil making it hard for others to understand what he was thinking. 'And that annoying expression of his doesn't help out either.'

1

The betrayal and departure of three captains at once was sure to hit hard at the reputation of the Gotei 13. And the massacre of Central 46 wasn't really a pleasing thing either.

Adding the damage to buildings and loss of life, pretty much everyone was busy within the Seireitei.

Though this wasn't the reason why a meeting was being held within Captain Assembly Hall right now. The real reason for the meeting was the information provided by the 13th Division Captain Jushiro Ukitake. Something that shook not only every captain present within the meeting but even Captain-Commander Yamamoto!

Wandenreich—it wasn't a joke that the empire of Quincy still existed more so in the Seireitei itself! One could imagine how serious and mind-blowing this news was to the point where one would question its credibility if not that it was coming from someone who was considered one of the oldest captains within Gotei 13.

Yet the question of where the information came from still rose within everyone's mind. After all, the identity of the source was required to check if the information could be believed or not.

Hence, a meeting was called pertaining to all captains. It didn't matter what they were doing or if they were busy with something, everyone was obliged to attend it. That was how serious the matter was considered by Yamamoto, someone who had fought Yhwach and knew the terror he possessed to the lives of all Shinigami or even the world itself as a whole!

THUD

The sound of a wooden cane shut everyone and made them stand erect, fully focused as Yamamoto opened his eyes and stared down at Ukitake.

"Ukitake, explain. Where you have gotten the information about them from."

The answer was sure to stun everyone as Ukitake rubbed the back of his head, even him finding the ridiculousness and irony of the situation as he said it loud enough for everyone to hear it.

"It was from the former 3rd Division Captain Ichimaru Gin. In… exchange for something, he provided me with this information."

"Ichimaru!?" 10th Division Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya seemed to have the most volatile reaction among those present but none seemed to be surprised by his outburst knowing the health of Hinamori who still laid in hospital recapturing from her wounds… mental wounds to be more precise as she was trying to accept the reality… or straight out reject it.

From this alone everyone knew that Hitsugaya didn't hold a good image of Ichimaru Gin within his mind. Maybe even more hostile than anything.

THUD — "Silence!" Yamamoto's voice boomed, startling Hitsugaya as he hurriedly collected himself and calmed down. "Continue."

"... According to the former 3rd Division Captain, Yhwach, the Father of Quincy, is not dead."

Yamamoto took a deep breath and released it. He already knew the truth that Yhwach was not dead, but sealed. Except for him, maybe only Unohana was aware of this truth.

"And that after their defeat 1000 years ago, they ran to Seireitei and hid themselves within the shadow, creating a hidden kingdom where they lay dormant, waiting for the right opportunity to strike back and restart the war from 1000 years ago."

"And what is this… right opportunity?" Mayuri inquired, quite interested in this topic.

"The awakening of Yhwach!"

Everyone's eyes widened. This… indeed was quite a news.

"... Can we really believe this information knowing it came from… Ichimaru Gin?" Hitsugaya inquired, his voice slightly salty mentioning Gin.

"We can." Ukitake nodded, much to the surprise of everyone present. He sighed while rubbing his head. "Truth to be told… Gin had already informed me about his betrayal."

"What!?"

"..." Yamamoto stared at Ukitake, waiting for him to finish. This really wasn't something anyone was expecting.

"Gin knew the truth about Aizen's Zanpakuto from the start. He knew the futility of trying to fight Aizen, knowing full well that everyone was under his hypnosis so the chances of winning were almost null." Ukitake had a weird expression before he continued. "Sometime in the past, when Aizen had visited Rukongai, he… stole a part of 10th Division Vice-Captain Rangiku Masamoto's soul."

Hitsugaya's eyes widened in shock. It seemed that the things he was learning today were going to keep him awake for the coming days.

"We already know what it means if a part of your soul is cut off from you. In simplest condition, it will stunt the growth of the person to a certain point and they will never be able to cross that point."

Hitsugaya's fist tightened as Ukitake continued with a serious gaze.

"It is the same as destroying the very life of that person. Not only that, this scar will remain even after they are reincarnated. Gin… Knowing full well he cannot defeat Aizen head on, decided to join him in hope of finding a single moment where he could attack Aizen and take revenge for Rangiku-san."

"... You are saying… All this year… The reason why Gin became a Shinigami, joined Gotei 13, and became a Captain was solely so he can take revenge for Masamoto?" Hitsugaya asked incredulously.

No one could blame him. The amount of dedication and hard work required for this should have been enormous, yet Gin did all of this just so he could avenge Masamoto. Hitsugaya didn't know what to feel right now.

"... Leaving the heroic deed of Ichimaru Gin aside, Captain Ukitake, you seemed to be in great health." Mayuri, who had been observing Ukitake from the start, inquired; gaining everyone's attention in return.

Indeed. Ukitake seemed to be more healthy than ever. It was as if—

"Gin healed me."

"... Why am I not surprised at this point?"

Ukitake chuckled at Hitsugaya's rejected tone before shaking his head.

"We all really underestimated Gin. The amount of surprise he has given me can easily surpass what I have seen my whole life."

"Did… he tell anything else about the weakness of Aizen?" Unohana inquired.

"Yes." Ukitake nodded. His face changed into a focused expression as he explained. "He said the only way to defeat Aizen… or the only person who can defeat Aizen is Kurosaki Ichigo!"

"The Ryoka?" Soifon asked with surprise, to which Ukitake nodded.

"According to Gin, currently, the only person who has the potential to defeat Aizen and is not under hypnosis is Kurosaki Ichigo. Only he has the real chance of defeating Aizen."

"What about his goal?" Komamura asked. He wanted to 'save' Tosen. And for that, he needed to know the goal of Aizen, someone Tosen followed.

Ukitake took a deep breath and stated.

"Oken. Aizen wants to create Oken so he can enter the palace of the Soul King and take his position!"

…

AN: Spoiler Alert! :) People think Gin is a saint and selfless being.

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