A Serpent’s Dilemma (Higeki)

[Shadows]

The realm known by many as Hueco Mundo was a dangerous one for both its native inhabitants and hose whom were foolish or unlucky enough to find their way into it. Hollows of various ‘breeds’ walked upon and beneath the harsh terrain, often joining up in numbers or even feasting on each other in a bid for supremacy. But even the deadliest of these cursed souls had since come to bow in fear or respect of the trio of Shinigami which had taken up residence in their lands. Their Arrancars were amongst the strongest of their kind, with the Espada in particular holding rank amongst all others.

With the war between these forces and the forces of Soul Society having already started to stir, it was expected that more ‘outsiders’ would begin to show themselves in these cursed lands. This would hold especially true following a recent series of events in the mortal realm which saw a particular human of interest being taken to these lands at the command of the Shinigami’s own former captain Aizen. With Orihime already being taken in before their lord to begin her new duties at his bequest, the rest of the faction had been on high alert for any attempts from her friends or those of Soul Society at retaking her from their grasp.

It was expected to happen. But perhaps less expected, was whom it would be that was first to show up in the dessert-like terrain to retrieve the stolen human.

“She came alone?!” Belted the large Espada known as Yammy Llargo, as he stood from atop of a distant hill besides another of the surveying Espada whom were told to keep watch for any retaliation from Orihime’s friends.

“Looks like it.” The softer spoke Szayelaporro Granz noted as he watched the lone Shinigami with a touch of twisted fascination, “My, my. She would be a rather… fun, specimen to experiment upon.”

Such musings were cut off by the boisterous Yammy, as he prepared to leap into action and work off some pent up anger in a very deadly fashion, “Bah! You can experiment on what remains after I-“

“Do you two truly have such a death wish on your heads?” The familiar, if unexpected voice came from behind the pair, as both of the Espada froze up with a cool chill down their spine before slowly turning to face the rogue Shinigami. The silver haired male stood there with his usual snake-like smile and eyes narrowed into slits; seemingly unconcerned over the end result of the matter at hand, even as he suggested to the pair whom were seconds away from going in for the kill, “It’s not every day that a Shinigami like this one shows up at our front door. I’m sure Aizen would find her to be of better use as a bargaining chip for keeping our recently acquired guest in line.”

Many of the Espada had never been able to get a full read on Gin Ichimaru, which caused a touch of uneasiness at times in dealing with the Shinigami as he added with that seemingly near perpetual smile, “It could prove unfortunate if such a missed opportunity came to Aizen’s mind the first time she shows reluctance to follow one of his commands.”

While perhaps not directly a threat so much as a possible ‘warning’, the rational used did strike a hint of noticeable fear into the Espada members, as Szayel relented with a touch of annoyance,“…We’ll bring her in alive and unharmed…. mostly.”

With that, the pair quickly flickered away in a swift motion to capture their target, leaving Gin alone atop of the distanced hill to survey their performance. It was only then that the smile which so often dressed itself across the rogue Shinigami’s features began to waiver into a look of concern, as the male watched and wondered why it had to be this particular member of Soul Society whom found her way here first, “Rangiku….”

 

[Higeki]

Various negative emotions swirled around inside the strawberry blonde female's mind as she made her way through the white sand dunes of Hueco Mundo. The expression she wore was completely serious for once. Rangiku Matsumoto typically put on a cheerful façade in front of her Shinigami comrades, but it was all merely an act. Whenever she was alone, those memories resurfaced, and they were accompanied by intense heartache. She had resorted to drinking and flirtatious behavior in order to keep her mind off of the pain, but those were just temporary solutions. Only one person could fill the cold void in her heart, and he was already beyond saving. Gin had betrayed and abandoned her... as well as the rest of the Soul Society (or so she thought).

When she first heard that he and his comrades had kidnapped the substitute Shinigami's friend, Orihime, she couldn't just sit around and wait for orders from her superior. She had to act before she went stir crazy. Thus, she began her solo mission into the hellish world of Hueco Mundo.

I won't let you get away with committing any more crimes, Gin. Rangiku thought to herself, keeping her icy blue eyes focused on the pale ground below her. She still couldn't understand why he was helping Aizen commit so many atrocities. This wasn't the Gin she knew... this was a completely different person. Yet even with that knowledge, she still found herself hopelessly in love with him.

When the two of them were young, he had saved her... and ever since that moment, she yearned to be by his side. However, he always had a tendency to abandon her without informing her of his destination, leaving her clueless, alone, and heartbroken each time. From her perspective, he was like an unattainable star.

The female Shinigami was abruptly snapped away from her thoughts when two figures suddenly appeared before her. A tiny smirk formed on the corners of her lips as she placed a hand over the hilt of her Zanpakuto. "It's about time. I was starting to think I was the only one in here." Strangely enough, she hadn't encountered a single hollow since she initially set foot in Hueco Mundo.

 

[Shadows]

The two Espada members stared down the lone Vice Captain as Szayel gave an amused huff over the Shinigami’s fearless remark and stance. “So you did come here alone to save your friend. Others might argue on whether that makes you brave or foolish, but I would say the latter makes the most sense.” He mused over the situation presented to them as his fingers moved to tap along the frames shaped remains of his hollow mask.

Generally speaking, the Vice Captains of the Gotei 13 weren’t ones to take lightly, but the same could be said for those within the heart of Aizen’s forces, as the pair prepared to move together. “Since we can’t take our time to play with her slowly on the battlefield, let’s go ahead on ending this quickly.” The pink-haired Espada instructed to the larger male; seemingly not interested in a prolonged battle where he wouldn’t be able to bring out his more interesting toys for an experimental test run.

“Fine by me!!” The larger Yammy suddenly bellowed out as he moved with a speed that was surprising for a warrior of his mass. For all of the power and abilities Rangiku held within her buxom body, it went without saying that even most of the Captain’s would find themselves at a disadvantage in facing these two at the same time. Yammy moved without grace, but was precise in aiming for his target as he brought his fist down with enough force to kick up a huge wave of sand even if Rangiku managed to dodge or absorb the impact of the blow.

For his part, Szayel watched on in silence as he evaluated the impending fight between the pair, when a small smile touched upon the corner of his lips when a solution came to mind. He waited for the right opening while Yammy worked about trying to catch up with Rangiku, before bolting forward in a flicker of motion. Not seeming to care on whether he hit Yammy with the next attack, or perhaps assuming that he would be able to endure the dosage that was about to be used, the experimental Szayel appeared before the pair and pulled out a vial of strange orange chemical.

Within a split second, the vial was cracked open at an angle which caused the resulting gas compound to spray out in both of the combatants’ direction. “One of my less creative concoctions, but effective in getting the job done…” Syazel mused before quickly moving out of the way of Yammy’s angry fist, as the brutish Espada demanded to know, “Damn you, Szayelaporro! What did you spray me with?!”

“Calm down. It’s a simple chemical compound made for sapping away the strength of the subject. The dose I used shouldn’t affect you to the extent it will her.” The devious scientist explained with a growing smirk as he looked toward the Shinigami; knowing it was only a matter of seconds until she would feel the immobilizing results of his handiwork while Yammy resumed his unrelenting assault.

 

[Higeki]

"Call it whatever you want." Pulling her Zanpakuto from its sheath, her eyes narrowed. "Either way, I'm going to defeat the two of you, knock some sense into a certain Shinigami, and then take Orihime back." Her determination was unfaltering... she wouldn't be leaving Hueco Mundo until she had completed her mission.

As Yammy's fist came down for the first blow, Rangiku swiftly leapt out of the way, dodging it with ease. "Too slow!" She taunted him before preparing to counterattack. "Growl, Haineko!" She chanted, and in response to those words, the blade of her katana instantly morphed into a cloud of ash. However, moments after her Shikai was unleashed, she noticed an orange mist spreading throughout the area. Deciding to ignore it, she slashed the cloud of ash in Yammy's direction whilst skillfully dodging yet another one of his punches.

A few seconds later, she suddenly felt all the energy being rapidly sucked from her body. "What th-the hell?!" Her movements were becoming slower, and she was just barely able to dodge her opponent's incoming attacks. One of his fists eventually managed to hit her, and she was sent flying nearly twenty feet away. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, she attempted to stand up from the sand dune in which she had landed, but it was no use. Her arms and legs were too weak to cooperate. Moreover, Haineko had returned to its usual form. "D-damn it!" She cursed, growling as she continued her futile struggle to regain her footing.

 

[Shadows]

A satisfied smile spread across Szayel’s face at seeing the Vice Captain starting to spit up blood as the toxins in her system took effect. “See? A much faster and efficient way of dealing with this pest.” The devious Espada remarked to himself as Yammy took advantage of this and delivered an admittedly restrained, yet nonetheless impactful blow across Rangiku’s face.

The strike would prove enough to send her crashing directly into the ground beneath her, with the surrounding sand being blown away by the impact enough to leave the shallow imprint of a crater around her body. Yammy would watch her for a few moments to make sure she was out of fight for now, before turning his head and spitting out a mouthful of blood due to his own dosage of the toxins which seemed to be having a negligible impact on his body. “Still less entertaining than destroying a Shinigami in a full on fight.” The larger Espada complained, before taking another look over Rangiku, in particular the drying blood on her mouth, as he noted, “Not sure if this holds up with our orders.”

The pink-haired Espada seemed to care little on such matters as he gave a shrug while moving in closer to the Vice Captain, “It’s nothing that woman we kidnapped can’t fix when we get her back to a cell.” Moving to stand over the curvy Shinigami who was laid out on her back, Szayel felt a smirk touch upon his lips as he crouched down at her side, before stretching out a hand to pull open her top enough to further reveal her cleavage. “As a scientist, it can be argued that since my work is my passion, it can also be a source of great pleasure.” The male considered as his other hand reach for a small scalpel he’d kept hidden; letting the sharp blade dance along the sides of Rangiku’s breast as he seemed to seriously consider the possibilities if left to his own devices, “But with a test subject like this one to dig into…”

It was then that Gin would suddenly flicker onto the scene as, for a split second, Szayel sensed a killing intent radiating off of the rogue Shinigami. It was enough to make him halt in his actions and snap around with a look of surprise on his features. What he saw, however, was the usual smiling face of Aizen’s devoted follower. Gone as well was that foreboding sense of dread, which Szayel would eventually come to believe as being a mistake on his part, as the silver haired male spoke, “You were a little rougher on her than I told you to be. I’m not sure how Aizen would feel about that.” Despite Gin not appearing to be particularly bothered by the way they handled this, there was something about the way he carried himself at this time which would make Szayel move away of Rangiku, while Yammy continued to watch on from the side.

“But you’re right that the human girl can fix her up. So let’s go ahead on taking in our new prisoner.” The rogue Shinigami suggested, as he hunched down and lifted the woman into his arms with relative ease; taking the time to give the two Espada a parting smile before taking off in a moments’ notice toward the palace. Holding her in his arms as he moved with a swift grace into the heart of the Espada’s headquarters, Gin would gaze down over the unconscious woman with a hint of concern on his features as he constantly needed to stave off the urge to turn around and take her out of here. There were too many eyes on her - on them - at this point for him to make such a move. The best he could do was take Rangiku to a cell and allow for her to be healed until Aizen decided on what, if anything, was to be done with her.

 

[Higeki]

Swaying back and forth on her unsteady legs, Rangiku didn't even notice that Yammy was starting to approach her again. At the last second, her eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of a giant fist flying straight at her... and then everything turned black. Her body slammed down into the sand dune beneath her, creating a human crater that was several inches deep around her figure. She couldn't see anything, hear anything, or feel anything anymore. A large bruise decorated her right cheek where Yammy had nearly broken her jaw.

When Szayel opened up the top of her Shihakusho, she put up absolutely no resistance. Her chest heaved violently with each breath, struggling to force oxygen into her possibly damaged lungs. As the Espada's blade ran along her breast, her flesh was sliced open in certain areas, and crimson droplets emerged from her beautiful, smooth skin.

Although she was unconscious, something seemed to stir inside Rangiku once her body felt itself in Gin's arms. A few seconds later, her eyes opened just a sliver. The blurred figure above her looked quite familiar... especially with that silver hair. It couldn't be, could it? She blinked several times in order to correct her vision. However, no matter how much she tried, she couldn't make her eyes focus... that blow to her head had been a pretty severe one. "G-Gin... why did you...?" As she uttered those words in a barely audible tone, she started to lift a shaky hand to touch the figure's face. However, before her palm had a chance to make contact, she once again lost consciousness. Her eyes closed, and her arm dropped limply over her chest.

Meanwhile, inside Aizen's fortress, Orihime was staring out the window in her quarters. A worried expression was present on her face. She had overheard a few of the Espada talking about an intruder... a Shinigami. Part of her hoped that they had come to rescue her, but the other part of her wanted them to stay as far away as possible. Some of the punishments the Arrancars had been talking about unleashing on their "guest" made her cringe just thinking about it. Her two brown eyes suddenly widened when she noticed Gin returning to the fortress, carrying a familiar woman in his arms. "Rangiku?!" The female Shinigami was one of the last people she expected to see coming to her aid.

 

[Shadows]

The rogue Shinigami had taken notice of Rangiku regaining consciousness along the way and did turn his head enough to look down at her. For the most part, the expression etched across his face had largely been the same as was often seen by those who crossed the enigmatic males’ path. But as her hand briefly reached out for him before losing the strength in her body, there was perhaps a glimpse of something different, of something closer to concern, by the time the world faded back to black for the Vice-Captain.

Such an expression would be long removed, naturally, by the time he returned with her to Aizen’s fortress with their newest prisoner in tow. A few of the Espada, along with their underlings, were out and about as they watched Gin carry in the prisoner. Some sparse words were exchanged, yet most of them either found their attention drifting elsewhere or appeared content in letting the Shinigami be treated so that she would be fresh for when the games began. Rather expectedly, the one who would make Gin fully stop in his tracks was one Sosuke Aizen, as the current ruler of Hueco Mundo stepped forward within the grand hallway with Tosen at his side.

“So. She was the one we were alerted about earlier.” The man responsible for so many of the events leading up to the current string of crisis commented; his eyes looming over Rangiku for a moment, then gazing upward at Gin as the other Shinigami stood patiently a few feet away while holding the woman, “I imagine it came as a surprise to see her as the lone member of the Gotei 13 bold enough to come after the human girl.”

The silver-haired male would stand there with his usual expression – seemingly not too bothered about her arrival one way or the other – as he glanced down at his old friend and noted, “She always did have a strong sense of loyalty to her friends. And it seems that she and the human girl were quite fond of another during her time amongst them.”

Aizen would watch the pair silently for a few seconds; seemingly silently scrutinizing the situation, or perhaps taking in a more direct read on his trusted follower, before acknowledging, “You were correct that we could leverage their bond to our advantage in keeping her in line. The fear of losing a close ally is an ideal manipulation tool.” His eyes lingered over Gin’s features as he stated the last part; finding there to not be a single crack in the former Captain’s cool exterior, until finally he would direct the other Shinigami, “Take her to a cell. The woman will be with her shortly.”

Aizen and Tosen would depart following this, leaving Gin to go about taking Rangiku to one of the cells specially designed for restraining a Shinigami once placed inside of it. Laying her upon a modest cot within the dimmed cell, Gin would reluctantly attach a shackle to her ankle before taking away her Zanpakuto. Looking over her for a few moments, Gin raised a hand to brush aside a few locks of her hair, reflecting on how long it’d been since he had been able to see her up close like they were now. If only it were under different circumstances, the Shinigami mused to himself, before standing up straight and moving to a side of the room when the door for the cell began to open to let in the unique healer they ‘acquired’. “It looks like you have yourself a visitor to keep you company during your stay.” He remarked in his usual tone, smiling at Orihime as the girl entered, while remaining out of her way for now to le the human use her powers.

 

[Higeki]

On instinct, Orihime immediately departed from her quarters and swiftly made her way through a series of corridors. Although she was a captive, she was still allowed to freely roam about the fortress. There were only a few places that were completely off limits to her. I have to see her! I have to make sure she's okay! The young human thought to herself while running as quickly as her legs would carry her. She already knew the place where they'd be keeping the Shinigami as a prisoner.

In just a few minutes, she found herself standing in front of the cell where Rangiku was being held. She cringed slightly as Gin spoke... something about him often sent shivers down her spine. Cautiously walking past the silver-haired man, she stepped up to the other female's cot and dropped to her knees. "I'm so sorry, Rangiku..." She whispered as her eyes became glossy with tears. Raising both of her hands, she closed her eyes and began to concentrate. Moments later, an orange glow started to surround the injured Shinigami's body. Rangiku's cuts and bruises gradually started to vanish, and her breathing eventually returned to normal as well.

When she was finished with her task, Orihime dropped her arms at her sides and slumped forward. "That... should do it..." She remarked in a barely audible tone. Quite a bit of her own energy had been used up whilst she was healing the older female's wounds.

Rangiku began to regain consciousness approximately a minute later. The sound of heavy breathing filled her ears, and her eyes slowly opened once more. Her vision was still blurry at first, but she finally managed to bring her surroundings into focus after blinking several times. Turning her head toward the sound of the breathing, her eyes widened slightly. "H-hey! Are you all right, Kid?!" She quickly sat up and placed a hand on Orihime's shoulder. The human female nodded in response. "I'm fine... I just... need to rest for a bit." The Shinigami's expression briefly changed into one of relief, but it was short lived. Her sapphire eyes began to wander around the cell. "So this must be..." Before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly caught a glimpse of the third figure who was present in the room.

"Gin!" Upon uttering that name, she instantly leapt to her feet... although her legs were still a bit wobbly thanks to Szayel's potion. Instinctively, she reached for her Zanpakuto, only to discover that it wasn't there. I should have known. Without giving it a second thought, she lunged toward Gin, although her movements were slightly awkward due to her weakened legs. Raising her left hand, she slapped the male across the face as her eyes narrowed. "What the hell were you thinking?!" She yelled, tears threatening to release themselves as much as she didn't want them to.

 

[Shadows]

The rogue Shinigami maintained his usual demeanor as he watched with seemingly little stake on how well the healing process went for his old friend and companion. In reality, Gin was watching with considerable interest, and his chest eased with a light breath of relief when Rangiku’s own body began to resume its normal breathing functions. As the human girl finished in her task, the silver-haired male maintained his current positon while noting in his usual tone, “I see Aizen was correct in his calculations of your usefulness. As to be expected.” Inwardly, however, he was thankful to the girl.

Waiting until Rangiku inevitably regained consciousness, a number of thoughts swam through Gin’s mind on how to handle things now that the immediate danger was dealt with. She was still in the heart of the Aizen’s adopted domain, which meant any number of horrible events could go down from here on out. For now, he needed to keep his cards and any emotions held tightly to his chest, for concern of revealing his true hand too early to those around him.

Despite his continued concerns, it was of considerable relief when Rangiku did awaken, as the rogue Shinigami observed silently while she addressed Orihime and gained a grasp on her new surroundings. When the Vice-Captain’s attention became directed toward her old friend, the man would maintain his often seen smile as he spoke in a seemingly calm and deceptively friendly tone, “It was a surprise to see you were, Rangiku.” In her current state, Gin was very easily able to calculate what she was about to do next as she pulled herself to her feet and approached, yet he did nothing to stop it as his childhood friend reached out and slapped him hard across his face.

The blow hurt in a number of ways that nobody else could know of at that moment, but Gin knew he deserved that and far greater for what he’d undoubtedly put her through with his apparent betrayal. Despite her weakened state, the slap was hard enough to make Gin turn his head as his face stung with the reddened mark on his face, as he slowly turned to face her, his usual smile faded for the time being, as he responded in kind to her question itself, “Oh? One could ask the same of you, Rangiku. Coming here on your own ahead of the others seems a rather brash move.”

The tears threatening to flow out of her eyes were heartbreaking for the male. His whole purpose for joining Aizen was largely centered around preventing such a thing from happening, as considered her question and simply stated, “I suppose your coming here and my leaving Soul Society are similar. We both do what we feel we must for the sake of what we feel is right.”

As usual, he was keeping her just enough in the dark. It was something he’d done since they were younger, and he hated it now just as he did then. But more than ever it was a necessary evil, as Gin gave her a familiar smile before suggesting, “For now, I’ll leave the two of you to rest up and get reacquainted with another. We can talk later.” Taking a step away, Rangiku would find, if she attempted to follow, that an invisible barrier would prevent her from leaving the cell.

Specially constructed for holding Shinigami’s outside of the unique signatures of the three rogues, she would once again find herself having to watch him leave for now, as he paused at the doorway and raised a hand to lightly brush his fingertips over where her hand had landed, “...It was nice to feel your touch again.” With that, the door would close behind him, as he ignored anything she may have to say for now, instead heading off to see Aizen and find out for himself what their leader may have in mind for this newest prisoner.