In Spite of Apperances

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Something was different.

Okada, being that he wasn't in command of anyone at the moment, had the luxury of time to think about such things. He followed his captain and vice-captain from the middle of the front-line squad, and could not help staring at the two of them, brow deeply furrowed. Yes, something was quite different.

He had kept his head down after Matsumoto-fukutaichou's reprimand – metaphorically speaking, of course; if someone didn't have his eyes up when facing her, he tended to get a solid punch in the head – but that didn't mean that he couldn't observe things. And contrary to popular belief, he was not a complete idiot. His mouth tended to run away with him, was all.

On that morning – it seemed so long ago, but it was only something like three days – he, and most of the others, had awakened to the sound of Matsumoto-fukutaichou yelling at Hitsugaya-taichou. The two hadn't seemed to have been getting along well at all, for all that they each got mad at him for saying something out of line to the other. After that, the tension between them was obvious.

And yet now, here they were, moving as though one. Not once had Matsumoto-fukutaichou raised a whine to Hitsugaya-taichou's orders. And not once had the captain snarled in frustration and snapped at her to shut up. Something between them seemed to have gotten resolved, somehow, though the particulars were beyond Okada.

Not that he had a problem with the two of them getting along. He just wasn't really sure how it had suddenly happened. But so much the better if it resulted in getting them all out of this mess.

Okada frowned, picked up his pace a little to keep his superior officers in sight. They had split up again, this time into the front line and back line, and under orders were searching for a lake. He wasn't quite sure what Hitsugaya-taichou was trying to achieve with this – he didn't seem the relaxing by the water's edge kind of kid – but it was safer for him right now to not question the orders. Especially with the new solidarity between the captain and vice-captain. Jaw frozen shut as well as a punch to the side of the head? He could do without that, thanks.

And so he kept himself in a battle-ready state as commanded, senses cast wide around him in search of any potential threat. His hand rested lightly on his zanpakutou's hilt, which had become disturbingly common for him since he'd been here. Normally, he wasn't so paranoid, and yet his hand constantly strayed to his sword. It didn't help that the sword's spirit kept whirling through his mind, demanding to be let out for "play." Honestly, he didn't know how he had ended up with such a wild zanpakutou; in instances like this, the sword's idea of fun didn't match up to his.

Okada's eyes caught something to his right. It was a bit of a way off, but he could tell well enough from here. He might not have known why they were looking for a lake, but that didn't make him unable to spot one. And he was honestly curious about Hitsugaya-taichou's plans for it. Hopefully, it was something good; the kid had to be pretty impressive to get where he was at his age, but he was still a kid. How well that was going to translate was still very much up in the air.

"Hitsugaya-taichou! To the right," he stated in the most official tone possible, and hoping that it didn't sound like an order. If it did, the captain was going to give him hell later.

Okada gulped as Hitsugaya-taichou's eyes latched onto him for a moment, the familiar yet frightening annoyance emanating from him. Oh, hell, it must have sounded like an order. But then the captain's gaze snapped to the indicated direction, and he nodded. And that was that; he changed direction – Matsumoto-fukutaichou doing so practically simultaneously – and the rest of the group followed suit.

Now that his captain's eyes were elsewhere, Okada sagged in relief. For such a little guy, Hitsugaya-taichou had one hell of a scary face when he wanted to. Hopefully, Okada wouldn't find himself in trouble later. He was honestly just trying to be helpful and do his duty.

He ended up having to do a quick shunpo to arrive at their destination within a few seconds of his superiors. Maybe they were quick enough without it, but he was not. The rest of the team would follow shortly, he was sure.

Uncharacteristically silent, he took in the surroundings. The wide, flat plain, dotted with trees in the distance reminded him all too clearly of the lake where he and his squad had been attacked. Okada shifted uncomfortably and kept his eyes on the ground. Some of his people had died there, while he had been unable to do anything to stop it. While he could take some consolation that a few of them had survived, that didn't change the fact that lives had still been lost. When they got back home, he was going to have to pound down a few drinks. He'd never dealt well with deaths in his squad.

"So, when do we get to find out what this is all about, Toushirou-kun?" Matsumoto-fukutaichou asked.

Despite himself, Okada felt his lips quirk up into a small smile. Oh, how he would have loved to be able to get away with calling the captain by such a familiar name. But between the short jokes and the head-patting, he was well aware that he wasn't in a position to get away with anything. And he'd never addressed any captain with anything besides his or her title; he wasn't quite that suicidal.

Hitsugaya-taichou let out a quiet huff, probably in response to the name. "I'm not starting anything off until everyone's here; I don't want a situation like last time. Okada." Here, Hitsugaya-taichou turned to him, expression stern, but not scathing. "Signal the back line squad. We're not making a further move until they get here."

Okada nodded once. "Right, sir."

He might have laughed at the fact that Hitsugaya-taichou blinked at his simple acceptance. Seriously, though, Okada knew very well how to follow orders. This wasn't exactly a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. But he kept his amusement to himself, and raised one palm to the air as the rest of their squad finally caught up to them. Not even bothering with an incantation, he fired a shakkahou into the sky, where it exploded like a firework.

The rest of the team should be along shortly.

If he wanted to, Gin could have considered the way that people skittered out of his path to be rude. After all, doing something like that could hurt self-esteem, and that was just downright mean. People were just so thoughtless these days. Yes, he could have seen it that way if he wanted to. But instead, he found it incredibly amusing. So disturbed by him, and yet not fleeing in terror from their own captain? It was hilarious.

Security clearance meant little when one was a captain, especially a captain that others tried to avoid at all costs. So it was really no trouble to gain access to the laboratories of the Twelfth Division, even though Kurotsuchi actively discouraged visitors. Downright shame, that. Visitors could be fun. Though he didn't think that Kurotsuchi was going to find his visit entertaining, especially if he caught on to what it was really about. Either way, the Twelfth Division captain was not going to be a happy man when this was over. Or a happy whatever-he-was. Gin wasn't sure if he could even be called human anymore, with all of the freaky stuff that he had done to himself.

He wandered idly down the halls, periodically popping his head into a laboratory just to poke a little fun at the scientists working there. The quivering fear from some, and the red-faced irritation from others made his constant grin widen ever more. He could have just sensed Kurotsuchi's reiatsu and gone straight to him, but where was the fun in that? Aizen-taichou may have asked him to come here for a specific purpose, but the man knew better than to expect he wouldn't indulge in a little extra amusement along the way.

Ah, a closed door at last. That would be where Kurotsuchi was; he didn't like to share his work with the general public. What a selfish guy. Though any information he might get on the experimental Hollows had the potential to be troublesome whether he shared his findings or not. Hence why Gin had been sent here: to get rid of the evidence. Taking shots at the Twelfth Division captain was just a bonus.

Gin pried the door open with a certain amount of effort – closed and locked, did Kurotsuchi trust no one? What a shame – and grinned brightly as he entered the private laboratory. And that grin only widened when Kurotsuchi looked over his shoulder and sent him a scathing glare.

"Well, good afternoon to ya, too, Twelfth captain!" he said cheerfully, then titled his head to one side. "Ya know, that's a pretty rude way to greet a guest. Nobody's gonna come by if ya ain't acting nicer than this."

Somehow, Kurotsuchi's scowl managed to deepen. "And good guests do not typically barge their way into locked rooms. Do not lecture me on politeness, Ichimaru. What do you want?"

Gin only paid a minimum of attention to his words, folding his hands behind his back and rocking on his heels like a small child. His gaze swept across the room, trying to find where Kurotsuchi was storing the samples of Hollow blood that Aizen-taichou was certain he had. Surely they would be labeled; scientist types tended to be meticulous about that kind of thing. Gin himself couldn't stand the idea of being meticulous about records, which was why his office was an utter mess. That, and it was fun to watch Izuru try to make sense of where everything was.

At last, he brought his attention back to Kurotsuchi. "Well, that's not nice, accusing me of bein' bad company. I like to think I'm a pretty pleasant fellow. And do I need an excuse to just drop by and visit a fellow captain?"

"What you like to think and reality don't coincide, Ichimaru." Kurotsuchi's voice took on a sharper edge. "And yes, you do need an excuse. Especially for coming to see me. Now, I ask you again: what do you want?"

Gin took a few steps further into the laboratory, rubbing his head bashfully. "Ya don't have to be so mean about it, ya know. And I already said that I just came to visit. Ya shouldn't be repeatin' questions people have already given answers to. Makes ya sound like yer either deaf or senile." He took another quick sweep of the room. Nothing yet that could indicate what he wanted. Did Kurotsuchi not keep them anywhere visible? "So, what'cha up to?"

Kurotsuchi snorted and turned back to whatever he was doing. "What I've currently tasked myself with is none of your business. If you didn't come here for anything productive, then get out."

At this, Gin's smile widened a little. Oh, wasn't that nice? If he had something productive to do here, then he could stay. How delightful of Kurotsuchi to give him such permission. Finding and destroying any possible evidence against Aizen-taichou was very productive, after all. It was so nice to know that he was welcome.

He made his way over to a nearby shelf, taking in the various jars and boxes placed there. Every now and then, he peered into one of the jars, eyebrows rising in delight at the ones that at least resembled organs. Stored for posterity. How wonderful. He scanned the labels on the boxes, still not finding what he was looking for. His features momentarily formed into a pout. Kurotsuchi was making this harder than it had to be.

But his smile returned as he picked up one of the jars, turning it around to get a view of all the angles. Was that a kidney? It certainly looked like one. Oh, dear, who had Kurotsuchi taken apart to get that? Must have been awfully painful for the poor fellow, assuming that he had been alive at the time. Perhaps he hadn't been. Then again, Kurotsuchi wasn't exactly the nicest guy out there; it was certainly possible that he had harvested the organ from a living – and conscious – body. It would have been the way that Gin would have done it.

Abruptly, the jar was snatched out of his hands and he looked up to see Kurotsuchi looking particularly annoyed. Really, it was almost too easy to get a good reaction out of the guy. Still not as fun as the reactions he got out of Rangiku's new little captain, though; watching that boy try to maintain his dignity made him want to fall down laughing. It was so cute.

Would be a shame if the kid died, really. And Rangiku . . . For a split second, he frowned. If Rangiku died, Aizen-taichou would have that much more to pay for when the time finally came.

"I thought I told you to get out," Kurotsuchi snapped as he carried the jar over to the table where he was working. Oh, did he need it for something, then? "And don't touch anything else. I don't need clumsy fools manhandling any important resources. There is a reason that I work alone, Ichimaru."

Gin wouldn't have left at this point even if he didn't have any orders. What did Kurotsuchi need to use that kidney for? The curiosity was too much for him to stifle – not that he tried very hard. He simply had to know what use a dissected body part was going to be marshaled for, and he wasn't leaving before he discovered this.

So he stepped up behind Kurotsuchi, and peered over his shoulder in very obvious fashion. Might as well use the opportunity to bother him even more, even if it were not the entirety of his intent. And Gin lifted his brows at the sight on the table before him. Well, that would explain why he needed that kidney, then. Such a lovely, bloody mess of a person on the table.

"You said I only had to leave if I had nothin' productive to do," he replied as his smile widened. "My, my, those are some nasty little injuries on her, ain't they? What happened to your pretty vice-captain, Twelfth captain? How awful!"

Nemu seemed to be unconscious – or deactivated, or whatever; was she even a person? – and simply lay motionless on the table. Blood stained her chin, and her torso was cut open, exposing her inner workings to the open air. Not that the right kidney seemed to be doing much besides bleeding, what with that hole in it, and all. Seemed that she was in the process of getting a transplant.

"What happens to my creations is no business of yours." Kurotsuchi didn't even favour him with a glare this time. That was no fun. "And you've yet to prove that you are here for anything productive. My edict still stands."

Gin shrugged, and returned his eyes to scanning the shelves for his target. Surely, if Kurotsuchi had those samples he would keep them here, in his own private laboratory; he wouldn't have wanted some low-level schmuck getting ahold of them. After all, look at the little fit he threw at a fellow captain for something so minor as admiring an internal organ.

Oh. Gin paused, looking over his shoulder, his gaze finally settling on something promising. On a middle shelf sat a box with yesterday's date printed on the label, and some really long number written below it. A project number, or something? Gin didn't know, and frankly didn't care. The point was, Kurotsuchi would have taken the blood samples yesterday, after Nemu and Hinamori had returned from their scouting mission. So that could well be the object of his search, right there. Now he just needed to figure out a way to destroy it.

"That's mean. I can't be concerned for the welfare of a young lady?" Gin folded his hands into the sleeves of his shihakushou, and shook his head. "Sad thing, that. Even sadder that keeping someone company isn't considered productive, these days. Goodness, what's the world comin' to? C'mon, Twelfth captain, don't be part of the problem. Show a little hospitality."

Clearly, one thing or another that Gin had said struck home – or Kurotsuchi was finally sick of dealing with him, which was also a possibility – because Kurotsuchi silently elbowed him in the stomach. It might have been intended to simply cut off his speech, but Gin knew an opportunity when it hit him. Literally, in this particular case.

He stumbled backward at the blow, making certain to crash into the shelves on the wall. His shoulders smarted when he hit the shelf, but when he felt the structure give way under his weight, he could not bring himself to be bothered by the pain. So far, so good. With an undignified thump, he hit the ground, instinctively bringing one arm up to shield his head from the plummeting scientific paraphernalia. He kind of needed to stay conscious to finish off this little escapade.

Once various nasty objects stopped raining down upon him, he swept his gaze around the mess he'd created. It was a perfectly natural reaction, and not at all contrived – because who wouldn't look around after something like this happened? – but it also allowed him to see if his guess had been correct. Now what had Aizen-taichou said the samples would look like? Ah, yes. Slides. And lo and behold, several of them had scattered onto the floor, each with a telltale dollop of red in the centre. Gin knew blood when he saw it.

"What have you done?" Kurotsuchi's voice was somewhere in between a shout and a shriek He stood over him, literally quivering in fury. "You clumsy buffoon! Do you realize how much you've ruined?"

In point of fact, Gin didn't. He was, however, sure that it must have been quite a lot, considering how upset his host was. Well, so much the better. It might have been part of Gin's job to look suspicious, but having the blood samples be the only thing destroyed would have been too much of a coincidence for anyone to pass off as his usual questionable behaviour. So the more research destroyed, the better.

Gin adopted a put-upon expression. "What're ya so mad at me for, Twelfth captain? I mean, you were the one that hit me; I tried to keep my balance. Just 'cause I didn't manage it doesn't make this my fault." He forcefully stopped a grin from forming on his face as Kurotsuchi nearly choked on this explanation. "It really doesn't reflect well on ya as a captain to go blamin' other people for yer own mistakes."

Now he had to stifle a laugh as Kurotsuchi squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to rein in his temper. On one of his own people, Kurotsuchi would not have hesitated to mete out punishment. But Gin was of another division, and a captain at that; there would be consequences for taking such deliberate action against him. So Gin took the opportunity to palm a few of the slides, since Aizen-taichou needed a couple for his own research, and tuck them into a pocket on the inside of his haori.

Kurotsuchi's eyes snapped open into a very impressive glare that would have terrified almost anyone else. "I didn't strike you as hard as all that! If you had any co-ordination at all, this would not have happened. Now get out of my sight; you've destroyed enough!"

No, Gin had not destroyed enough. Not yet. If he could manage another distraction, he could quietly muster up a very weak kidou to incinerate the rest of the evidence. Various dark powders lay spilled around him, anyway; the presence of ash would not appear out of place.

"Now, see, there ya go again," Gin continued innocently. What to distract him with? Oh. That might work. "Besides, should ya be leavin' your pretty vice-captain all opened up like that? Isn't that bad for the insides?"

Kurotsuchi just scoffed. "Nemu is an imbecile, but she is still one of my creations. Do not insult me by saying that something so mundane will damage a creature of mine. I have designed her better than that."

Well, that didn't work at all. Gin was going to have to come up with something quickly, before he ran out of excuses to stay here any longer. He could only get away with things for so long before it was better to just ease off. That point hadn't been reached, but it was fast approaching. So, prompting attention to the vice-captain didn't work. What could he try next?

The situation was suddenly taken out of his hands. Through the door flapped a Hell Butterfly, no doubt having woven impressively through the Twelfth's corridors. As soon as Kurotsuchi's attention flitted over to it, Gin poised his hand over the remaining slides, and let free a quick, weak kidou. In that instant, the slides flashed into ash, anything potentially incriminating to Aizen-taichou now lost to the world.

Mission accomplished.

Kurotsuchi ruthlessly banished the Hell Butterfly, nearly smacking the poor little thing against the wall. "At a time like this! Doesn't that old man realize that I have important things to do here?" He glared down at Gin. "Even more of them, thanks to you. Stand up, Ichimaru. The Captain Commander has called another emergency captains' meeting. Feel lucky for the timing."

Gin allowed his smile to come back now. How wonderfully convenient; it would be a while before Kurotsuchi even knew what all was destroyed. Though it was sort of too bad, too; he would have loved to hear the man complain about his lost research at the meeting. Perhaps another time.

He climbed to his feet and dusted himself off, counting himself lucky that nothing excessively gooey or gross had spilled onto him. "Oh, trust me, Twelfth captain. I do feel lucky. Very lucky indeed." Gin stepped around Kurotsuchi. "Really am sorry about the mess, though. And don't worry; I can show myself out."

Oh, what he would have given to be able to capture the reaction on Kurotsuchi's face. That kind of outright, baffled rage was just too precious for words. He would have treasured that look for years to come, if he could have. Well, maybe he could anyway; it wasn't as though he'd be forgetting it anytime soon.

Gin very nearly skipped down the corridor on his way to the meeting.

She was almost impressed with how quickly all of the captains had convened. Granted, an emergency summons tended to get them all together more quickly, but this went beyond even that. And the meeting itself had been called in greater haste than she had expected.

Unohana stood in her designated place between Soifon-taichou and Kuchiki-taichou, hands folded in front of her as per usual. She had been somewhat surprised when she had received the return message from Yamamoto-soutaichou stating that he trusted her judgement on the matter and that the captains were to assemble immediately. And that she would have the floor to explain her findings once the meeting began.

Kurotsuchi-taichou was the last to arrive, which was not terribly uncommon given how little he tolerated being drawn away from his research. But as he took his place, Unohana noticed him throw a particularly venomous glare in Ichimaru-taichou's direction. It seemed an unusually strong reaction to the other man's presence. Ichimaru-taichou must have done something that had upset him recently.

Unohana's attention turned back to Yamamoto-soutaichou as he thumped his cane onto the floor to signal the beginning of the meeting. Any such ponderings of her fellow captains' moods could well wait until they had dealt with the situation at hand.

"We shall waste no time on further formalities," Yamamoto-soutaichou began. "Time may well be crucial. Unohana-taichou. Your findings and recommendations."

His gaze did not soften at all when he rested it on her, and yet Unohana felt comforted all the same. She inclined her head in a respectful nod before she spoke. "I of course need to inform no one of the recent casualties among our ranks; most of us have lost at least a few." Unohana noticed a few pairs of eyes glaze over at her lead-in, and she steeled the expression in her eyes; they would treat this information with the gravity that it deserved. "Even more recently, a survivor of these Hollows fell under attack by an unseen force within the Fourth, and despite all efforts suddenly suffered a fatal injury. There was no trace of anything in the room."

"Ha!" This came from Zaraki-taichou, who regarded her with a most inappropriate expression of amusement. "So the master healer couldn't do shit, huh? Maybe you needed to try a little harder to kill whatever was doing this."

The quiet in the room suddenly took a stunned quality, with Kyouraku-taichou and Ukitake-taichou looking by far the most nervous of anyone. Though Yamamoto-soutaichou generally called order to the meetings when something of his nature happened, he did not do so here. He never interceded on her behalf, knowing full well that she could handle herself more than adequately.

Unohana smiled. "I am afraid that it was not that simple, Zaraki-taichou, else it would have been done. No threat would pass through the Fourth that I would not deal with myself." She held the smile for a moment, until Zaraki-taichou blinked in confusion, shifted his gaze a little, then fell silent. Much better. "Now. Just yesterday, another patient seemed primed to suffer the same fate. But this time, I could feel the threat as I touched the man's blood. And though the threat vanished, it was well before I withdrew, or cleaned the hand. Something warded it off. Perhaps within the man's own mind."

After a moment, Aizen-taichou nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, such things have happened before, have they not? An enemy implanted within the mind." He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Not an easy foe to defeat, then. So this is what afflicts Hitsugaya-taichou, as well. We must remedy this as soon as possible, especially if it is something that might yet strike down a captain."

"Destroy the source, and you destroy the effect," Unohana agreed. "Minazuki has said as much, and I concur with his logic. But we have destroyed some of these Hollows before, and yet no shinigami has recovered from the comatose state. This leads me to believe that they are not the true cause. They are being directed by another, somewhere out of sight."

Unohana blinked, genuinely surprised, when Soifon-taichou huffed loudly and crossed her arms, glaring at nothing in particular. Even that much was rare for her at meetings, given her quiet and obedient nature, but this time she also spoke without being prompted.

"So the commander hides behind his lessers?" she asked bitterly. "Disgusting. A real commander neither hides nor runs from his duty. Though we are speaking of a Hollow, and they haven't the sense to know such basic things." Her eyes cut briefly to Yamamoto-soutaichou, but she said nothing more.

The Captain Commander gave no indication that he had noticed this look; his face remained as stern as ever, hands folded on top of his cane. "We've enough information to act. I grant Soifon-taichou her wish of tracking and slaying this Hollow, but I highly recommend that she go in the presence of someone who has already encountered them. Have you anyone to recommend, Aizen-taichou, Kurotsuchi-taichou?"

Unohana watched Soifon-taichou's face at these orders. So briefly that it would have gone unnoticed by someone less observant, rebellion took over her countenance. At the heart of the matter, Soifon-taichou was insecure, desperate to show that she was every bit the equal or even superior of her former mentor. Hence the insinuation that she needed help on this mission was a heavy blow to her. But then her features settled back into their usual frown, and she voiced no protest.

"Hmph." Kurotsuchi-taichou snorted. "I'll not have any of my division part of an expedition that will bring destruction without research behind it. Go on ahead with it if you insist, but you will have no help from me."

Aizen-taichou gave a long-suffering sigh at these words, but when he spoke, he said nothing of his fellow captain's disagreeable statements. "I would offer my vice-captain to be of aid, Captain Commander. She has battled one of these Hollows before, and believes that she knows their origin point. If their commander is to be anywhere, it is there."

"Yes, your vice-captain is so very capable of destroying things, isn't she?" Kurotsuchi-taichou snapped. "Only fitting that you send her when those are the official orders this time, as opposed to the last."

Yamamoto-soutaichou slammed the butt of his cane onto the floor, the echoes shaking the wood beneath their feet. "That's enough, Kurotsuchi-taichou. There is no excuse for this behaviour." He turned his eyes back to Aizen-taichou. "Have your vice-captain briefed and sent to the West Gate within the hour to meet with Soifon-taichou. Dismissed."

As the captains dispersed, Unohana allowed herself a small, genuine smile. Before much longer, the threat would be resolved. Soifon-taichou and Hinamori-fukutaichou would play their part, and Unohana would play hers.

She slid into shunpo to return to the Fourth. Today, for a change, it was as much the front line as the field.