Why I Follow Him

Chapter 1

A/N: The answer to the question Rangiku most wants to know about Gin. From Chapter 412. Gin's POV. Diverges from the manga at chapter 414.

My first fanfic, so please be kind!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

Rangiku stood there, looking more haggard than I'd ever seen her, confronting us on the street in Karakura Town. In a moment I knew she would say something that I wouldn't want to hear. I picked her up and flash-stepped away with a mumbled excuse to Aizen-sama. I knew he was watching me, but he didn't stop me.

When I was out of earshot, I stopped and threw her down on a rooftop.

She glared at me. "Why, Gin? Why do you follow Aizen?"

I looked at her. I couldn't tell her. There were so many things I could never tell her. When Rangiku and I were still kids, she had no inkling of the things I did, the crimes I committed to keep us safe. Life on the Rukongai streets was brutal, but I managed to shield her from some of it. But I never wanted her to know. All I knew is that I had to get stronger so I could protect us both. The only safety lay in strength and power.

So I entered the Shinigami Academy, and my life changed. But despite all the honors and accolades I received in class, the other students still looked down on me as a street kid. They picked fights with me at first; then after I had wiped the floor with many of them, they fell back on name-calling and innuendo. The more the teachers called me a genius, the more the students hated me.

I didn't care. When I smile, no one knows what I'm thinking.

Then I was assigned to the Fifth Division. I had heard it was a comfortable post; the captain was a clown and the lieutenant a nice guy, a pushover. Not so big on discipline. Suited me fine.

That night the third seat of the division followed me out of the barracks. I waited until he had trailed me to a dark field, then I turned to face him.

I could sense anger in his reiatsu. He was ready to fight. Well, so was I. "Why does some Rukongai street kid get a seated position when my brother was passed over?"

I said nothing. I smiled.

He glared and drew his zanpakutou. "Let's see how good you really are."

There was a movement in the shadows. Fifth Division Lieutenant Aizen Sousuke stepped into the moonlight. The third seat gasped, seeing how it must have looked, a grown man drawing his sword on a child (I loved being a child – you could get away with so much). "My humble apologies, sir!"

I sighed inwardly. This had happened before. Now there would be the barked orders, the scolding that the shinigami officers seemed to think was necessary to maintain discipline… a public apology from the man… followed by another attack in private.

But Aizen only said quietly, "No, please don't let me stop you." He looked at me. "You want to fight, don't you."

Surprised, I nodded.

He looked back at the third seat. "Please, go ahead." Then he paused, and I thought I saw a glint in those mild eyes, but I dismissed it as a trick of the moonlight. "As a matter of fact, please don't hold back. Let's not make this just a sparring match."

I looked at him, my smile faltering. Was he just telling us to fight to the death? He returned my gaze and nodded slightly. His brown eyes seemed almost menacing behind his glasses.

Well. This was an unexpected bonus. I smiled again and glanced back at my opponent, who was looking startled. Then I drew Shinsou.

The fight was over rapidly and soon the man lay on the ground.

Aizen stepped forward. "Impressive," he said softly. "You're even better than the rumors suggest."

I shrugged.

"Could you perhaps," he said, "tell me your name one more time?"

I threw back my head proudly. "Gin. Ichimaru Gin."

"What did you think of our third seat?"

"Ah, he was pathetic. Not even worth mentionin'."

Aizen smiled at that, and it was not the kind, friendly smile I'd seen in class and out on the training field. "Is that so?" His voice sounded deeper and more resonant than I remembered. I felt a thrill go down my spine. "That's wonderful to hear."

XxXxXxX

After that he would often send for me, first for private training sessions where he taught me special techniques and cautiously probed my ethics. He hinted at forbidden knowledge that could be mine if I agreed to work with him. I assented eagerly to all he said, promised him my silence (promises are easy to make), and learned. I got stronger.

Soon he was sending me out on small errands he wanted done quietly. I learned he had a network of agents and informants throughout Soul Society. I gathered he was heavily involved in the politics of the Gotei 13, although he said almost nothing. I quickly learned that he did not like inquisitiveness. When he saw that I obeyed his orders without question, he gave me one of his rare true smiles, and sent me out on other, bloodier missions. I became his best assassin.

But still, I didn't trust him fully. I knew that I could learn from him, but one thing I had learned well from observing criminals in the Rukongai: they always got caught eventually. The more successful they were, the greedier they got. They went for bolder and bigger crimes, cocky with their previous successes, and then one day they overstepped the line, angered someone with too much power.

Then they were dead.

I saw Aizen was doing the same thing. He was even more eager for power than I was, experimenting with forbidden techniques, trying more and more dangerous methods to increase his abilities. He never explained anything to me, and I never asked for any information. I just watched him carefully. When he started experimenting on humans, I was secretly thrilled, although Tousen Kaname, his highest ranking ally, was clearly nervous about the whole process.

Life was never boring around Aizen.

But I knew no one would really care if a few lowly denizens of the 80th district disappeared. Certainly when I had grown up there, deaths were commonplace, and the shinigami never investigated.

It was a completely different story when Aizen decided he needed to test his process out on captain-class shinigami. Lieutenant Tousen argued at length, and even I wondered if this was it for Aizen. I thought about how I would run if he crossed the line and got caught. But it was too exciting to stop. Like a moth to a flame, I knew I was going to get burned – but I couldn't look away from Aizen's face, his intense, deep brown eyes, as he spoke so softly of power, death, and betrayal.

(to be continued)