Fission

What a troublesome girl he's been charged with.

Such a fascinating irritant.

In counterpoint to his thoughts came agonised feminine screams in the background. Yes, absolutely fascinating. His smile is firmly affixed even as the bright light of the Hougyouku viciously pierced his eyelids to scorch the room with its intensity. He had warned the girl, in his own way, not to cause trouble – neither to himself (most importantly) or herself. Aizen-sama had switched the girl from the Quartro Espada's charge to his. Gin had been surprised, with a tingling ancillary dose of well-hidden apprehension. Was it a test? Did the former Fifth Division taichou suspect Gin? Naturally, he had accepted his 'precious cargo'.

To be frank – and Gin is never frank, not if he wants to survive – he has not minded Inoue Orihime's presence. She is ephemeral stardust dancing on the far reaches of his peripheral vision.

A subdued, polite "Hello Ichimaru-san".

An unexpected flash of citrus-copper in the twilight corners of Las Noches, behind a pillar, exploring a hallway.

She had been caught red-handed trying to reject the Hougyouku in Aizen's chambers. The fact that she had masked her spiritual pressure to make it past his doorway, sliding past the membrane of the spell guarding Aizen's door, was no mean feat though it was certainly foolish.

"Did you think you could get away with it, Orihime?" came Aizen's beatific voice, gentle as though he is not furious with his prisoner for endangering his greatest weapon against Soul Society. "Such an ungrateful guest you are after all the trouble I went to give you a nice room with a view and three meals a day."

"Aaaaahhhhhhhh. Huh-huh – AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

The prisoner isn't expected to answer. There is no need to. Aizen has gathered all his Espadas and underlings to watch the torture session, a feast for low-life Arrancars, like the one-eyed twins Loly and Menoly, after a cat-and-mouse questioning in a kangaroo court-like setting.

Gin watched, like all the others. Poor girl, writhing in agony on the reflective green tiles and screaming her broken vocal cords out as Aizen leisurely employs Forbidden Incantations one after another with a flick of his fingers. Gin is impressed against his better instincts. Aizen would not have been as vindictive as he is now if Orihime had not achieved a good headway in rejecting the Hougyouku. If she had been caught merely at the threshold of the secluded rooms, which are taboo to enter, Orihime's punishment would have been simply humiliation of a minor sort, nothing half so punitive as the warning put on display right now. Gin's amaranthine eyes surveyed his fellow cutthroats – er comrades. Oh? How interesting. The Sexta Espada was staring at the punishment performance rather intensively, grim jaws (haha get it?) clenched in what must be an uncomfortable fashion. Some distance away, the mad scientist Szayel Aporro Granz is avidly observing the reactions of the girl, cataloguing everything with a deranged grin stretching his face. And finally… ah Quartro, are you watching too?

Ulquiorra Schiffer likewise kept his impassive façade though his verdant eyes never strayed from Orihime's face. Gin wonders if a poke in the side of the Fourth Espada's torso would elicit a switch in focus. More likely, the broken hand of whoever attempts to do that. Not that Gin is willing to try that, thank you very much.

He wonders about his own ability to mute a prisoner's screams to background music. Too many people broken by Aizen no longer affected him. Although with Orihime,the typical antipathy had been perturbed. He firmly reminds himself, internally berating his weakness, at seeing Rangiku, when she was still a child, when they were still both children, struggling on the dirt road when a gang of three shinigami serving Aizen had their way with her. That was the first time Gin had seen the Hougyouku…and the first time, he had ever hated someone.

"I do not believe you have truly learned your lesson Orihime," came the insidiously calm voice. Only sharp brown eyes, no longer framed behind square glasses, belie the fury of the ruler of Las Noches as he descended from his marble throne chair to stand beside the panting girl. Orihime, hair disarrayed from her pained twists on the unyielding floor tiles, sweaty and deathly pale, is on her back, unable to move due to the pain still wracking through her frame.

"How would you like it if you were changed into an Arrancar, Orihime? To be turned against your nakama?" taunted Aizen Sousuke, as he negligently rolled the glowing Hougyouku with slender, deft fingers.The girl shudders. Unable to move away from the approaching menace, she could only watch Aizen helplessly as he towered above her vulnerable form. A scratchy exhale was all she was able to emit. A tongue parched from screaming could not form words. A minute movement of her arm to move away is stopped by Aizen stepping on thin fingers, inducing a muffled whimper of pain.

"Yes, that should be a fitting punishment for you. Orihime, any last words?" More taunts, and sycophantic Loly sniggers in delight at her self-proclaimed rival's demise. Just when the gathered audience thought that the screams could not get any worse…they did.

The Hougyouku's brilliant shine permeates the Hall. Agony makes itself known as the tiny bauble erodes barriers, splitting atoms in a blindingly hot white-blue process that Gin and the others cannot see. Eyes are covered and heads turned away for self-protection as a searing flash exploded throughout the room. The force of the energy expended resembles the Big Bang creation of the universe, causing the meeting table and chairs where the Espada received their orders to smash into the walls, crumbling apart upon impact. Smaller Fraccion members were thrown to the ground.

Gin is astounded. This amount of energy had not been expended even in the creation of Wonderweiss. That had been a simple process of taking Hollowfication to the next stage.Curiosity seizes Gin as he wonders what happened to the girl.

When the afterglow died down, Gin's eyes opens beyond his control, at his surprise, at the punch of shock as he views the sight before him.

There are figures, three standing, one still lying on the floor, breathing rattling harsh intakes of air. Orihime coughed up blood. Alive! She is still alive! Still human! What kind of mental and physical fortitude does that human girl possess to retain her human form and not succumb to an infernal metamorphosis into a Hollow. How had Death not claimed her as Aizen had ordered the Hougyouku to do?

Aizen…Aizen… he is gazing in fascination at the ningen female and the three spectres surrounding her in utter fascination. Everyone in the Hall is in varied degrees of shock.

The smallest figure standing at the bare feet of Orihime is a little girl. Porcelain doll-like in her features, she is completely albino – hair, hands, feet and white dress with two glass flowers at her temples, the small mirror she carries in her tiny hands – except her eyes. They were a familiar toxic Emerald. Gin traces a small sharp exhale to an absolutely immobile Ulquiorra, eyes widened in perceivable shock as he looks first from the child to Orihime.

Gin feels an uncomfortable twinge in the left of his chest as he sees the second figure. Tall. A woman with elfin ears stands proudly in a richly designed silver blue kimono. She holds a fan in her right hand, currently placed at her ruby lips. But it is not the feathers in her black hair which grab his attention, not even the luxurious nine fox tails which flow ethereally behind her. It is her eyes. Gin knew those eyes like the back of his hands. Amaranthine eyes enclosing fury, impatience and cold calculation. Those were his Eyes staring back at him.

At the head of the trio is an enormous creature currently licking and breathing on his Mistress. A magnificent white lion with sharp blue eyes brushes its resplendent mane against Orihime, who is trying to steal air whilst expelling a fluid mixture of saliva and blood. Electric blue eyes of a Pantera mirror the astonishment of all the room's audience.

"How utterly…fascinating," stated Aizen finally. "It would seem that I would still have use of you…Inoue Orihime."

Aizen turned to look at Gin. "Take her back to her chambers, Gin. She is to be fed and kept alive. … There's been a change in plans…" is the ominous command as Aizen swept out of the room, Tousen hurrying after him.

Gin turns back to his charge. The lion is kneeling and angling his head to shift Orihime onto his back, or at least to provide her hand a mane to grip onto. His frustrated growls vibrated the still air of Las Noches.

"Yare, yare" Gin is rather pleased with the attention that Orihime's three new creations give him (he's not interested with the rest of the room's occupants). "Then, let's get you back to your room, Ori-Hi-Me-Chan." Walking towards the lion and ignoring the bared teeth, Gin lifts the exhausted girl, trembling from phantom pains, into his arms.

Forging bonds even with those who wish to remain unbound, unTouched by you. Reviving stirrings of protective feelings, such Human aspects, in Monsters.

"Such a fascinating irritant you are," the Snake told the Star.

A/N Hi minna, I hope you're all well. Blessed Summer has graced us with its appearance at last. Hope to load more stories up before I need to take another hiatus for tests -_-"

Please leave me constructive feedback. I feel rusty after not writing for a while.

Some of you may recognise that I based the albino girl and the fox woman on two similar characters in Inuyasha, Kanna and Kagura. Kanna is so emotionless that she reminded me so much of Ulquiorra when I first saw her. Had her eyes been green instead of pitch black, a resemblance could be drawn between the two. Though I wonder if Ulquiorra would even regard the child as 'his' gets bricked

As for Kagura, the wind sorceress in Inuyasha who had always desired Freedom, I thought it would be nice to have her feature with her younger sister, Kanna. I added the nine tails to her design because foxes or kitsune have nine tails if they are the most powerful. In Bleach, Gin has been associated with mentions of foxes and snakes.

As for the lion, well I like lions and thought a small incorporation of Grimmjow would be nice. After all, he wants freedom from Aizen as well. Had friendship been in the cards, Grimmjow and Orihime might have been supportive allies. (Well, Grimmhime supporters would definitely point to their brief interaction with each other as friendship :) )

I thought it'd be rather interesting to explore the idea of Orihime's soul being affected by the Hougyouku. What if her Soul, under such strain, split into three entities which are reminiscent of the people she has come most closely into contact with? We've seen how Voldemort used Horcruxes to split his soul though the deformation of his face was certainly frightening enough.

Yup, end of Author's Note. ;P

Hope you guys like it and feedback would be greatly appreciated. *hint hint*