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"Ara... such a big gathering, is all this just for me?" Gin's voice slipped lightly across the chamber, smooth and unhurried, as he entered with a deliberate, unbothered gait that contrasted sharply with the tension that weighed down the Central Meeting Hall. His trademark smile, that narrow-eyed and unreadable curve of lips that concealed far more than it ever revealed, sat comfortably on his face like a porcelain mask worn too long to be noticed.
Passing by Su Li without missing a beat, Gin lifted one hand in a slow, lazy wave, as though greeting an old friend on a morning stroll rather than appearing before a tribunal of captains. "Ah, Captain Su Li, imagine that—we meet again so soon; fortune seems to have quite the sense of humor, doesn't it?"
His tone hovered on the edge of playfulness, void of gravity, as though he hadn't noticed the weight pressing on the room or the eyes burning into his back. Yet before Su Li could return the greeting, Zaraki Kenpachi's voice thundered through the hall, slicing through the murk like a blade through cloth.
"Cut the act, Gin—you really think we're all gathered here just to admire that creepy smile of yours?" Kenpachi stepped forward with a predator's ease, the faint stir of his reiatsu sending cold prickles across the floor as he fixed Gin with an unblinking glare beneath his wild mane. "You went out on your own to handle the travel disaster, didn't you? And now you come back grinning like nothing happened, even though you let them slip away?"
His massive frame leaned in, shadow engulfing Gin like a blade raised high and ready to fall. "You wanna explain how a Captain of the Third Division couldn't finish the job, or do you think we're fools too?"
Kenpachi's anger wasn't only irritation at Gin's behavior; it stemmed from a deeper frustration that he, too, had wanted to face the invaders himself, only to be told the matter had already been handled—badly, as it turned out. Gin's exaggerated sigh, laced with false regret, only fueled the flames.
"Unlucky, I guess. I thought they were finished, but apparently, their luck's just better than mine this time around." The half-hearted apology floated out of his mouth as though detached from consequence.
Kenpachi's brow twitched, not with confusion, but with growing contempt. "So what—you let them walk out the door because you couldn't be bothered to check?"
Spreading his hands with a shrug that practically oozed nonchalance, Gin continued with the same slippery tone. "Didn't expect any survivors after the strike. Then Captain Su Li showed up, we had a brief exchange—nothing major. By the time I turned around, they'd already vanished, so technically speaking, I never really had the chance to finish what I started."
Turning his eyes on Su Li, Gin's smile sharpened with mock innocence, feigning humility. "Can't really blame me for that now, can you?"
The weight of Kenpachi's stare shifted instantly to Su Li, hard and pointed as a drawn sword. "That true?" he asked, though the edge in his voice made it clear the answer had better be.
Su Li's reply came evenly, his nod slight but unwavering. "Yes, Gin isn't lying about that."
Kenpachi's scowl deepened, though before he could press the point further, a dry snort rose from the far left, where Kurotsuchi Mayuri stood with arms crossed and a sneer tugging at his lips. "A captain fails to determine whether the enemy is dead or alive after combat—and we're supposed to overlook that? What are you, blind or just incompetent?"
He tilted his head as though studying a curious microbe beneath a lens, every movement dripping disdain. "Or maybe you knew they were alive and just chose to let them go? That would explain your failure more cleanly."
Gin's expression didn't change, his smile unfazed as always. "Ah, Captain Kurotsuchi, you make it sound like I'm harboring traitorous intent—but surely you know me better than that."
Mayuri's retort snapped back with venomous certainty. "That's precisely what I'm implying."
Gin, keeping the grin glued to his face, gestured toward Su Li again. "But Captain Su Li was there and saw me deliver a full-strength blow. I wasn't exactly holding back, was I?"
Su Li met his eyes with calm detachment, offering a nod. "It was a clean strike—solid and well-executed."
Yet the affirmation did nothing to calm the room; Kenpachi scoffed loudly while Mayuri muttered something unintelligible under his breath, his sneer deepening. From behind them, Hitsugaya's cold gaze settled on Su Li, eyes like ice behind glass. "Then why didn't the two of you pursue together? With your combined strength, eliminating the travel disaster should've been trivial. Are we to believe both of you just... missed them?"
The accusation hovered like frost in the air, sharp and accusing. And then, from the far end of the chamber, Aizen's voice entered the space like a whisper through silk—calm, deliberate, and heavy with implication. "It's a fair question," he said, and suddenly every eye in the room turned on Su Li.
Gin had always been slippery, unpredictable—a wild card whose loyalty was at best ambiguous. But Su Li? He was methodical, composed, the kind of man who didn't overlook details or forget protocol. Which made his silence more troubling than Gin's excuses.
With the entire room poised like blades, Su Li exhaled softly and pinched the bridge of his nose, his voice emerging with a touch of reluctant humor. "I had a lot on my mind this morning—something personal. I was distracted, and my focus... wasn't where it needed to be."
The answer landed like a dull blade, blunt and unexpected, eliciting gasps from across the chamber.
"You call that an excuse?!" Kenpachi and Mayuri's voices rose together in outrage, each laced with different shades of fury.
Aizen's brow furrowed slightly as he exchanged a glance with Hitsugaya, whose jaw clenched tighter by the second. From her place at the rear, Unohana watched Su Li with an unreadable calm, while Kyoraku tilted his hat down over his eyes, gaze hidden.
The atmosphere began to fracture, sharp and volatile.
And then it broke—Boom.
The floor shook as Yamamoto Genryūsai's staff struck the stone with a thunderous crash, commanding immediate silence. The Head Captain's voice rumbled with ageless authority, shaking the walls more effectively than any display of reiatsu. "This bickering is disgraceful—do you all intend to tarnish the honor of the Gotei Thirteen with your squabbling?"
Kenpachi and Mayuri backed down instantly, retreating to their places in the line like chastened students before a furious instructor. No one dared meet the Head Captain's gaze, save for Gin himself, who stood as relaxed as ever. Yamamoto turned his piercing stare toward him.
"Ichimaru, you acted without receiving orders. You failed to eliminate the enemy, and worse, allowed them to flee. These actions constitute a direct failure of your duties as captain—do you deny this?"
Gin's eyes didn't flicker, and his voice held no edge of defense. "No, sir. I have nothing to say."
Even among the captains, murmurs and gasps passed between those who'd expected some form of protest. Yamamoto's gaze narrowed, voice hardening further. "Are you aware of the gravity of your admission?"
Still smiling faintly, Gin gave a mild shrug. "I know what I did—or didn't do—and I have no interest in pretending otherwise."
Silence returned like a cold wind. Yamamoto's eyes lingered on Gin for a long moment before shifting toward Su Li, though now his expression had changed. No longer simply stern, his gaze held calculation—scrutiny sharpened to a razor's edge.
"And you, Su Li—you arrived at the scene second, yet failed to assess the enemy's condition and allowed them to escape. This, too, is dereliction of duty. Do you offer any defense for your failure?"
Su Li raised his head and answered evenly, his tone free of apology or protest. "I do not."
The sharp inhale of stunned breath swept through the hall like a gust of wind. Even Gin turned slightly, one brow arching. Yamamoto's eyes widened, not in shock, but in something quieter—disbelief, perhaps disappointment, something colder than rage.
"You mean to accept this charge without resistance?"
Su Li nodded once, shoulders square. "It was my oversight. I won't justify it with excuses."
Though his words echoed Gin's almost perfectly, the weight behind them was different—no charm, no detachment—just steady resolve. Across the room, captains exchanged uncertain glances, the suspicion thickening like smoke.
Two powerful captains. Both brilliant. Both respected. Both unrepentant. And now, both—unmistakably—suspicious.
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