Demons do not have horns.
A demon that intends to deceive and lead people astray will cast aside every visual element typically associated with evil, appearing instead in a form of breathtaking beauty.
A sharp, pointed tail becomes a petite backside; bat-like wings become delicate, slender shoulders; dark, scaled skin becomes the soft touch of white silk. And that vicious, mocking laughter is hidden behind the mask of a pure, innocent maiden who makes everyone turn their heads in admiration.
Gin Ichimaru had learned this terrifying truth over the last fifty years.
『—How long have you been watching?』
The first time he saw her was in the monitoring room of their temporary base in Hueco Mundo.
He had been working as a double agent under Sosuke Aizen for sixty years. One day, his superior mentioned an interesting girl at the Spiritual Arts Academy, and together they began to observe the female student.
The student—Momo Hinamori—was a lovely girl. But despite her appearance, she was fundamentally different from any Soul Reaper they had ever known. It wasn't her race; it was her perspective. She possessed a maddeningly objective "bird's-eye view" and knowledge she couldn't possibly have obtained. Her spirit was not that of a "person."
In every word, gesture, and attitude, Gin felt it—the sensation that she was looking down at them through a screen, just as he had been doing to her. Momo Hinamori was a demon in the guise of a girl, radiating an unsettling aura.
『I won't let you go to waste. From today on... you are my comrade.』
Aizen had taken a profound liking to her. His dark eyes, which usually looked upon the world with a detached boredom, sparkled like a child's at the sight of this new toy. He observed her every word and action from every possible angle.
Setting aside her spirit, Momo's intellect was average. She tried her best to hide her abnormalities, but against Aizen, her efforts were meaningless. Seeing her clumsy, tearful resistance as she was teased and toyed with, Gin had shared Aizen's sense of sadistic delight.
But eventually, Gin began to understand the true nature of the fear he had felt when he first saw her. The trigger was a change in Momo herself.
『—I see. Perhaps... I am regretful.』
Looking back, that might have been the turning point for her—or for the world.
It was thirty years ago, when the girl took her first spontaneous action: the experiment using a parasitic Hollow on the former Lieutenant of Squad 13, Kaien Shiba. When Aizen asked how she felt about killing an innocent man for her goals, she gave that sorrowful reply. It was a poorly acted performance of grief that anyone could see through.
At that moment, immediately following the experiment, she had a complex look on her face. She likely still possessed a fragment of humanity. Gin never figured out why she changed after that. But for some reason, Aizen took her "performance of regret" as a personal provocation.
Momo Hinamori had changed fundamentally, and the Demon King—with genuine pleasure—began to call her a "God."
『—Weakening Szayelaporro? Yes, of course I gave permission... did something go wrong?』
『—The scorpion, the bull, and the caterpillar... yes, please recruit those five. They are very important Menos.』
『—Neliel? Well... I wanted her to see the wider world, so...』
From then on, every casual word from the girl began to feel "off" to Gin. Whether she was giving the names of the Menos she wanted to her Arrancar subordinates or assigning them to specific divisions, Gin felt a childish, mechanical joy from her—as if she were simply filling in the pieces of a puzzle using the world itself.
The greatest example was Ichigo Kurosaki.
Why was the experiment with Kaien Shiba necessary? Why force Rukia Kuchiki to kill him? Why create a parasitic Vasto Lorde using a Soul Reaper's soul and have it infect a Quincy—their natural enemy? Why lure Isshin Shiba to that spot to meet that Quincy woman?
『—It's not some flashy show. I just want to place two massive stepping stones, and maybe three or four smaller ones.』
At first, it was just confusing and creepy. But when Kisuke Urahara appeared at the end of the plan to save the Quincy woman, Gin felt a chill.
He felt as though he were looking at a transcendent being who turned miracles and coincidences into inevitabilities. A being who would not let God roll the dice.
How much did she see? What was she trying to achieve with those "eyes"? And would her goals interfere with his own?
Having such a high-level threat join his nemesis Aizen and become close with his only childhood friend, Rangiku Matsumoto, filled Gin with a dread he couldn't ignore.
『—Izuru. If you're friends with Hinamori, try to support her a bit more in her private life. She's a junior to my former Lieutenant.』
『—Nanao. I'd like you to help me with a bit of meddling, if you don't mind. I'm worried about my Lieutenant's love life.』
『—Captain Unohana. The girls around Izuru have been quite noisy lately. Have you heard anything at the Women's Soul Reaper Association?』
Assuming she knew his secret ambitions, Gin kept his final card—the "Assassination of Momo Hinamori"—close to his chest while taking steps to protect Rangiku.
One such step was Izuru Kira. The primary reason Gin had personally scouted Momo's classmate—an excellent and obedient officer—was to keep the demon under surveillance. Furthermore, he used Izuru as bait to manipulate the hearts of the women who loved romance. He secretly fostered the "Society for the Fulfillment of Lieutenant Kira's Love" within the Women's Association, using them to indirectly monitor the relationship between Momo and Rangiku.
『Friends? For me, that would be Rangiku. At first, I approached her out of calculation because she supported Shiro... but before I knew it, I just felt comfortable being around her.』
『—I'm surprised. To think you possessed a heart capable of cherishing a friend. Or is this simply a testament to Lieutenant Matsumoto's ability to win people over?』
『I have a heart! How rude! And did you realize you just insulted Captain Aizen by saying he doesn't have friends? Captain Tosen, you're in trouble~』
『Wait. I did not say that. I am only insulting you.』
『You think being blunt is a virtue, don't you!?』
Gin's surveillance network extended even to Hueco Mundo. He skillfully guided Tosen and the Arrancars to draw out her true feelings.
The plan worked perfectly, and the information Gin gathered finally allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief. The reason was that he wouldn't have to risk Aizen's wrath by killing the demon. The key was the name she always used: "Shiro-chan."
Toshiro Hitsugaya.
He was the poor human sacrifice who made the demon a demon—the one who attracted all of her attention.
The feelings Momo had for him—emotions she called her "life"—lacked even a shred of the sweet, youthful innocence one would expect from a girl her age. What she eventually revealed to Gin and the others was a bottomless, disgusting obsession. She wanted to make her childhood friend dependent on a false happiness, only to plunge him into despair with a false tragedy, all so she could savor the gap between those reactions.
Her dedication to this "hobby" was terrifying. To ensure the boy would grieve over "Momo Hinamori's misfortune," she had personally asked Aizen to "stab her," willingly letting herself be run through the stomach. Gin would never forget the shock of witnessing that scene in the Woods of Penitence.
That crazy girl claimed it was "love," and for all her madness, she did seem to want to avoid truly breaking Toshiro's heart or making him permanently miserable.
One could say she was enjoying a tightrope walk on the edge of his sanity. Because of this, Gin's worry that she would harm Rangiku turned out to be unfounded.
Therefore, while Gin might offer a light-hearted complaint about her vicious tastes, he never interfered. Even the justice-obsessed Tosen acted the same. It was a necessary precaution—they didn't want to earn the hostility of someone who had so thoroughly captivated Sosuke Aizen, and as a senior, Gin wanted to keep his junior "motivated."
『—I'm sorry... Toshiro...』
Then came August 6th. The "Grand Stage" on the Hill of Sokyoku.
Momo had been as giddy as a child before a festival, having waited fifty years since joining the villains' side for this moment. Seeing the perfect acting between her and Aizen, and the pathetic "clown" Toshiro became in his grief, Gin had felt a strange, restless excitement of his own.
『—I don't... want this...』
And then, three months later, the final battle in Karakura Town. When the girl unveiled the culmination of her twisted "love," Gin had to fight to keep from doubling over at the sheer pleasure and ugliness of it all.
Protecting everyone? Give me a break. You didn't join Aizen to ask for mercy for Shiro; you did it because you wanted to see his despair.
Shiro, save me? The only person anyone who knows the truth wants to save isn't you—it's the Shiro you've turned into your personal plaything.
Momo permitted her heart and body to me? He just peeked at her "pleasure hobby," her "foresight," and saw her in her underwear while she was changing. If that counts as "permitting her heart and body," then I've been permitted too, and I really don't want people getting that the wrong way...
Is this the kind of comedy born when a Demon King and a Devil join forces? Watching the villains savor their joy from the sidelines, Gin knew he was truly one of them.
Until that moment.
『—AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH—』
It was the scream Momo let out while faking death in Toshiro's arms.
When Kisuke Urahara tried to extract the Hogyoku from her soul, Gin didn't think to use the chaos to kill Aizen. The Hogyoku wasn't in Aizen's hands, and Aizen himself was captivated by the change in Momo. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
But Aizen had already used Kyoka Suigetsu to assist Momo's ambition. There was no guarantee the man before him was the real one. He had to wait. Originally, Gin Ichimaru was a heartless assassin who knew how to wait for his moment.
But the event that followed shook Gin to his core.
『A... monster...!』
The creature born from Momo's body—the mass of countless entwined clones. Seeing her change under the abnormal influence of the Hogyoku, even Gin had to change his priorities.
Killing Aizen was meaningless if he couldn't take the Hogyoku. But after Momo's monstrous form dissolved happily at Toshiro's call, there was no trace of the Hogyoku. It was as if it had returned to spirit particles along with the monster.
Gin's frustration was indescribable. Half of his hundred-year ambition was now impossible. He hadn't reclaimed Rangiku's soul. He wanted to vent his rage on the unconscious Momo, but doing so in front of Aizen was impossible.
However, while Aizen was taking his frustration out on Momo's "prized project," Ichigo Kurosaki, a new hope landed in Gin's lap.
『At last... you understand me... Hogyoku.』
The second Hogyoku—the first one Gin had ever targeted. Using Momo's Hogyoku as a decoy, Aizen had secretly begun his own fusion. The real Hogyoku was now shining in Aizen's chest.
Gin suppressed his emotions, reclaiming his cold composure. He had one chance. His enemy was a transcendent being who had reached the realm of God. And then there were Aizen's cryptic words in the Dangai...
『I'm looking forward to it—Momo.』
He had been jerked around by that demon for long enough. From a distance, she was just an amusing, cute girl. But once you were caught in her wake, she was a natural disaster that destroyed everything.
Aizen had come to recognize her as more than a toy—perhaps even as an equal. And Aizen never treated someone as an equal just because of their spirit or knowledge—even if he praised them for it.
What had Aizen said when the Gotei 13 cheered about "reclaiming" Momo? When he expressed disappointment in Ichigo? When they passed through the Dangai?
It wasn't over. The "Script" written by the demon Momo Hinamori still had more chapters. And Gin feared he was about to be dragged into whatever "destiny" she was forcing upon them once again.
The unknown factors were endless.
And then.
"I made it, Gin...!"
The white snake seeking revenge had finally reached his limit.
The time for a decision had come.
***
10 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon!
https://patreon.com/Well_being