Too Late
Summary: He found it almost disgustingly ironic that he was almost ready to betray a hundred years worth of dedication for her. And he would have. All he asked for was her honesty. Yet she couldn't.
Too Late
"Captain Aizen."
Matsumoto Rangiku came completely prepared to die. But not before getting answers.
At least she prayed that she would get her answers before the monster before her decided it would be easier to just get rid of her.
Permanently.
"Sorry for my old friend butting in like this. I'll take her over there."
She felt a spark of hope. A guilty spark of hope that made her grimace which she hid with the pain.
Maybe…just maybe…
"It'll be a nuisance tho', won't it?"
Her heart sank just a bit. But it had already been pretty much at ground zero.
At least he was willing to talk, she comforted herself in her mind. At least he didn't strike her down at first sight.
Ichimaru Gin hooked his hand right in between the juncture of her shoulder and arm, mindful of any possible injuries. The wind wiped her hair into his face as they sailed across the human town. The faint scent of lavender wafted her hair.
A scent that was so distinctly her.
She voiced her protests and struggled weakly in his arms. She couldn't see the town fly beneath her, only the blue sky stretch almost limitless in front of her.
Even though she knew this man had betrayed his post. Betrayed them. Betrayed her.
At this moment, she felt almost safe. Knowing he wouldn't drop her. Knowing the steady hand supported her as the heavens spread out above her.
Knowing that if she tilts her head just slightly, she would see a reassuring crown of silver and the corners of a familiar smile.
He never meant to carry them so far. But it was the familiar weight, the familiar burden that reminded him of a time he could never return to. But it was the familiar smell, the faint lavender and cheap perfume that assaulted his memory.
But it was her.
"You're all shaky."
He stopped himself before he carried her out of the human town, out of Soul Society, and out of danger's way. With her, it was all to easy to forget and just be.
"What'd ya come here for?"
She explained the route. She explained the transportation. But she avoided the question.
She didn't want to think of why she came. In fact, she wasn't exactly sure why she put up the chase. No, she knew why. But she didn't know how to put it in words.
Not when she had just been in his arms again. Not when for half a second, the world seemed right again.
"I didn't ask ya how ya got here."
He urged her to explain. Then he would evaluate whether his initial hunch had been correct. Then he would find the best response to put her down and get her to run. Then he would forget the feeling of her in his arms and how right it felt.
"I asked why ya came here with such a shaky body."
Suddenly thankful for the distance between them and Aizen, he realized that if his gut feeling was right, he might actually betray his captain.
She tried to stall. Honestly, she did.
She tried to straighten out her thoughts. In fact, she was quite proud of how courageous she sounded.
She was honest: She came because he was here. She was here to find out directly…
He wasn't surprised at all. He had completely expected her to hound him with questions about his allegiance.
And he had been ready to answer as well.
But she continued.
Then she stopped being honest.
"Why did you betray Kira, despite him believing in you so much?"
And she regretted it the moment it left her lips.
"Are you seriously asking me that?"
To say that he was furious would be an understatement of the year, century, millennium, his goddamn entire life.
What he wanted to hear was her feelings, how she felt, why it was important to her. Yet she couldn't. She hid behind the notion of him betraying someone else.
The cold rage boiled in his heart, in his mind, and in his very soul. That is if he still had one.
She froze. His biting words silence her.
All she could do was stand there numbly as he came closer. Although his expression hadn't changed, she could feel the anger rolling off his skin like ice.
When his hand gently caressed her skin, it burned. Burned right through to her heart, which beat furiously underneath his ice-cold hands.
He said her name with a mocking tone that he had never directed to her before.
And her heart skipped a beat.
"C'mon Rangiku."
He found it almost disgustingly ironic that he was almost ready to betray a hundred years worth of dedication for her. And he would have.
All he asked for was her honesty.
The trade she requested of him demanded vulnerability on his part only. He wanted, no, needed her to bare herself to him. In return, he would have done the same.
But now, the moment was gone.
"You're in the way."
When the metal bit into her skin, it was hot. Completely contrasting to the cold hand on her chest.
He had avoided her heart. On purpose.
To allow her to live or to make her suffer in death, she could only guess.
Falling back, she took one last desperate breath of him. She tried to match the new smell of blood, sand, and rage with the familiar one of persimmons, earth, and blood.
But it was a futile attempt. Not even the blood smelled the same.
As she fell, he took a last whiff of her. He remembered the lavender of her soap, the cheap perfume of the local store, and the smell of sunshine. And it was exactly the same even now.
But it was too late. Not even the blood could make it better.
Watching him leave, she wanted to scream. She wanted to yell at him with all honesty:
Why did you betray me? Why did you leave me even though I love you so much?
Then he would have responded:
Then let's leave together.
And he wouldn't have taken no for an answer.
But it was too late.
But it was too late.
=End=
A/N: My thoughts about the newest chapter.
Ichimaru Gin, I swear if this is not some larger plot to keep her out of danger, I will stab you. ARG! First Hitsugaya is tricked into stabbing Hinamori, then Gin stabs Rangiku.
Is this on purpose to destroy all actual possible canon pairings?
Ichigo better not accidentally running Rukia through or something of that sort! D: