Brave Front
She kissed him… right in front of my eyes. She had thrown caution to the wind and the wind traveled through my hair and around my shihakusho. I put on a façade, my icy dragon-like brave front and let her be happy.
I should have known I would never be her only. Just a broken tool she never got rid of. I don't hate him for having her… I hate myself for letting her slip through the cracks in my frosty hands. She always did deserve better than me and I can accept that Kurosaki was a far better man than I.
I watch with conviction in my heart as Kurosaki embraces Orihime after they broke apart. I hear a voice call out to me and see her standing there. "Taichou… it's not alright to keep up your brave front."
I looked at Matsumoto for but a moment and gazed into her eyes. They told the same story I was living… we were both hurt; Lieutenant and Captain… both of us suffering from the hole that had just been ripped in our hearts. She gazed at Kurosaki and Orihime sullenly. Kurosaki hurt her…
Now I could hate Kurosaki… he just hurt Rangiku Matsumoto, my best friend, my Lieutenant, the only one I had left… I could see Matsumoto looking scornfully at Orihime, knowing she held the echoes of my own thoughts within her mindscape.
I allowed myself a rare smile before I turned my back to the ones whom hurt us both and took her hand, gently tugging her away from the sight and then tugging her away to somewhere where we could be free of this agony.