Four in just a few day? I've written too many of these!
I do not own BLEACH or any of the characters. Not like I didn't try, though…
This one-shot is inspired by Hikuya's GinRan "Love a through Z". Namely chapter two, section named "Infinity", which I did get permission to do.
I sincerely hope you will enjoy this, although I really can't write Gin's accent.
No one likes letting go of anything, which is funny, considering that is what most people works toward, readying others so they can stand the day you have to let go of them, for you will have to at one time.
Which was exactly what Ichimaru Gin wasn't doing by waiting for Matsumoto Rangiku to stop hitting the closet door and screaming insults at the top of her lungs, much to the amusement of the Arrancars (and Tousen).
Well, Gin had only ever been good at disappearing for short periods of time, not letting go off anything he considered "his", so he thought it was perfectly understandable that he had taken Ran with him to Hueco Mundo. And considering her temper, anyone would have locked her in a closet and reinforced it by sitting against above mentioned door.
"GIN, YOU (CENSORED) BASTARD! LET ME OUT OFF HERE THIS INSTANT!" she screamed, and Grimmjow was on his back, laughing his mask off in the hallway.
Gin's eye twitched. He didn't know what was the most annoying, Ran's screaming or the laughter in front of his room. Probably the laughter, he had been prepared for the screaming. "No, Ran!" he answered, just loud enough for the enraged woman, but not the Arrancars (and Tousen), to hear. "Not yet!"
"YOU FREAKING, (CENSORED), (CENSORED), (CENSORED), BANANA EATING LIQUID SQUID!" and more boisterous laughter was heard from the hallway. "WHEN I GET OUT OFF HERE I'LL CUT YOUR INNARDS OUT WITH A RUSTY FORK AND REPLACE THEM WITH POTATO CHIPS! LET ME (CENSORED) OUT ALREADY!"
"Ran, you've spent far too much time in bars!" Gin replied, giving his stomach a frightened glance.
"WHAT DO I CARE, YOU (CENSORED) SON OF A SPINELESS BUNCH OF JELLY?!" more banging on the closet door, and more laughter from the hallway. "YOU LET ME OUT THIS INSTANT, YOU (CENSORED), (CENSORED) CROSS BETWEEN A TWO TONGUED GOAT AND AN ALBINO HYENA WHO (CENSORED) WITH FISH!"
Gin honestly thought Grimmjow had just suffocated with laughter, and that all the other Arrancars (and Tousen) were lying flat on their back in the hallway, laughing out their guts.
"C'mon, Ran. You know that only happened once!" he retaliated in a desperate attempt to make her stop shouting.
It worked marvellously, because there was suddenly deadly quiet in the room. "Seriously?" the woman then asked weakly, sounding utterly sickened. Not that Gin didn't understand her, after what she had just accused him of doing.
"Sweetheart, do you think I'd lie to my lovely Ran-chan?" Gin cooed, knowing his respite was over before the words left his lips. And sure enough, the poor door was again being pounded on.
"LET ME OUT, YOU (CENSORED), FACELESS, (CENSORED), SNAKE-EYED BASTARD!" the Arrancars resumed laughing, wondering what had happened when it had been quiet in the room.
Ran, in the meantime, was actually scared halfway out off her mind. It was DARK in the closet, the only exception being the thin strip of light at the bottom of the door. Sure, she was mad at Gin, and she probably meant half of what she said, but the rest was simply the fear talking. Her hands hurt from hitting the door as much as she had, and she thought her left hand might have started bleeding, as that palm felt strangely wet. Her voice was still doing fine though, so she kept on yelling insults and threats at regular intervals, readily ignoring the roaring laughter. She was getting desperate, and not even the sharp pain lancing down her left arm could call her out off it.
She had, for a moment, forgotten where she was when Gin had responded to the fish comment, and had just stared incredulously at the darkness she guessed was the door. Then she had remembered the reason why she was so mad at him again.
After another twenty minutes of yelling (not that she knew how much time had passed), her voice finally faltered and her right hand felt sticky as well. She panted heavily and rested her brow against the door, muttering insults every now and then.
"Ran?" Gin asked when she had taken a particularly long break in her insults.
"What?" she asked wryly, almost turning that simple word into an insult as well.
"Promise you won't try and slaughter me if I let you out?" the former Captain asked. "And please don't attempt to flee either. The Arrancars will kill you without a second thought if they see you. Even if you did give them quite something to laugh about before."
"Gin?" Ran asked quietly, ignoring what he said in favour of her tired revelation. "Your closet is very dark, and something in here smells funny… Sort of like that perfume I used to wear…"
There was total silence for a long while. "I really hope the Hollows doesn't have as keen a sense of smell as you do, cause they'd never let me live it down. Wait a second, and I'll get you out off the dark. Better close your eyes, it's very bright out here."
Ran did as told, but didn't think as far as too remove her weight from the door, which would soon open. So, as a course of the law of gravity, she fell right into Gin's arms.
"Not that I'm complaining or anything, Ran-chan, but how come I'm keeping you from hitting the floor?" Gin asked, really not sounding like he was complaining, but rather like he was enjoying himself immensely.
"Cross between a two tongued goat and an albino hyena." she mumbled embarrassedly, attempting to stand on her own.
Gin looked his childhood friend up and down when she was standing, his smile relaxed (after all that time, a small smile had simply become his most relaxed expression), his red eyes open. "That's a good insult, Ran-chan. Much better than "bastard", I really think the Arrancars liked it too."
Ran rolled her eyes, which she had tentatively opened, to find it was not so bright. "Why am I here? Never mind explaining why you're here, but what am I doing here? Wherever here is…"
"This is Hueco Mundo, it's rather boring and always night. Well, it's boring right up until someone gets into a fight or something. Not so long ago, one of the strongest Arrancars disappeared without a trace and we had to have her replaced."
"Must've sucked to be her." Ran said with a slight shrug, crossing her arms over her chest, only to hiss with pain when the raw wounds on her hands came into contact with the coarse outer layer of her uniform.
And Gin held her hands in an instant, giving her an accusing glare after he had taken a swift glance at the bleeding. "I know you hate the dark, Ran-chan, but did you really have to harm yourself this badly?" he asked with a frown.
"Apparently, yes." the woman answered, trying to pull her hand back, only to find that Gin held on too tightly and refused to let go. "Let go of me, Gin." she hissed.
"I couldn't metaphorically, and I won't literally. Come, I have some salve." he gave her hands a gentle tug, leading her towards what Ran guessed to be a bathroom. Lo and behold, she was right.
Gin grinned at his childhood friend, who merely gave him an icy glare in return.
"Ouch! That isn't very nice, Ran." Gin's grin didn't drop, though, it actually widened. "So, do you want to apply it yourself, or do you want me to do it?" he asked, his voice gentle.
"I'll do it myself, thank you!" Ran snapped, her eyes still icy.
For a long while, the two simply sat in silence, Gin watching Ran with a loving gaze while she tended to her self-induced wounds. An eternity with the woman, he decided, might be enough to satisfy him.
Then somebody knocked on the front door. "Ichimaru, Aizen has called a meeting. You are ordered to attend it." came Tousen's voice through the door. "And leave Matsumoto."
Gin made a wry face in direction of the door, then returned his gaze to Ran. "Sorry, seems I have to leave you already. Please, try not to flee." before the woman had any chance of answering, Gin pressed his lips to hers in a tender kiss and left.
A small smile almost pulled at Ran's lips. "Idiot." she mumbled, her attention returning to her hands.
Heheh, all the (and Tousen) was so much fun to write! Oh, and please don't steal the insults I made up. They were pretty good, right? You know you liked them.
I'm a little surprised I managed to make the ending sweet, considering the beginning. I hope you enjoyed reading about Gin and Ran (and Tousen)!
Kindly review, and do criticize if there's anything you disliked, even if you think it's just your personal taste or something like that. I promise I'll return the favour if you want me to.