Characters: Orihime, Rangiku, Gin (in spirit)
Summary: A surprise visit after the Winter War gives Orihime a chance to get the other half of the story. Companion to 'Revisit'.
Pairings: GinRan
Warnings/Spoilers: spoilers for Deicide arc
Timeline: post-Deicide arc
Author's Note: Please read Revisit before you read this. It will make a lot more sense if you do.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
"He asked about you, you know." Orihime is hesitant about broaching the subject because of the pain she knows it will inevitably cause, but there's little else for it. Her curiosity compels her and the closed-off look on Rangiku's face certainly wasn't there before. She has a fairly good idea of what put it there.
When Rangiku showed up on her doorstep, Orihime was so surprised to actually see a Shinigami standing there—it's been about a month since she's actually heard anything from Soul Society, in fact—that she stood there gaping when Rangiku asked if she could be let in and Rangiku (correctly) interpreted her silence as assent and brushed past her into the small apartment.
The eating of macaroni and cheese mixed with peanut butter followed by pickles in ice cream has concluded with Rangiku sitting on the floor with her back against the wall. She isn't dressed as a civilian, but rather in her plain black shihakusho and hakama, the zanpakuto left leaning against the wall almost negligently. If this is some sort of social call on Rangiku's part, then Orihime wonders if she couldn't have come in a better mood—she's barely said a word the whole evening.
Blue eyes look down at Orihime, only slightly interested—they're both sitting against the wall, but Rangiku is still six inches taller than Orihime and towers over her no matter what position they're sitting in. "Excuse me, Orihime-san?"
Orihime almost loses her nerve at this moment. Rangiku looks perfectly abstracted—she's been pondering something for the entire amount of time she's been in Orihime's apartment, and whatever it is seems to have sucked the joie de vivre clean out of her. If she's right, Orihime knows this will do nothing but open up a Pandora's Box. "He asked about you, Rangiku-san," Orihime murmurs shyly, not meeting Rangiku's piercing gaze.
A moment passes in silence.
Then, plainly tentative and uncertain herself, Rangiku asks, "Who, Orihime-san?", no doubt already knowing the "who" Orihime speaks of is.
She ducks her head, letting copper hair fall over her face. "Ichimaru-san," Orihime half-whispers, "when I was on Hueco Mundo." This is the first time Orihime has acknowledged her imprisonment on Hueco Mundo to anyone, including Ishida who has been keeping a closer eye on her than perhaps anyone else.
A sharp spasm ripples over Rangiku's face, and Orihime knows just how much of a raw and tender subject this is for her.
Ichimaru Gin is, as she knows, dead, and he was one of the bodies Orihime was especially instructed not to heal—Soul Society has decided that they much prefer him dead rather than alive; one less trial to handle, she supposes. Having never interacted with him apart from one time in her room (cell) on Hueco Mundo, Orihime doesn't really have an opinion either way.
Of course, maybe she's just trying to distance herself from the revulsion she felt at being told to discriminate in who she heals.
However, she is infinitely more familiar with Rangiku. Rangiku she considers a friend, so this is why Orihime's saying anything at all. Because if Rangiku's over here, it's to find a place where the memories haven't followed her. To find a portal into oblivion and forgetfulness—for however long Rangiku chooses to stay here.
Rangiku closes her eyes briefly, tipping her head back against the wall with her chin raised. She lets out a deep breath, sounding as though she's run a marathon, the exhaustion is so great. "Did he?" Rangiku's voice is slow and unsteady and sounds very much as though she's suddenly holding back some sort of great flood. And she probably is, knowing what Orihime suspects she knows—she doesn't have to ask directly; she has only but to read people by watching. "And… what did Gin say?"
Orihime tells her the general idea of their conversation, being careful with her words. "He wanted to know if you were well. I think…" she pauses, wondering if she should go on. "I think he was concerned." Orihime decides to leave out the part of Gin mentioning that she reminded him of Rangiku; she fails to see how that is at all relevant to the conversation.
At once, two dueling emotions clash over Rangiku's face. For one, Orihime can see her heart leap in the shadow of her eyes. A fierce, bright joy, some happiness that she feels and then hides away for paranoid (or maybe not so paranoid) fear that someone will steal it from her. And for the other, there is even worse pain than before, the pain that she wasn't forgotten. And joy and sorrow are coming from the same place. She is both happy that Gin remembered her, and sad for the same reason.
Orihime decides that being in a relationship is far more complicated than she thought it would be.
Rangiku stares down at the floor, ripples of wavy gold hair drifting in a cloud over her cheeks. "Oh, he did?" She tries in vain to sound disinterested, but it's too late: Orihime had already seen the emotions flash over her face like a bolt of lightning to light the night sky and has already had her glimpse at the pain in Rangiku's heart.
Rangiku sighs, her shoulders drooping, and Orihime suspects—knows—that this will be where she stays all night.
"That's… interesting," Rangiku murmurs. "That's interesting."
Orihime can't get another word out of her all night, and Rangiku leaves the next rainy morning.