Summary: When night falls, the memories of those loved and lost don't fade. It's all in a days job for those that care for you.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the characters used. They belong to the brilliant mind of Tite Kubo
"I'm a lil' disappointed.You coulda kept holdin' on a lil' longer. So long, Rangiku. Sorry."
Those simple sentences had haunted Rangiku for a long time after Gin Ichimaru had left. She had continued to put on a brave face, even when she was alone, but deep inside she knew that she missed Gin unbearably. The only person to barely understand how much she missed him was Izuru. Since their drinking binge the day after their defection, they had been a lot closer than they were before. Momo and Shuuhei had slowly joined their forlorn group, along with Toushirou, who 'kept an eye on them', or so he said. But no matter how many people she had around, they could not fill Gin's place.
Rangiku had been plagued by memories of their childhood. She didn't really comprehend why they were surfacing now, but she knew that she had to deal with it as best she could. She often wondered what would have happened if she didn't let go, if she went with him to Hueco Mundo. Shifting her chin to the other hand, she pondered the outcomes. Being branded a traitor was the most obvious and outstanding fact. But it was the loss of all her friendships that would be the underlying factor. Having no one else to turn to, no one trusting her and being hunted down by the Seireitei for her life were only few of many outcomes.
Sighing, Rangiku placed her head on the windowsill, wondering why he left her alone. She knew it was Aizen's fault. Aizen had poisoned his mind right from the word go, she was sure of it. Aizen's web of deception had started right back when he was the fukutaichou of the 5th Division. Tousen and Gin had both been a part of the Division together at some point in time. Even Komamura taichou had been there when it all started, yet somehow he wasn't dragged into it all. It was all so tightly interconnected Rangiku had no idea where to start undoing the knots that bound it all together.
"What a mess," she murmured, taking another swig from the sake jug.
Toushirou was watching his fukutaichou with pity in his eyes. He was the one she confided in when she was completely intoxicated and had no one else to go to. Rangiku frustrated him, that was no secret, but he loved her as a friend as well as a respected fukutaichou. Toushirou knew all too well what his fukutaichou was thinking. He had always known, right from when they first met, exactly where her heart lay. Watching as her slipped from her hand to the crook of her elbow, he closed his eyes momentarily before making his way over to her.
Rangiku, hearing footsteps, turned around and saw her beloved taichou.
"Taichoooou! Where 'ave you been?" she chirped, utterly failing to fool her serious superior.
"Matsumoto. It's time to go home," he said gently, prying the bottle away from her loose fingers.
"But taaaaaaichoooooou I don't wan' to go hooooome," she whined, clinging to his forearm.
Sighing, he pulled her to her feet gently and slowly led her out the bar. She was uncharacteristically silent, stumbling here and there and almost toppling them over quite a few times. Toushirou merely grunted and pulled her back on track. Eventually, he got her back to her apartment and with a struggle he opened the door. Rangiku, finally working out that this was familiar, pushed herself away from Toushirou and collapsed on her futon. She buried her face in her pillow and tucked an arm up under her cheek.
"Why did he leave me?" she whispered despairingly.
Toushirou moved to sit next to her, stroking her hair comfortingly. She moved her head from her pillow to his lap and didn't even bother to stave off the tears that they both knew were going to fall.
"I don't know, Rangiku," he whispered softly.
"Why did he go off with that bastard and leave me? Why didn't he tell me what was happening? Why didn't he listen to me?" she sobbed, not understanding at all.
Toushirou never had the answers, no matter how many nights they went through this. It killed him not to have the answers to her heartbreaking questions, but his presence was better than nothing. Many speculated that they were together, which was laughed off by Rangiku and ignored by Toushirou. They each knew the other was too in love with someone else to even entertain thoughts about having a relationship with anyone else.
"Promise me you'll never leave, Shirou," she whispered brokenly.
Blinking, he looked down at her. This was something that hadn't happened before.
"You know I can't promise that," he whispered gently, still stroking her hair at an even pace.
"Promise you'll try to keep it," she whispered harshly. "If you left me like Gin did, I don't know what I'd do."
"I promise I'll try to keep that promise, Rangiku," he said softly. "Now try and go to sleep. Momo will be here tomorrow to take you out."
"Hmm," was the only reply he got as she drifted off to sleep, clutching his arm like it was the only thing holding her together.
He swapped his arm for the pillow that was lying close by. He got up quietly and made his way to the door. He looked back at the blonde woman and sighed. He walked out and closed the door gently, leaving her to her dreams and fantasies about a perfect future with her and Gin.
'And there ends another night,' Toushirou thought, looking up to the moon. 'They said that this would end with the Winter War. How wrong they were. This has left deep, gaping wounds that will never heal.'
As he walked back to his own room, he knew this would happen again the next night.
'All in a days work.'
A/N: The first lot of text was taken directly from the subtitles of the Japanese version. I'm not entirely too sure what episode it was. Sorry
This plot bunny was running around in my head causing havoc for the other plots that are in there. It's completely Rangiku/Gin, although it could be taken as a budding Toushirou/Rangiku.
Hope you enjoyed!
Lillix Vail