A/N: Hello there everyone So I just wanted to tell all of you wonderful people that this is my very first GinRan fanfic. In fact this is the first time that I have ever written a Bleach fanfic, so if you see any misspellings or you find the characters a bit OOC, please don't be rude with comments. I just want everyone to enjoy reading it and hopefully I get to see some wonderful reviews! Enjoy!

*I changed the title of this chapter to "Girl on Fire," which is the title of Alicia Keys's song. This chapter is just a brief look at Rangiku's recent success and I think that "Girl on Fire" very much represents Rangiku's fierce and independent female power on this AU story and in the manga.

"Girl on Fire" - Alicia Keys

She's just a girl and she's on fire
Hotter than a fantasy, lonely like a highway
She's living in a world and it's on fire
Filled with catastrophe, but she knows she can fly away

Ohhhh oh oh oh oh
She got both feet on the ground
And she's burning it down
Ohhhh oh oh oh oh
She got her head in the clouds
And she's not backing down

This girl is on fire...
This girl is on fire...
She's walking on fire...
This girl is on fire...

Looks like a girl, but she's a flame
So bright, she can burn your eyes
Better look the other way
You can try but you'll never forget her name
She's on top of the world
Hottest of the hottest girls say...

"Hi I'm Rangiku Matsumoto." She spoke to herself in front of her mirror, "Hello there, my name is Rangiku Matsumoto." No! That sounds too formal! "Hey there, the name's Rangiku Matsumoto." You've got to be kidding me, Rangiku. That's worse than being too formal!

"Ugh! I'm totally gonna fail today!" She walked towards her closet getting her coat. The strawberry blonde girl glanced at her clock reading, '4:40 P.M.'

"Shit! I'm late!"

5:00 P.M. – Gotei 13 Co. Building

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

That's all she could hear in the enormous waiting room. The damn clock wouldn't stop tick tocking. It was getting her more nervous. She looked down, observing what she picked out to wear. It was a beautiful teal colored blazer with a tan undershirt accompanied with tight white pants and tan heels. Yup, she definitely felt cute as a button today. She knew that she had amazing taste when it came to fashion.

In her early college days, all of her friends would seek for her fashion advice and she would gladly help her girlfriends out. She thought about majoring on fashion design, but she loved the idea of becoming a business women. Business and marketing had always caught her attention.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

'Damn it that clock won't stop ticking!' She loudly screamed in her head.

'Calm down, Rangiku. Everything's gonna be okay. You'll see, today will be the day your life changes.' She tried to make herself feel better. She couldn't help but play with her clammy fingers, waiting for the moment to come. The more time she waited, the more she started to doubt about this huge opportunity.

But here she was, finally waiting for the most important interview: her job interview. It wasn't just any job interview; it was her job interview for the Gotei 13 Company: the most exclusive and popular business company in New York and of the entire country. Rangiku had just gotten out of business school and was immediately offered an interview for this amazing company. Boy, she thought she was dreaming. Rangiku never believed that she would ever be sitting in the waiting room of the CEO's office.

"Matsumoto Rangiku." A young lady called out her name.

The tall light redhead girl quickly stood up, eager to get this over with, "Yes?"

"Yamamoto-sama is ready for your interview appointment."

"Thank you." She nervously walked towards the elegant double doors. She lightly gasped, admiring the elegance and the beauty integrated in this office.

"Ahh. You must be Matsumoto Rangiku. Come take a seat." He looked like an elderly business man, like he's been in this career for decades. He was completely bald, yet he had the longest beard she's ever seen.

'Damn. That's a long ass beard. I wonder if he trims that thing? Ugh! Focus Rangiku, focus!'

"Yes, of course." As Rangiku sat down, she gripped onto her resume.

"Is that your resume, Matsumoto-san?"

She glanced down to her lap, staring at the black folder, "Y-Yes. Yes it is." She placed it on his wooden desk, praying that he would feel impressed. Silence was surrounded throughout Yamamoto's office, as he examined Rangiku's work and school history.

She was still nervous. In fact, she felt more nervous as she walked into his office. She didn't feel ready for this interview. She thought everything was going wrong. Maybe she was under qualified for the available positions or maybe her outfit was a bit too scandalous.

Her light blue eyes widened as she crossed her arms, trying to cover her oversized breasts, 'Maybe I'm showing too much of my breasts! I don't want to look like a skank!' She then rolled her eyes, 'Hmph! It's not my fault God blessed me with these twins. I shouldn't be ashamed of the two girls.' She then uncrossed her arms and placed them on her lap, proud to show off what she's got.

"Very impressive Matsumoto-san. I see that you've recently graduated from New York University and as one of the high ranked graduates."

"Yes, Yamamoto-sama. I've worked hard to maintain my academic scores." She shyly responded.

"You've also gotten your Master's Degree on Business and Marketing." She didn't know if he was directly asking her these questions or not. She just stayed quiet, allowing him to observe her resume.

'God, please let me receive a job here. It's always been a dream of mine to work for this company.' She took quick glances at the occupied CEO, wondering what he was thinking, 'Who am I kidding? I'm not the right person for this sort of job… That's for sure; I'm not going back to school anymore. I'm fucking 25 years old! I don't have time for school!'

Her thought were soon interrupted as the older man called out her name, "Well, Matsumoto-san, I must say that you seem to have all of the qualifications to work for the Gotei 13 Company. I must admit that if I do hire you, I'm risking myself since you're very young and just graduated from college…"

She lowered her head, feeling like he had rejected her, "I understand Yamamoto-sama. You must look for the perfect person for the position. I do thank you for the opportunity to meet you though and I must say–"

"You got the job, my dear." The old man gave her a warm smile.

"I just wish that I could have–" Her beautiful eyes darted blankly towards Yamamoto, "W-What did you say?"

He finally stood up from his chair, as he made his way towards the astonished young lady, "Welcome to the Gotei 13 family, Matsumoto-san." He placed his right hand in front of Rangiku, as she eagerly shook his hand with hers.

"Oh goodness, thank you so much Yamamoto-sama. I won't deceive you, I promise." Her blue eyes brightened more than ever, as she couldn't stop smiling.

The older man turned his back as he grabbed an elegant folder with the Gotei 13 logo printed on the front, "Here is all of the information for your first day, which is in a week from now. You'll be working at the 3rd Division Inc. It's not too far from here, just a few blocks. Once you get there, you'll receive your Vice President badge."

Rangiku's mind was about to explode any minute, "Wait a minute? Vice President?!"

"Yes, I decided to give you the Vice President position at the 3rd Division Inc. Is that alright with you?" He raised his left eyebrow.

She couldn't contain her excitement, "Are you kidding me? Of course I'm okay with that. I-I just thought that I was going to be in a secretary position since I have little experience."

"Oh no. I'm sure that you're more than capable to take phone calls and make appointments. You're smarter than that Rangiku-san; you have earned the Vice President position."

"Thank you so much, Yamamoto-sama."

Once she had closed Yamamoto's double doors, she took a quick glance at his secretary, seeing how she would look at Rangiku from head to toe. The blonde haired secretary gave her a glare when she made her eyes to Rangiku's exposed chest.

Rangiku could just imagine the stupid jealous comments that she was making in her head.

'Bitch, I look better than you.' Rangiku scolded at the secretary in her head.

Rangiku's Penthouse – 7:44 P.M.

"Vice President Rangiku Matsumoto. Hmmm…I like the sound of that." She couldn't contain that bright smile. Never did she believe that she would become the Vice President.

As she began to cook herself her dinner for the evening, she began to hum her favorite songs that first came up to mind, "In a week you'll be a new woman, Rangiku."

Everything seemed to be going so well. She had just moved out of the NYU dorms and had gotten herself one of the most elegant penthouses in New York. At night, the view looked too beautiful with the lighted tall buildings at Times Square. Let's not forget the Mercedes convertible that she had also gotten. Yup, Rangiku felt like she's finally achieved everything in life. She had everything that life could ever ask for: A nice job, a welcoming home, a gorgeous car, and their loved ones.

Yet, she had no loved ones. Sure she had her loving parents. Her parents were her life. She would always be there no matter what; however, after she had graduated high school, she had gone to Los Angeles with her classmates for vacation, while her parents went to France for their break. During their European vacation, Rangiku had received horrible news from her father's employees about their car accident on their way to the airport.

She remembered that day. She had just arrived home from her L.A. vacation. What a way to welcome her back home, huh? Her parents knew that she was always a pampered child, but they knew that they raised her well. They knew that if she no longer had her parents, she would be able to take care of her own responsibilities. They left her properties, money, and jewels for her if they ever passed away.

Rangiku didn't want any of it. Everything reminded her of her parents. She knew that if she were to have mementos of them, she would never be able to succeed in life because of her depression. So she sold everything. Rangiku sold all of the inherited properties and jewels. Especially the home where she lived and grew up. That's when she moved into the university dorms and made special friends. She felt like after high school, it was a new stage of her life.

Once she was done eating, all she could think of were her parents, her past friends. She instantly fell into a deep melancholy phase. And then he came into her thoughts.

Gin.

Gin Ichimaru.

"The name's Gin Ichimaru." That smile. Everyone thought that it was creepy and downright troublesome, but to her, it was welcoming and friendly.

"Gin? That's a weird name. Never heard of it. I'm Rangiku Matsumoto." She smiled shyly.

"So yer in tha 6th grade, huh? Me too! Y'see I'm new here 'ta this school so…"

"Is that so? Looks like it's a coincidence, because I'm also new to this school."

His smile never seemed to fade, and another thing that she noticed was that his eyes were never exposed. It was only his slitted eyes. He randomly clung his long pale arm around her shoulder, "How 'bout you and I become friends. I like ya a lot, Rangiku."

She couldn't tell if he was flirting or not, but she could definitely tell that he was a charming one.

With his other freed hand, his long skinny fingertip began to tap on his pointy chin, "Nah, how 'bout I start callin' ya Ran-chan, huh?"

She tried to hide her blush, but she couldn't help but expose her rosy cheeks, "I like it."

Her childhood friend. Her first true best friend. Her first love… or so she thought…

She shook her head not wanting to have headaches before she ended up asleep. But damn, it's been a long time since she's had one of those flashbacks. She loved them, but at the same time she couldn't help but hate them so much.

One Week Later – Rangiku's Penthouse

She had to admit: she loved blazers when it came to business attire. Her closet was full of different colored blazers, "Hmm…I don't know what suits for the first day on the job."

Rangiku had then pulled out a black blazer with white outlines and a white undershirt, "Oh I know what would go perfect with this." A beautiful black business skirt was exposed. She enthusiastically began to change into her business clothing. She knew she looked pretty good. The black and white blazer hugged her breasts perfectly and her mid-thigh business skirt shaped her curves and thighs divinely.

She was ready for today. She was ready to introduce herself as the 3rd Division's new Vice President.

3rd Division Inc. – 8:21 A.M.

The building was enormous. This was the first time she was ever this close to one of the Gotei 13 buildings, as she looked up at the sky, "Damn, that's a high building." She then smiled happily, "I'm gonna work on that high building." She had to giggle out the dorkiness she had stored within her.

Once she was in the building, everything looked perfect: just like she had imagined. She cleared her throat, wanting to catch the young lady's attention, "Excuse me, I just need to know where – "Rangiku read the card that Yamamoto had provided her, "C1569 is located at? I'm sort of new here."

"May I see your card please?" The dark haired woman stated.

Rangiku stretched her arm out to the front desk lady, as she handed over her card, "Oh, it's a pleasure to finally meet you Matsumoto-san. I see Yamamoto-sama has finally made his decision about the empty space for the Vice President position here." She gave Rangiku a respectful smile, "Any who, just take this elevator over here and exit on the 48th floor, take a right and you'll see a small receptionist area at the front. She would be more than happy to help you."

"Thank you uhh…"

"Azami Sayomi."

"Thank you Sayomi-san."

Rangiku waited in the elevator, feeling a little nervous today; however, she wasn't too nervous compared to her interview. She had a good feeling about today. She felt like everything was working out perfectly fine.

Ding!

"Oh looks like I'm already here." She took a right down the hallway just like Azami had said so, and saw the receptionist area, but no one was there.

"Hmm…Maybe if –" A blonde man accidentally bumped into the strawberry blonde lost girl, "Oh! Sorry about that." She smiled at him.

"Oh no, my apologies, Miss. I assume you're here for an appointment?" The blonde haired blue eye man predicted.

"Uh… not exactly. You see, I was recently hired–" She was kindly interrupted.

"Hired?" He asked, "Well the only position that we have available here is the Vice Presidency."

"Yes! That's it! I hope I'm not lost or anything."

"Y-You're the new Vice President of the 3rd Division Inc?"

"Well, I guess. At least that's what Yamamoto-san told me."

"Please follow me Miss." As she followed the blonde man, she saw all of her future colleagues, 'Well they don't look that threatening', until they both had entered into this spacious and elegant office, "Alright, so this is it."

"Thank you very much. Sorry if I didn't introduce myself earlier. I'm Rangiku Matsumoto."

"Nice to meet you Rangiku-san. I'm Izuru Kira. I use to be the Vice President here at this building but I'm now in charge of all of the financial departments of at 13 buildings."

"Oh…sounds painful." They both exchanged a light laughter.

"Since you're in charge of the financial department, I guess I'll be seeing you in most of the meetings, right?"

"Indeed, Rangiku-san." They both looked out the opened front door, as they heard rumored whispers outside from the rest of the employees, "Looks like you're already popular here."

"Do they always do that?" She asked as she raised her eyebrow.

"You'll be fine. They just didn't think that they would have a boss this quick, well other than the President of the building."

"The President, huh? Who may that be?" She began to walk around the room, opening all of the doors that were visible. She looked like those nosy little girls that first walk into your house.

"Tha President of this buildin' happens 'ta be me." A different, yet captivating voice was heard, making her freeze completely. She could recognize that voice anywhere.

"This has got to be a dream." She whispered. She didn't want to turn around, not just yet.

"Certainly glad 'ta finally see my Ran-chan."