Summary: The ones who seem to understand everything are often the hardest for others to understand. Given no insight, how were the others to know? Blinded by the music, afraid of the fire, they lost the one that might have saved them all. Companion to Blaze.

Length: 13 chapters; 26,361 words; 71 pages

Chapter 1

Alice opened her eyes slowly and quickly shut them again. She made a face, turned over, and hid her eyes against the chest of the man lying beside her. Gin stroked her hair once and let his lips drift across the top of her head. They lay for a while longer in each other's arms before Gin disengaged himself and walked over to the small vanity against the far wall from her futon. He picked up Alice's hair brush and ran it quickly through his silver hair.

She sat up and let the blanket drop to her waist, revealing a tight grey tank top. She brought her knees half way up and folded her arms over them, watching him prepare to leave in silence. Finally he felt he wouldn't attract too much attention if he was spotted heading back to his office – though she knew he wouldn't be seen anyway, he just didn't like to take chances – and he stepped over to lean down and kiss her teasingly.

"My place tonight, Darlin' Girl," he reminded her quietly. She nodded numbly, the morning making her mind hazy. Smiling his frightening smile, Gin slipped out the window with silent, easy grace and disappeared.

Alice stayed where she was for a while trying to work up the motivation to move. Eventually she stood and started rooting through her wardrobe for something to wear. She selected a rich red short sleeved shirt with her favourite oversized jeans and a belt to keep them on. She slipped on her black and white converse and sat in front of the mirror to start the hair-and-makeup process. As this task was second nature to her, she let her mind wander as she worked.

She could never forget exactly how it had all started, this relationship-thing. After the trip to Auschwitz with Rose – it had been Rose's idea and, having already gone, Alice had refused whole-heartedly until two hours before they returned to Soul Society, breaking on the argument that it would probably be Rose's only chance to see it – they had both been apathetic. Alice would wander away and hide or lock herself in her room for whole days, staring off at nothing.

One day, sitting back in the shadows of the outer wall, contemplating the meaning of life and trying to keep her mind off of the miserable things she'd seen again, she'd been confronted by a hand, offering a half empty bottle of water to her. Looking up, she'd seen the ever-smiling silver haired Third Division captain leaning over her.

"Hey there," he'd said. "What's got ya cryin', little girl?"

She'd been too depressed to be offended by being called a little girl. Instead, she'd replied, "It… it was nothing."

Captain Ichimaru had tilted his head to the side. "Aw, don' lie ta me now," he'd chided. "Tell me what's wrong."

Alice had sighed. "I was just feeling a little depressed is all…"

"Why?"

A bit of annoyance had stirred at being questioned when she wanted to be left alone, but it had died as quickly as most emotions those days. "Well…" She'd taken the water bottle from him but hadn't opened it. "My friend and I went to the Krakow last time we went shopping and at the last minute she convinced me to go to Auschwitz with her because she didn't want to go alone. It was a reasonable request, except that I'd been before and she knew how I felt about it."

"Mmm." Gin had straightened, still looking down at her. "How 'bout you an' I head back ta my office and ya can tell me all 'bout it, alrigh'? We're attractin' a lot of attention, ya know."

Alice had looked around, surprised. Souls were pausing on their way to wonder what they were doing. "Alright," she had agreed reluctantly. He was a little creepy, even though he'd yet to give her a reason to mistrust him.

And here they were, sneaking around to sleep with each other, hiding from the rest of the world. Alice knew that her captain despised Gin and would kill her for doing what she was doing; she knew full well that everyone thought he was strange and something was off about him. She had thought so at first as well. As time went by, though, she came to know differently.

Gin was calm and collected and polite in public. She sometimes thought that he wanted people to be uneasy around him. He was merciless in training and battle. He would go to any end to reach his goal, whatever it happened to be. But when it was just the two of them, he was sweet and gentle and passionate. He was a surprisingly sensual lover. She knew he could simply be putting on an act for her, but it didn't seem to matter so much anymore. Every night that one of them wasn't gone, they were together. During the day she waited impatiently for the night to come, so she could go see him.

Alice inspected her eyeliner one more time before she got up. She smiled with the sun and danced along the corridor to the office to get her day's assignments. She paused, her hand on the doorknob.

And maybe he was all those things everyone thought he was; she wouldn't put it passed him. And maybe he was using her for some complex end. Maybe she was a meaningless distraction. She couldn't find it in herself to care as much as she should.

She opened the door.

Rose was on a mission on her own, tracking down a minor Hollow problem in the 54th prefecture. She would probably be gone until sometime in the afternoon and in the meantime, Alice would continue daydreaming.

Quietly she collected a stack of paperwork to complete and slipped over to the Fourth Division gardens as she usually did when she had to work. She spread herself and her work out in the lush grass and set to the task of signing and reading.

There was probably going to be a problem if she got too attached to Gin. He was nice, warm company at night, but the way he treated her left her in danger of falling in love with him, something that she desperately hoped wouldn't ever happen.

Alice snorted. Who was she kidding? She'd been in love with him for some time now, no matter how much she denied it.

Something she was blessed with, she thought, and was secretly proud of, was insight. Empathy. As such, she had no delusions about the way Gin felt; she could love him all she wanted, but when he was done with her, if he got bored or found something better, if she got in his way, he would have no problem dropping her. She thought that Gin probably knew how she felt as well, but it wouldn't stop him from breaking her heart. It probably just made the whole thing more amusing to him.

"Hey there, beautiful."

Alice broke off from her work and thoughts to smile up at Hisagi. "Hey yourself," she returned. He sat cross legged next to her and reached out for a strand of her shoulder length dark brown hair. He ended up with half of a bright red highlight. Alice giggled.

She and Hisagi had been openly dating for a while, ever since a party they'd gone to in East Rukon. She never felt bad about dating him and sleeping with Gin. She was fairly certain that Hisagi knew he wasn't the only one. She was also fairly certain he knew she didn't love him like he loved her. It was okay with both of them – she enjoyed his company and being able to lie in his arms in the sun like she couldn't with Gin, and she did love him, sort of; he was so enamoured that he would take whatever part of her she was willing to give.

"What's up?" she inquired, rolling over and pushing her work away simultaneously.

Hisagi shrugged. "Does there need to be an emergency for me to come see you?"

"No." Alice propped herself up on her elbow. She considered him momentarily. When he didn't seem to notice, lost in thought, she reached out to stroke the tattoo on his cheek. "You alright?"

Hisagi sighed and then shrugged. "I can't complain." His dark eyes were sharp as they met hers. "Are you?"

She frowned. "Do I seem not-alight?"

"You've been sort of distant." He wasn't looking at her again.

"You're the one lost in thought all the time," she muttered.

"See?"

Alice sighed. She leant up and kissed him gently, lingering at his lips. "I'm sorry. I hadn't noticed."

With that wrinkle in his nose that meant he forgave her, Hisagi returned the favour. He rested his forehead against hers. "I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing."

Alice laughed brightly and mussed his already messy hair. She offered no answer. She wasn't sure either.

Author's Note: Because I remembered today and chances are I'd forget by tomorrow.