This story might seem weird, but it most definitely is not a GinXRukia fic.

Rukia was feeling confused.

Emotions were roiling through her small self, her thoughts jumbled in her mind like a sack of shook up words.

She'd never thought about it, not until Matsumoto-san brought it up...

~x~

"Ne, ne, Kuchiki!"

Rukia looked up from the noodles she was slurping, up to Matsumoto Rangiku's beaming, mischievous face.

"What is Ichigo to you?"

The black-haired Shinigami nearly choked on her food. Suddenly, she could feel several pairs of eyes trained on her. Looking up tentatively, she saw Hinamori Momo, Ise Nanao, Madarame Ikkaku, Kira Izuru and Abarai Renji staring at her.

"W-what do you mean?" she stuttered.

Wait, wait! Why does this all seem familiar...?

"You know exactly what I mean!" Rangiku grinned. "What is going on between you and Ichigo? What is he to you?"

"You're too blunt, Rangiku," Nanao said.

"And you were interested to know too, weren't you?" Rangiku retorted.

"Kuchiki-san and Kurosaki-san are close, aren't you?" Momo said, smiling.

"They've been close since they first met," Renji put in, slurping his ramen noisily. "Practically everyone knows that."

"Hah! Do I hear jealousy?" Ikkaku said, glancing pointedly at Renji with a sly smirk. The latter scowled. "As if! Rukia's like family to me."

"Oh, yeah! You and Kuchiki-san grew up together," Izuru said.

"Yup. Southern Rukongai, district 78: Inuzuri." Renji gazed heavenwards, sighing. "Those were the days."

"Abarai-kun! Isn't Inuzuri one of the most dangerous districts?" Momo exclaimed.

"Uhuh. Tough times, those days. But living with close friends makes you feel like family. Safe and happy." Renji gave Rukia a warm smile.

"You guys are totally diverting my original question!" Rangiku stood up, planting her palms on the counter and then leaned close to Rukia. The smaller girl trembled slightly.

"So. What is Ichigo to you?"

Once again, pairs of eyes turned to her and Rukia had to look away from the discomfort.

"Ichigo? He's just my friend, that's all."

As Rangiku and some others complained that she was being boring, inside, Rukia wondered: What is Ichigo to me?

~x~

Rukia sighed into the evening air as she thought about what had been exchanged between her friends and herself earlier that day. It was nostalgic because she had been asked a similar question while residing in the Living World temporarily.

She'd given the same answer today.

But was it true? Was what she felt merely friendly feelings for him or something more?

Kurosaki Ichigo...

What are you to me?

She couldn't understand what was going on inside of her. Shinigami weren't supposed to possess any distracting emotions. But this...feeling just circled inside her chest, like a ever-present butterfly amongst the flowers. Whenever she saw Ichigo, this feeling would spring up and would cause her to almost do stupid things. She'd always cover them up by whacking him.

Letting out another long breath, Rukia played with the grass next to her. She was sitting on the hill nearest Thirteenth Company. The small hill only just overlooked their barracks. She could see the tips of the rest of Seireitei beyond it.

"Oh! Look who it is!"

Rukia froze, goosebumps crawling over her skin at hearing the voice, a voice she had disliked since the first time she had met him. The cold-feeling reiatsu she hadn't noticed before washed over her as he stepped closer.

"Konbanwa, Rukia-chan."

Turning slightly, she was greeted with the sight of Ichimaru Gin.

~x~

"Ara! What's with tha face?" Ichimaru Gin tilted his head slightly to the side, feigning confusion. "It's just me, ya know?"

That is the problem here, Rukia thought with venom.

"Whaat? No greetin's?" Ichimaru looked disappointed.

"G-good evening, Ichimaru...taichou."

Ichimaru shrugged. "Ah, doesn't matter, right?" He walked over to her and gestured to the spot next to her. "Mind if I joined ya?"

Rukia was more than a little surprised but it vanished when the question sunk in.

"W-what?"

"Mind if I joined ya?" Ichimaru repeated.

Rukia cursed her bad luck. Refusing others might have been easier, but refusing a captain was unheard of.

"...Sure," she said after a pause.

"Haah~ Thought ya'd might've refused me there." Ichimaru settled down to sit next to her.

"Ichimaru...taichou. What are you doing here?" Rukia was slowly edging as far away as possible from him.

"I was just takin' a walk nearby when I felt yer reiatsu all outta place." He smiled that creepy smile. "Thought I'd go check it out."

"There was no need - "

"Ya look troubled, ne, Rukia-chan?"

The girl stiffened. Was it that obvious?

"Ya can talk 'bout it, if ya want to. I'm a good listener." Ichimaru's face was unchanged.

"It's nothing at all." Rukia hugged her knees close to her chest, trying to ward off Ichimaru.

"Oh.. That's disappointin'... I always liked stories." The man leaned back on his arms. "Nice evenin', ne?"

Rukia nodded slowly. "Yes."

"This sky just reminds me of my Rukongai days." He seemed to be thinking about something. "Now that I look at it properly, it always looked like tha sky was this way." He turned his head slightly to look at her. "Don'cha think? Ya lived in tha Rukongai too, right? With Abarai-kun?"

"I did," Rukia answered. Gazing out to the sky, she admittedly had to agree with Ichimaru. The skies of Rukongai looked quite alike with the skies she was looking at now.

"Rangiku used to love evenings."

The black-haired Shingami next to him gave a start. Glancing at him, she noticed the curiously tight smile on his face.

"Ya know, right, that she and I stuck together back then? Actually, I found her starved and gave her somethin' to eat. That's how we met." Ichimaru's head bobbed up and down. "Yup. The both of us lived together, helpin' each other to survive the harsh Rukongai conditions. I looked after her, it was no burden to me. After livin' alone for so long, you tend to want some companionship. I was glad that I'd found her, really."

Ichimaru hunched forward, looking ahead. "Rangiku loved evenings," he said again, this time in a quieter tone of voice. "She'd sit by tha window in tha shack we lived in, or outside, to watch a sunset. She never missed one, never. It was her favorite time of tha day, a time when she could feel at peace."

Rukia continued to look at him, listening to him.

"I'd join her if I could and we'd share what food we had. We'd never have a perfect meal, food was all too rare then, so hard to find. It was only little bits of this and that that we'd scavenge 'round."

Internally, Rukia agreed with the captain. She'd once been through that too.

"But whatever it was, I would've given most of it to her. I wouldn't have minded starvin' through tha night to make sure that she's eatin' well. She'd refuse sometimes 'cuz she'd want to make sure that I'd had my share and I'd lie to her at times, sayin' that I was full." Ichimaru's expression barely changed. "I wouldn't have minded, not at all."

Surprise and understanding formed deep inside Rukia as she took in his story. "You care for Matsumoto-fukutaichou, don't you, Ichimaru...taichou? You care for her, a lot."

Ichimaru chuckled, running his long fingers through his silver hair. "Ahaha, my secret's out!"

Rukia gaped. Of course it's all out! You're practically telling me the whole tale!

Still chuckling a little, he continued, "When ya care for someone very much, ya'd do anything in yer power to make 'em happy." Ichimaru smiled at her. "Ya might not even notice it at first, what yer doin', I mean. Ya might not know how much you actually really love 'em. Some people don't even wanna admit it to themselves! But I think that's stupid 'cuz there's nothin' wrong about lovin' someone." The man turned a little to face her. "So, if ya've got feelin's for someone, I suggest ya just accept tha fact. Treasure that person till tha very end, 'cuz ya never know when fate might decide to break ya apart and that's when yer gonna regret every little thing that you haven't done for 'em or all the mistakes that ya wish ya could take back."

Ichimaru placed a fist over his chest. "Everythin' ya feel in here is everythin' ya've got for that person. No, ya can give 'em more, more than what's contained. Ya could try to tell 'em but it's no guarantee that yer feelin's would be returned. But!" He grinned, cracking open one eye to reveal icy blue irises. "Yer reiatsu's been screamin' 'Ichigo-kun', ya know. And his has been screamin' yers too."

Rukia's eyes widened and she felt herself flush. "Our...reiatsu? What..do you mean?"

The captain shrugged. "The both of yer reiatsu feels like a long ribbon separated into two bodies. I don't really know how to put it, but tha both of you are connected, like this." Ichimaru interlaced the fingers of both his hands. "Just like me and Rangiku once were. But now, we're more like this." He split his hands, placing them on the grass on either side of himself. "It's been so long and me and Rangiku aren't that close anymore. Ever since I told her that I wanted to become a Shinigami, tha gap between us has been growing further and further apart." His smile faltered the slightest. "'It's easier to crush a dream than realize one, formin' a bond is infinitely more difficult than breakin' one.'"

A silence fell between the pair as the sun slowly made its descent.

Ichimaru stood up suddenly. "Aah~ Night's fallin'. I'd better go before Izuru worries."

As the man turned, he said, "Rukia-chan, yer lucky 'cuz yer bond with him is really strong. Even so, never, ever let him go or the regret is gonna haunt ya for the rest of yer life." His voice sounded almost wistful.

Ichimaru moved to walk away and Rukia quickly stood up and bowed, "Arigatou, Ichimaru-taichou."

The man laughed. "That was the first time ya called me 'taichou' without hesitation." He waved his hand without looking back. "No problem."

"Ichimaru-taichou!"

The silver-haired captain stopped.

"I hope that...you and Matsumoto-fukutaichou will forever be friends, even if your bond is not as strong as it was, I hope that you'll find happiness, both of you."

Rukia could see Ichimaru's shoulders tremble faintly and then heard his quiet voice.

"Arigatou, Rukia-chan. May that wish come true."

~x~

A/N: I know I'm supposed to be on hiatus because of my exams and all (IGCSEs anyone?), but this had to be written.

I don't exactly remember how the idea came about, but I knew I wanted to write a Gin and Rukia conversation, 'cause I know how much Rukia hates him. I realize it's not much of a conversation, it's more like Gin advising her, but oh well.

So, I thought I'd cover my two favorite pairings in BLEACH in their little talk (IchiRuki and GinRan). Frankly speaking, I have never written a full one shot concerning others beside Ichigo or Rukia. Gin is a really hard character to get into.. And I'm not quite sure about his speech, with his dialect and all. But I hope it made sense and that you liked it. R&R please!