Fox or Snake
Disclaimer: I don't own anything!
She stood outside the shop, staring at the stuffed dolls displayed in the window. Two dolls in particular caught her attention. One was a silver snake with a grinning face and slit eyes, the other was a silver fox with smile shaped mouth and eyes. She stood there wondering which best represented him. The fox or the snake? She always thought of him as a fox, the mischievous and cunning kitsune. But now... now she wondered if he had always been a snake, traitorous and cold blooded. She would have liked for him to be a fox, for they were warm with soft fur and mated for life. But... he was clearly a snake. A snake who betrayed her, who would probably kill her.
She signed, "I hate you so much, Gin. But I miss you more, especially today." It was her birthday, or rather it was the anniversary of the day she met Ichimaru Gin. They had spent it together every year. Except this year. This year he was in Heuco Mundo, planning a war. A war against Soul Society, against her and all that she held dear. She signed again as she went inside the shop to buy the two dolls.
Sometime later she found herself sitting by the river that ran through Karakura continuing her contemplation of the two dolls, "What are you Gin?" she wondered again, "A fox or a snake? Or are you just a predator who just wants to devour? What are you Gin." She didn't have the answer. She had been pondering this question ever since Gin left, on the sixth of August. It hadn't been that long ago but it felt like a lifetime. Being in Soul Society had been hard after he left. The almost blind trust everybody had for their comrades were shaken to the core. More than a few wondered if they had been naive to trust so much. Still others were looking at everybody who remained with suspicion. Of course that included Matsumoto Rangiku, the woman with the dubious honor of being the only friend of Ichimaru Gin. It had been a relief when she had been allowed to join the Advance Squad. Being able to escaping into the living world had been a blessing. She didn't mind the battles either. They actually made her feel better by giving her something to channel her anger into.
"Damn you, Gin," whispered Rangiku as she hugged her two dolls, not caring how it would look to passersby to see a grown woman hugging stuffed toys, "Damn you," After awhile she put the dolls down again, "I think," she said to the fox, "I'll call you Gin and I think," she said turning to the snake, "I'll call you Ichimaru. I think Ichimaru Gin was... is both a snake and a fox," she concluded, a sad cast came on her face as she continued, "And I think I was always a fool to want to be the bride of a kitsune. I loved a trickster and found that he had tricked me. I found that I had missed the snake that he was coiling around me... I deserve this. I truly do, for I still love the kitsune snake and wish he would come back to me..." a single tear rolled down her cheek. But she brushed it away, picking up her dolls she headed back to Orihime's house. With any luck Ikkaku and Yamichka would be there with dinner and both of them were always up for bar hopping.
Author's note: This came about because I was thinking about how Gin get's linked to a fox and sometimes a snake. Reading the manga I think the only time he get's linked to a fox is when Ichigo calls him a foxfaced bastered. Although that's not always consistently translated. Rukia linked him to a snake and certainly his appearance can be considered snake like. However, during the Shinigami illustrated bit at the end of episode 171 Kira designs a phone for the Shinigami men's association with everything masculine he could think of. He basically turned Gin into a phone and that was fox shaped. Also in the "Colourful Bleach" Omake chapters, Kira does consistently link Gin to a fox. First Omake has Kira suggest making fox shaped buns as most people are fans of Gin and the second Omake chapter is the cellphone deal which is slightly different from animated version in that Iba deducts three points from Kira since he put too much of his captain in the design. Which also seems to indicate other people associated Gin with a fox as well. If you want to read the omake yourselves you can find them all at: http : / / www . bleachforums . com / ?t=25866&page=7
So I am thinking there is some issues with which animal to associate Gin with. Also I got the Bleach timeline form http : / / community . livejournal . com / soul_society / 848698 . html, which indicates that Rangiku spent her first birthday (and Gin's first birthday) after the betrayal in the world of the living. This also got me thinking on how she would have ended up spending the day. Finding stuff toys that reminded her of Gin and then taking Ikkaku and Yamichka drinking seems about right to me.