The sliver chain

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, No matter how much I wish otherwise.

Chapter One

Even the Dead have A Name

Splash. Tomp tomp tomp. Someone stepped in a pool of water, sending ripples through the shallow pond. Close behind them another person followed. Instead of darting through the silver mirror of water, they chose to jump over it, blurring in midair. Then… a bright flash lit up the night. A blade faster then any in existence tore the night into shards of shadow. A blade a hundred sword lengths long. A blade named… Shinso. The blade struck its target, cleanly cutting through layers of muscle.

"Gin why?" the girl said. A racking cough shook her body and she retched blood onto the layer of wet leaves that clung to the forest floor. "I have been useful to you… she chocked on her next words and spat out more of the thick red liquid. Struggling to her feet she made a vain attempt to stand but only managed to skewer herself further on the blade. "If you had just let me help, then we could have been closer than ever."

The man she was talking to stepped into a pool of moonlight. A white robe was held closed by a brilliant blue sash. His not tiny stick of a sword was grasped by slender bloodstained hands. "Those under me ain't supposed to act out of line." Gin leaned forward slightly. A brisk wind tossed soft, silvery gray hair into his face. "Now die and leave me alone."

An arch of blood sprayed through the air painting the world around the two people with red dots. A thick splash of the rich slimy liquid hit Gin's robe as the girls head landed on the ground with a muted thud. "Uh oh," he sheathed his sword "Look at that" his grin widened as he pointed out the stains to the green eyes staring sightlessly at the dark blue sky far above. Shucks you stained my shihakusho." Taking in the rich metallic scent of blood, he opened his eyes to slits. The first thing that he saw was the girls head. Her thick hair spilled across the ground inches away from her body. Fire red, crystallized amber and soft green flashes of vibrant leaves gleamed in between the heavy tangled strands of dark hair. She might have been pretty if her head was still attached to her body that is.

Turning away from the gruesome sight a sudden bright glint of sliver caught his eye. His wide smiled flickered as he bent over to pluck a chain from the pool of blood it lay in. he lifted it to eye level and hung the chain of his finger from the hoop attached to one end. "Never again" he whispered into the air. The wind playfully tossed his words around sending echoes of the sentence back to him. His finger traced a name set in glowing blue stones on the hoop. Rangiku. Gin allowed his eyes to fall shut and then flashed stepped away. Ashe moved from branch to branch high up in the treetops, he wrapped the chain around his right wrist. The chained turned bracelet settled into its familiar place and he felt his heart pull painfully. He stopped suddenly as a hollow appeared in the tree before him.

"What did you do to the girl?" The man's blue hair hid his grey eyes from view.

The wind tossed a flurry of leaves in a sudden fit, obscuring the two men from view. "No one will notice if one more arrancar goes missing." When the leaves finally settled the two men were gone leaving the forest of Hueco Mundo empty of all things living.

XXX

A silver haired boy emerged from the trees and walked down the well worn path. All of his senses were alert for any sign of movement around him. He had already seen three shinigami, who knew if there might be more. A gleam of red gold caught the corner of his eye and he stopped. A small girl lay limply on the ground under some bushes. She was wearing a dark green kimono held closed by a thick white sash. Her clothes and clearly seen better days and her clothes and skin were marred by small scratches and flecks of drying blood. From the ways she was laid out, it seemed that someone had just dumped her there. If it wasn't for her bright hair she could have lain there forever. After all not many people came this way.

Making his decision quickly, he walked over to the redhead and bent over her still form. Her eyelids were completely still and her breathing came rapid and shallow. He pulled a persimmon fruit out of the stack that he held in his arms and waved it under her nose. When she stirred slightly he spoke. "Eat this." He spoke gently but firmly. "The fact that you passed out from hunger means that you have it too. Spirit energy."

At the sound of his voice the girl stirred. "You…too?"

"Yeah. Me, too." He continued to hold out the food until she took it with a small smile. "I'm Gin Ichimaru. Nice to meet you."

"Gin," she said trying it out, "that's a weird name."

The dream ended, but Rangiku didn't fell like getting up. It was so warm laying here and she was so tired…

"Matsumoto," the voice of her captain echoed in her head, shattering the last strands of sleep.

Rangiku sat up suddenly wide awake. "Taicho," she asked puzzled, "why are you in my room?"

Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya glared at his joke of an assistant captain through ice blue eyes. "Idiot! This is the office!"

Rangiku blinked and looked around. "Ohhhh… Taicho why do you have your Zanpaku-to?" she asked noticing Hyorinmaru slung across his back.

Toshiro sighed and ran a hand through his spiky white hair. "You missed the announcement. Captains and assistant captains from third, fifth, sixth, and tenth companies are ordered to gather at twelfth division barracks for an emergency meeting."

"What does the captain general want with only third, fifth, sixth, and tenth," Rangiku asked thinking hard.

Her captain must have noticed what she was doing because, because his eyes flashed and he seemed to struggle to keep a straight face. "Don't think to hard you'll give yourself a headache."

Rangiku held her head in her hands, "I already have one stupid hangover."

Toshiro looked away from the paper he was examining, his eyes snapping to his assistant captain. "And where would you get the alcohol for that?"

"Ummm…Izuru," she tried.

Toshiro's eyes narrowed, "So I'm guessing that you were to busy hiding bottles of sake to get any work done."

Rangiku widened her eyes innocently, "Work…Taicho I just got up!"

His glare hardened. "Yes work! You'll do it when we get back. Now get your Zanpaku-to and lets get going." Turning on his heals he flash stepped away.

Once he disappeared, Rangiku hurried over to the wall her Zanpaku-to and assistant captain badge hung on. She strapped her Zanpaku-to to her waist and tied her badge to her sash.

"Damn," she cursed loudly. The stack of files that her captain wanted done reached past her waist. Sighing she went to check her calendar for anything else she had to do. Her lavender eyes scanned the list, but when she saw today's date she froze. September 10th … she couldn't believe that she had forgotten.

All thoughts of the meeting flew out of her head. Silently she moved out onto the balcony. If she strained she could just barely see third company's barracks. With the morning sun lighting it up from behind it looked like some mystical place only the gods could live in. Perfect and untouchable. Over the years Rangiku had created barriers boundaries to keep herself from being hurt. No one had ever been able to get past them except… him. He had slithered past them, worming his way into her heart like some type of snake. She let all of her shields be swept away by a bleak wave of pain and sorrow. As those emotions came ripping through her, the tears tore free of her eyes. She clamped her hands over her mouth in a vain attempt to quiet the sobs that racked through her. The searing emotional pain felt worse than any of the injuries that she had ever sustained.

When the salty river of tears finally seemed to die down, she took her hand from her mouth and placed them on the railing of the balcony. She took a deep breath and turned her face up to the sky. The sunlight kissed her face and turned the drying tear tracks into two sparkling Zanpaku-to blades. Smiling sadly she whispered, "Happy birthday Gin…"

Deep in Hueco Mundo, Gin Ichimaru stood on a balcony and stared at the sky of a dark and unloving world. He would never be able to close the jagged wound that split the thing in his chest into pieces. His mind flicked over the faces of all the people that he had left behind in the soul society. One face seemed to always stick with him, symbolizing something forbidden. He had asked her to forget him when he took the chain, but somehow she managed to remember the name of a dead man. Unable to control himself his finger tightened on the fragile piece of wood, forever leaving the imprint of his hands as a symbol of his weakness. A single tear fell from electric blue eyes into the black abyss of the night. "What have I become Rangiku," he asked softly. And in that moment he was no longer a hard, strong, untouchable warrior. He seemed …fragile…. breakable ….. human.

(An: This is not a one-shot! There will be other chapters after this! Please read and review! It might take a while for me to post the next chapter because I have to read it to my friend WhisperToTheWolves over the phone. I do not have a computer. Please be patient with me and warning: I love cliffys! So be careful reading this story. R&R!)