Kira was standing at the desk stacking the last of the papers together as his captain reshelf the various books that had accumulated around the study. They had talked while they worked about everything and anything. That was what Kira liked about Gin, he could be himself around his captain, he could ask the questions he feared asking anyone else, and he didn't have to worry about being judged or ridiculed. His captain understood him in ways no one else ever could and he was grateful for that.

The day had gone by relatively fast, and in what seemed like only a matter of hours, the paperwork was done, the study was cleaned and they were getting ready to leave. As he stood there stacking the last of the papers together, Izuru heard Gin walking up behind him.

"Everything is filed away, captain" he said over his shoulder.

"Izuru, I've told you before, when we are alone, you can call me Gin."

Izuru turned back to the papers in his hands, his face flushing red as Gin stepped closer.

"Where do you want the papers filed away.. Cap… Gin?" Kira said softly.

"You can leave them on the desk…Izuru" Gin whispered as he stood right behind his lieutenant, his hands resting lightly on his shoulders as he looked over Izuru's shoulder.

"Gin…" Izuru said softly as he tried to pull back slightly.

"What's wrong?" Gin said softly as he leaned his head in closer to Kira's ear. "Its alright… there's no one else around, it's just the two of us here, my Little Kira."

That familiar shiver ran up his spine as Gin's breath tickled his skin, the same shiver he had felt that first day he had felt those fingers trace over his arm. The same shiver he had felt just a few days ago as he watched his captain disrobe. Gin leaned closer as he softly spoke Kira's name, and moved around slightly and stood in front of him.

"Do you fear me, Izuru?"

"What? No, of course not, Gin… how could I?" Kira said, eyes wide in shock. "You are the only one I trust!"

"I am flattered, Izuru… but how deep does that loyalty go? How far would you go to prove your loyalty, and love, to me?"

Gin looked at Kira as his fingers gently traced over the young man's cheek.

"I would do whatever you would ask of me, Captain," Kira said softly as he looked up at Gin.

"If I asked you to have nothing to do with the other squads?"

"I would stay by your side alone."

"If I asked you to get information from one of the captains?"

"I would do it at once, Captain."

"If I asked you to abandon those you call friends?"

"I would look to you and only you, Gin."

Gin smiled as he stepped closer, his hand sliding behind Kira's neck as he leaned towards him, his head almost touching his.

"And that is why you are my Little Kira."

"Gin…" Kira whispered as he closed his eyes.

"I do have something to ask of you, Izuru. Rangiku… you and her have been friends since Aizen-sama and I found you in the academy. I need you to find out something for me. I need you to find out how far her loyalties go. Will you do that for me, my Little Kira?"

"Of course… course I will... Gin," Kira said softly.

The next moment, Kira knew he would remember forever, that moment as his captain's lips brushed against his softly. Kira pulled back slightly in surprise but his captain's hand behind his neck held him still. Speaking his name softly, Gin kissed him again, and this time Kira did not pull away. He tasted sweet… like, Kira didn't know exactly what, but he knew he tasted at least in part like the glass of sake he had seen Gin drinking a earlier as they talked. The kiss was simple, yet to Kira it held more importance than any event at that time. Could he dare to believe that his captain, the man he idolized as a god, did he dare to hope that he would have the same feelings for someone like him?

"Gin…"

"Shhhh, Izuru," he said, as he laid a finger on his lips softly, silencing him.

Kira felt the arms he had imagined holding him slowly wrap around him as his captain embraced him, pulling his head to his shoulder. Timidly, Kira slowly inched his hands up till they were resting on the shoulders of his captain. With his head lightly against Gin's chest Izuru felt wave after wave of emotion wash over him as they stood there… not caring about the world that was passing by just outside those doors…

Kira now sat under the cherry tree, his mind far away from where he and Rangiku were sitting. The cup of sake remained untouched in his hand as he sat there. Rangiku had already finished her second one when she looked at Izuru. He really was acting odd lately, and the way he was reacting to being with her really bothered her- they use to be so close. Kira would confide in her when they were going through the academy. It was her he confessed the slight crush he had on little Momo when they had first joined the academy. Though she was a good deal older than Izuru, having graduated the same time as Gin and Aizen, they had always been good friends. But all that was changing lately. It seemed that more and more often Kira had no room for anyone else in his life except for his Captain, Gin Ichimaru. Gin... Rangiku had her own troubling memories of the man, but she had gotten over them, for the most part- or at least that was what she kept telling herself. She sat there and looked at her friend, his eyes distant and empty. What was Gin doing to the boy? The way they had talked just a little while ago... there was something strange about it, and she was both troubled and worried about it.

"Kira..." she said as she faced him again. "Kira!"

Kira blinked his eyes a few times and stared at Rangiku. It was like he'd almost forgotten that she was even there. The gently hint of a kiss Gin had given him a few minutes ago had made him think back to that time at the office and he had become totally lost in that memory.

"Oh, I'm sorry Rangiku. I guess I got caught up in my thoughts. What were you saying again?" She gave him a wry smile.

"I asked how you have been in the last few weeks."

She took another sip of her sake. Kira seemed to realize that he'd not even touched his sake and took a sip of the strong drink.

"I'm fine," he said simply as silence hung between them for a minute or two.

"That's it? You're fine. I don't see you in almost a month and that's all you have to say, I'm fine?" Rangiku raised her one eyebrow at her good friend. "You've been so busy with squad three duties lately. What's going on over there?"

Kira adverted his eyes and stared down at the sake cup as he took another longer drink from it, trying to avoid the subject.

"You know... usual stuff. Paperwork, keeping things under control... G...Captain Ichimaru has put me in charge of helping to train the new additions to squad 3."

"Congratulations Izuru, I know you have had several new graduates."

"It's been a challenge, but it is part of my duty as vice captain."

Rangiku nodded as she poured herself and Kira another cup of sake.

"You know how training goes, Rangiku. We have a few who can't even handle their hell butterflies." Kira let out a little laugh but it sounded strained to her ears. Taking another sip of sake, Kira wondered how long before he could bring up the real reason he was here with Rangiku, asking where her loyalties lay.

"There is a lot of responsibility that goes into being a vice captain isn't there? Takes so much out of your daily schedule and seems to steal away all your time." Rangiku laughed as she emptied the cup "Its almost like being in a relationship with them!"

Rangiku gave Kira a strange look. It was as if he'd deliberately ignored her last words. A mischievous smile crossed Rangiku's beautiful face. Maybe she should just see if he really is listening to her.

"So, what it's like, being almost married to him?"

Kira shrugged his shoulders slightly as he sipped the sake and a strong wind blew more cherry blossoms down around them.

"The relationship between vice captain and their captain is meant to be a close one. Sure there are struggles that come with it, but that's not always a bad thing with Gin..." Kira realized his slip up and scrambled to cover it "I mean Captain Ichimaru."

He saw the look Rangiku gave him as she stared at him, the sake momentarily forgotten. Sure there were stories of captains and their vice captains who had become exceptionally close- Rangiku thought of the way Momo idolized Captain Aizen. Relationships like that were natural, they were meant to trust each other with their lives. She thought about her relationship with Captain Hitsugya- the respect and admiration she had for her captain. But Kira... it was different with him. He used his captain's first name, something that was unheard of in the courts. Sure that Kira was hiding something from her, Rangiku pushed a little more.

"Gin, is it?" Uncrossing her legs, she shifted a bit so she could see Kira's face better. "The only other lieutenant to call their captain by his first name is Yachiru. I can see why, she considers Captain Zaraki her father. But, Captain Ichimaru..." Rangiku looked off into the distance. "He never struck me as the type to let people get close to him. We were pretty close when we were younger. I called him Gin when we were in the academy together but once he made Captain, I was no longer allowed to call him by his first name."

"Maybe you're not as close to him as you think." A strange tone rang out in Kira's voice. "After all, I was chosen to be his lieutenant, not you."

Kira looked at her through the golden locks that fell in his face.

"Captain Ichimaru knows my loyalty to him. He knows I would do anything for him, and he has rewarded that hard work and dedication. He chose me to be vice captain of squad three- just a year after being assigned to the squad. He chose me, Rangiku, not you. He didn't chose the one he went through the academy with, he didn't chose the one he had known the longest, he chose me. He chose me because he knows I am loyal."

"Are you saying that I am not loyal to Captain Hitsugya or to the rest of the Goeti 13?" Her voice was tight with surprise and insult as she stared at Kira. He turned his head slightly and looked at her, is eyes cold.

"You tell me Rangiku. Do you follow your captains every will and wish? How do you know what the real truth is? How can you know what is right and wrong? Depend on others and they will deceive you. You have to choose for yourself who you will believe, and I believe my captain above all others. Above the words of any other captain, Ichimaru's words are truth, and I will follow them without question." Kira laughed softly as he turned his head away from Rangiku. "You couldn't possibly understand what its like."

Rangiku sat stunned. This wasn't the Kira she'd known for all these years. The Kira she knew was kind and gentle with no harsh words for anyone. Sure, he seemed to be stand offish but once you got to know him, one could see all these good qualities. But wait...did he just say that Ichimaru's words were the truth and he was above all other captains?

"Kira, how much do you really know about Gin? Yes, he's a good captain but there is a side to him that not many other people get to see."

Kira face remained cold and unreadable.

"I've known him for many, many years and there is one thing about him that bothers me more than anything else about him. He won't let anyone get to know the real him. Gin hides behind that false smile and those closed eyes." Rangiku laid her hand on Kira's arm. "I just don't want to see you hurt."

Kira yanked his arm away from her as he started to stand.

"Be quiet Rangiku! Dont talk about him that way!" Kira stood and for the first time since she had known the blond haired man, Rangiku could say that she saw true anger in his eyes. "You don't know what it's like Rangiku. To be alone for so long, to know that even those you had counted as friends were really only putting up with you out of obligation or sympathy. You don't know what its like to be alone for so long and then to finally find someone who understands you... someone you can be yourself around... someone who accepts you as you are, only to have that questioned by everyone around you!" Kira looked down at Rangiku and sneered. "You could never understand someone like Gin."

"Never understand someone like Gin? I've known Gin far longer than you have, Izuru!"

How dare he! Did Kira think he was the only person who had trouble fitting in? Try having a body like this and try to make friends with the other females in the court guards. She worked damn hard to get where she was, Kira wasn't the only one to know what it was like to struggle to be accepted by others.

"Kira, half your problem is you don't even try to make friends! You stand and wait for people to approach you, not the other way around. Instead of coming off shy, you come off arrogant!"

"I don't know you anymore Rangiku-san," Kira said coldly as he turned his back on Rangiku and started back towards Squad three barracks.

"Kira! Izuru!"

He ignored her as he walked off, climbing the stairs and entering the squad three barracks. Through the slight opening as the door closed Rangiku saw the familiar silver hair of Gin.

There it was… that smile. Same smile he had shown her years ago. Rangiku hated and despised that smile anymore. With a heavy sigh she turned and gathered up the sake bottle and cups and started back towards squad 10 barracks, her mind reeling, her hear heavy, and an uneasy feeling settling over her as she thought about Kira and Gin.

When he had gotten inside, Kira hurried past his captain bowing slightly as he pushed by. Entering the small room that served as his sleeping chambers, Kira closed the door and leaned back against the wall, biting his lower lip. It couldn't be true. It couldn't be. Gin would never lie to him. He wouldn't use him. Rangiku had to be lying… but, it was almost as hard for him to believe that she would lie to him. Feeling confused and hurt Kira made his way to the bed and fell down onto it and curled up, wishing he could escaped the voice and the shouting match that was going on in his head.

Sometime later, the door opened slowly. Kira still lay on the bed, seemingly asleep yet still wide awake. He heard the familiar sound of sandals on the wooden floor. The steps stopped and silence hung in the room for a moment and then he heard it, the soft voice, the voice that seemed to melt all fear and doubt. But even that voice could not totally break through the icy coldness Kira felt inside.

"Izuru… what's the matter?" Gin asked as he stood by the bed, kira laying, with his back to him.

Kira didn't care if he was disrespecting his captain, he didn't feel like moving, but Gin didn't seem to mind as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"You can tell me Izuru, what happened with Rangiku?"

Gin reached out and gently placed his hand on Kira's shoulder. Kira pulled away slightly as he tried to curl up in an even tighter ball. Gin sat in silence a moment and then sighed.

"Izuru… my Little Kira… what's the matter? You know you can talk to me. What did Rangiku say?"

"She… she said that you…" Kira swallowed hard around the lump that had formed in his throat. "… you were lying to me."

"And do you believe her?" Gin asked simply.

Kira stirred and slowly turned over and looked up at his captain.

"No… I don't want to believe her…"

"Then don't… don't believe anything other than what you feel in your heart, Izuru," Gin said as he smiled, his eyes opening ever so slightly as he looked down at his lieutenant.

"I want to believe you… Captain. I want to believe you… Gin."

"Have I ever given you reason to bout me, Izuru?"

"No…"

"When you were alone among the squads who took you in?"

"You did, Captain."

"Who chose you to be their lieutenant above all the others?"

"You did."

"Who is it who loves and accepts you as you are, Izuru?"

"You do… Gin."

"Then let's not have any more talk of lies and deception."

Gin looked at Kira who was now sitting up, looking at Gin with big ice blue eyes as he smiled.

"Gin…" Kira said softly as he closed his eyes, feeling Gin's touch on his face.

If anyone had opened the door to Gin's barracks they would have been met by the following sight: Captain Ichimaru Gin of Squad three was laying in the bed, his white captain's haoir draped over the nearby chair, his black shinigami robes open down to the white sash which was tied around his waist. Beside him was his lieutenant Izuru Kira, curled up, his head on his captain's chest, a soft smile on his face as he drifted to sleep.

"Gin… I'm sorry I doubted you…"

"shhhh.. don't think on that anymore Izuru."

Kira smiled as he closed his eyes once more and fell asleep, feeling his captain's arm around his shoulders and hearing his voice in his ears, melting away all fear and doubt.