"My love, leave yourself behind
Beat inside me, leave you blind
My love, you have found peace
You were searching for relief…

You gave it all, gave into the call..
You took a chance and you took a fall for us….

You came thoughtfully, loved me faithfully
You taught me honor, you did it for me…."

Sia – My Love.

Gin feels his body growing colder, distant. The pain is unbearable, his entire being aching as he lies there. Sounds of muffled screams fill his ears from the humans nearby. 'Kurosaki-san's friends,' he recalls. The screaming seems to be the only thing he can hear anymore. Gin can feel Aizen's presence surrounding him; engulfing whatever life he has left. He can feel the look of betrayal in Aizen's eyes as he stares at Gin's tattered body. 'Did he plan on killing me all along?' Gin asks himself. 'He had to have… even if I didn't try to kill him first…'

Gin wants to open his eyes, but he can't. He no longer has the strength to do so. When he tries, everything is out of focus and even more painful. He can barely swallow; the coppery taste of blood has begun to fill his mouth. He's a mess.

'It's over… I lost…' he silently curses himself. He wants to scream. He opens his mouth, but no sound comes out. It's all buried deep within his chest, locked away for no one to hear. 'I failed… all these years, for nothing….' He can't help but think about how he spent his entire life waiting for the perfect moment to kill Aizen. He thought about it for years, with each and every passing moment. So many lost opportunities. They haunted him, and would continue to do so until his death.

Gin wonders if anyone will remember him. He wonders if he will be remembered as a traitor. 'Forever hated by the ones I've only tried to protect…' Gin thinks to himself with a sad laugh. He thinks about Kira, and the look of betrayal that was in his eyes the last time he saw them. He thinks about the people he hurt in the process of following through with his plans to kill Aizen. The attempted death of Rukia Kuchiki, slicing Hiyori in half with his zanpakuto, watching as Hinamori was stabbed by the one she trusted the most…

He can't help but think about the decision he made as a bratty little kid, ignorant of the world. He wonders if he made the right decisions. 'Rangiku will never forgive me…' he thinks as his heart breaks even further. 'She'll never know…. She'll never know how much I care…'

Everything hurts. He wishes his death would come for him sooner.

All of a sudden, he feels a burst of reiatsu. Regret fills his heart, everything aching even more. 'Oh god, please…don't come here, Rangiku' he pleads. 'Don't see me like this. I don't want to hurt you anymore….'

But he has no choice. She's moving fast, rushing to find him. And, when she does, her heart leaps into her throat. She inwardly begs that this is all a dream, a nightmare in which she will wake up from. But it's not.

"Gin!" she screams as she sees him, rushing down to where he lay. She doesn't want to believe any of this. Her eyes are frantic as she leans over him. She's searching for any trace of life left in him, but it's hopeless. He's just barely there as it is.

He wants to tell her that everything will be okay. That he loves her, and that he's so sorry. He didn't want to hurt her anymore, but it seems like that is all he is capable of doing. All these years, leaving in the middle of the night, keeping secrets… she will never know what his intentions were. He wants to cry. He didn't want this to happen.

He never wanted to have to say goodbye.

'It didn't work, Rangiku…' he tries to speak to her, but the words won't come out. His hatred for himself boils to the surface once again, his eyes beginning to feel watery. 'In the end, I couldn't get back what was taken from you…'

He can feel her crying over him. He can feel every single hot tear that lands on his cheeks, her sobbing becoming more and more uncontrolled. He hates himself for making her cry. He tries to make a fist out of anger with his one usable hand, but his mind isn't cooperating with the rest of his body much anymore. Her fingers are clutching at him, her head hanging low. She wants to see his eyes; she wants to hold onto him forever. 'Ahh… I knew it…' he says as a pained grimace falls onto his features. 'I'm glad I said sorry…'

Another feeling overcomes him as Ichigo appears at the scene. The tension within Karakura Town is excruciating. Gin finds the strength to open his eyes, just to make sure that the substitute shinigami can handle this. Ichigo is the last hope for achieving what Gin could not. 'Ahhh… those are strong eyes,' Gin thinks to himself. He entrusts the task of killing Aizen to the young boy, somehow finding the strength to allow his body to begin letting go.

As Ichigo and Aizen disappear off into the distance, Gin's electric blue eyes find their way back to Rangiku's. They are finally alone. She's looking back at him, tears filled to the brim. "I love you, Gin," she whispers, hoping he will hear her. Her eyes are searching his as he attempts to smile, the corners of his lips turning up just a bit. That's all he needed to hear. He fights so desperately to get his voice to come back, closing his eyes and pouring all of his energy into the task. "I've always loved ya Ran, enough to fight to tha death fer ya," he manages to get out. His words make her sob even more. He reaches up, brushing the tears off of one of her cheeks. She leans in, kissing him lightly and pressing her forehead against his.

"I have to get you help," she suddenly speaks. "You're not going to die here!"

Gin closes his eyes, the pain engulfing him once again. He knows that her attempts to save him are worthless; he won't make it another second at this rate.

Rangiku runs off as fast as she can, leaping into the air and searching for a way back to the world of the living. Her mind isn't processing things clearly, the fear of Gin dying taking over her entire body. She wants the answers.. Why did he betray Soul Society? Why didn't he answer her when she asked before?

She can't help but wonder if he attacked Aizen. Why else had he been cast aside by the evil ex-captain? Was that Aizen's plan all along? Did Gin actually have other reasons for what he did that she wasn't aware of? She couldn't stop her mind from running through every possible scenario. Was that where he was all of the time when they were children? When she waited up countless nights for him?

Finally, she remembers how to get back. She's sprinting, her eyes strong and determined to bring help back with her. The pain in her ribs is barely recognizable as she fights to find him help. 'He's not going to die,' she tells herself. 'Not without explaining what the hell's going on… I won't let him!'

She finally arrives at the scene of where the war had started and begins searching traces of anyone. Things are quiet in the fake town, all that she can hear are small stones falling off of broken buildings. 'What happened while I was away?' she asks herself. She's sweating, her heart about to race out of her chest. Her eyes search the scenery for a sign of anyone, especially someone from the healing squad. She searches for Kira, knowing that he would help her if she needed it. When she finally finds him, she sees the massive amount of people that require aid that surround him and other shinigami. It seems that the number of shinigami from the 4th squad are limited.

Suddenly, fear finds its way into her heart. She's been gone too long. There's no one here that can help.

She falls to her knees, unable to carry on. Should she go back? Should she keep looking for someone that will help the fallen ex-shinigami? WOULD anyone actually assist her? He was a traitor, after all…

She decides that she needs to run back to him. Why didn't she try to heal him herself? The voice inside her head is screaming at her. She gets up off the ground and takes off at the speed of light, finding her way back to Karakura Town deep within the Soul Society.

She searches frantically for the spot in which he was laying, but all that's left are bloody slabs of stone and building in which he suffered upon. No trace of his reiatsu can be found. Rangiku's eyes grow wide.

He's gone.

The early morning sun begins to peak through the curtains of Rangiku's window. She stirs as small flickers of sunlight aim for her eyelids, annoying her to no end. She pulls the white blankets up a little further, groaning at the idea of waking up so soon. Her warm body arches with a tiny stretch as she rolls over from her current position, hoping to get away from the bright beams of light. She yawns, her body restless from not getting much sleep the night before. As she stretches her arms gently backwards, she feels warm skin on the back of her hands. Her eyes grow wide as she looks over her shoulder. It's then that she remembers WHY she didn't get much sleep.

Gin lies peacefully at her side, one arm still clumsily draped around her shoulder. His eyes are closed, his face peaceful as he slumbers. She quietly flips back over and cuddles his torso, watching his facial expressions while he dreams. He subconsciously pulls her closer to him, making her heart leap into her throat.

She prays that this isn't one of her reoccurring dreams, that this is real. She desperately clings to her hope that he's really beside her. She smiles as she looks at him, her soft hair caressing his shoulder. She thinks about how handsome he is and always has been, as she gently touches his cheek. The bliss of the night before has worn off a bit, and the questions on her mind have begun to rise to the surface. How did he get here? How did he find her without running into any guards or shinigami?

And, most importantly: How in the hell was he alive?

These questions racing through her mind were enough to send her over the edge. She tightly closes her eyes in an attempt to push the thoughts away, but it is rather unsuccessful. She sighs, opening her blue eyes again. She decides to focus her attention on the figure of the man sleeping beside her.

Now that daylight has begun to enter her room, she can see him much more clearly. She can't help but cast her gaze downward to the massive scar that extends from his shoulder to his opposing hip. She cringes, noting that it was much less scary in the dark than when seeing it in the light. Her heart sinks as she traces his scarred skin with her fingers, remembering when his wounds were gushing with blood.

She thinks back on the image that played over and over in her head the passed few weeks. Gin's body strewn across crumbled stones, his expression pained as blood trickled from his mouth. She remembers watching his face grow paler, unable to make a sound as she witnessed the life in him begin to fade away.

She tries thinking back on what happened once Aizen and Ichigo left to battle in a more private place. When she was alone with Gin. She remembers sobbing over him, his eyes flickering open and looking back at her. His ever-apparent smile somehow managing to grace his features as he looked up at her, making her cry even more. She remembers him whispering her name, and saying he loved her. She remembers returning to the spot in which he was laying, and finding nothing there.

She watches as he stirs in his sleep, smiling lightly as he adjusts his weight in order to be more comfortable. He rolls onto his side, pulling the covers up a bit and holding Rangiku closer to his chest.

"Ya know... ya could at least wake me up with a kiss or somethin, Ran" he smirks, his voice still very sleepy. He opens one eye, looking at her. "I can feel yer stare all over me."

Rangiku beams, kissing his cheek and wrapping her arms tightly around him. There he was, the sassy Ichimaru Gin she knew and loved. It was definitely him, she had no doubts left in her mind. She buries her face into his neck for a little while, kissing her way down. "I didn't want to disturb you," she whispers into his hard chest. She leaves tiny loving kisses on his body, her fingers lightly grazing his back. He chuckles as he pulls the blankets up further, keeping them cozy and shielding them from the sun.

"I'm not ready ta wake up yet," Gin groans as he buries his nose in Rangiku's hair. "Can I jus' stay here all day with ya?"

Rangiku giggles, raising her lips up to meet his. "You're not leaving my sight for even an instant, Gin. That's an order."

"Oh? A lieutenant givin' me orders aye?" Gin whispers while lightly pressing his lips to Rangiku's, teasing her mercilessly. She begins to frown a little bit, pulling away. He watches her expression change from happy to distraught, and his heart aches. "Ran... I think we should talk about things, before they get even more crazy." He takes her hands in his own, kissing her palms and then pulling them behind him to wrap around his back. He wiggles his way closer to her, his nose grazing hers. "Things are only gonna get harder from here."

"I know," she softly speaks, closing her eyes. She doesn't even know where to begin.

Author's Note: Hey guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter, I know it's not as long as the first one but I'm gonna be dragging it out in the next few. There will be more to come, there's just so much to cover! And thanks for reviewing! : D