Note: Here's the second part of Past the Point of No Return. I hope those of you who are reading this find it satisfactory and to your liking. I also hope that all Bleach and Phantom of the Opera fans like this story. I personally love both and am excited to be writing a fic that involves both.
Disclaimer: in previous chapter.
Past the Point of No Return
By: Sally White (a.k.a. RDH)
Part 2: Down Once More
Gin dragged Matsumoto through the woods until they reached a cave, then he lit a torch and dragged her into the cave, singing, "Down once more to the dungeon of my black despair! Down we plunge to the prison of my mind! Down that path into darkness deep as hell!" He stopped abruptly at one point and turned around to face her, his expression livid with rage. "Why, you ask, was I bound and chained in this cold and dismal place," he sang, his voice filled with anger. "Not for any mortal sin, but the wickedness of my abhorrent face!"
Meanwhile, the Gotei 13 was getting ready to go after the former Captain. They sang, chanting, "Track down this traitorer, he must be found! Track down this traitorer, he must be found!"
Back in the cave Gin grabbed Matsumoto's shoulders violently and sang bitterly, "Hounded down by everyone! Met with hatred everywhere! No kind word from anyone! No compassion anywhere!" He looked into her eyes. "Rangiku…"
They both stood there, the only sound between them the breaths they took. Finally Gin spoke: "Why?" He shook her roughly and demanded, "Why, Rangiku? Why did you get them involved?"
She could only stare up at him, confused and fearful and angry all at once.
….
"You're hand at the level of your eyes," Nanao reminded Hitsugaya, singing.
"At the level of my eyes," he repeated, also singing.
They came to the entrance of the cave and stopped. Nanao turned to him and stated quietly, "This is as far as I dare go."
Hitsugaya nodded. "Thank you, Nanao." Then he started the trek into the cave to find Gin and Matsumoto, and to rescue Matsumoto before something terrible happened to her.
….
Matsumoto stood on top of a high edge of rock in the cavern of the cave, dressed in a white Arrancar dress with long gloves and a cape. She looked down at where Gin sat on a rock, inspecting a box in his hand. She sang, her tone snappy, "Have you gorged yourself, at last, in your lust for blood?"
He didn't move, or show any indication that he had heard her.
She walked down the rock steps from the edge towards him, singing, "Am I now to be prey to your lust for flesh?"
He at last put down the box and stood up, not looking at her as he sang, "That fate which condemns me to wallow in blood," he looked at and reached out a hand to touch her face, "has also denied me the joys of the flesh."
She turned her face away so that he couldn't touch her. He fingered a strand of her blonde and sang, "This face, the infection…which poisons our love!..."
She looked at him at the sound of his upset tone.
"This face," he sang softly, "which earned all mothers fear and disgust." He let go of her hair and reached up, holding his hand in front of his mouth. He sang, "My smile, my first subconscious scrap of distrust."
He shook his head violently and sang roughly, "Pity comes too late." He grabbed her shoulders. "Turn around and face your fate!" He pointed to his face. "An eternity of this!. . . Before your eyes…"
She shrugged his hand off and reached up, holding her hand just beyond touching his face. "This haunted face holds no horror for me now," she sang gently. She lowered her hand and stepped back, singing, "It's in your soul that the true distortion lies…"
Gin suddenly held up a hand. "Wait. I think, my dear," he sang, his usual smile back on his face, "we have a guest."
He turned around as a person appeared at the vertical bars separating them from the rest of the bars. He smirked. "Sir."
"Captain!" Matsumoto cried out, terrified.
"This is, indeed, an unparalleled delight," Gin told the newcomer. He sang, "I had rather hoped that you would come." He jumped down to the floor of the cavern. "And now my wish comes true! You have truly made my night."
Hitsugaya's hands grabbed onto the bars as he sang, "Free her! Do what you like, only free her! Have you no pity?"
"Your Captain makes a passionate plea," Gin sang commentingly over his shoulder to Matsumoto.
"Please, sir, it's useless," Matsumoto sang pleading to her Captain.
Hitsugaya shut his eyes tight as he sang desperately, "I love her! Does that mean nothing? I love her!" He opened his eyes and spat at Gin, singing, "Show some compassion!"
"The world showed no compassion to me!" Gin snapped back at the young Captain.
"Rangiku, Rangiku," Hitsugaya sang, reaching through the bars to her. He gripped the bars again and demanded, singing, "Let me see her."
"Be my guest, sir," Gin sang to the white-haired Captain, hitting a lever that made the bars go up.
Hitsugaya stepped into the cavern, and the bars went back down. He looked up at Matsumoto, then back at Gin.
Gin sneered. "Good sir, I bid you welcome." He put a hand on his chest as he sang, "Did you think that I would harm her?" He approached Hitsugaya, singing, "Why would I make her pay for the sins which are yours!" He reached up and grabbed rope that was hanging down, attacking Hitsugaya.
Matsumoto gasped in horror. "No!"
"Order your fine horses now!" Gin sang loudly and tauntingly, wrapping the rope around Hitsugaya's neck as the Captain tried and failed to resist. Gin tied up Hitsugaya's hands just above his head, singing mockingly, "Raise up your hands to the level of your eyes!" He finished tying the hangmans noose around Hitsugaya's neck, singing, "Nothing can save you now, except perhaps," he looked over his shoulder, "Rangiku!"
Matsumoto felt fear and dread shoot cold into her being.
"Start a new life with me," Gin sang to her, turning to her and taking a few steps away from Hitsugaya. "Buy his freedom with your love. Refuse me, and you send your "lover" to his death." His voice went dark and he shouted, it echoing throughout the whole cavern, "THIS IS THE CHOICE!" He continued, singing, "This is the point of no return!"
All was silent for awhile. Matsumoto felt tears sliding freely down her face. "The tears I might have shed for your dark fate," she sang quietly. Then her voice grew louder as she sang in rage, "Grow cold, and turn to tears of HATE!"
Hitsugaya looked pleadingly up at Matsumoto. "Rangiku, forgive me, please forgive me."
"Farewell my fallen idol and false friend," Matsumoto sang.
"I gave it all for you and all for nothing," Hitsugaya sang.
"We has such hopes," Matsumoto sang.
"Too late for turning back," Gin sang.
"And now those hopes are shattered," Matsumoto.
"Too late for prayers and useless pity!" Gin snapped.
"Say you love him," Hitsugaya sang.
"All hope for cries of help," Gin sang.
"And my life is over," Hitsugaya sang.
"No point in fighting," Gin sang.
"For either way you choose," both males sang.
"You cannot win," Gin sang as Hitsugaya sang, "He has to win."
Gin looked up at Matsumoto, grabbing the rope that went up and attached to the noose around Hitsugaya's neck, and sang, "So do you end your days with me, or do you send him to his grave!" He pulled down violently on the rope, which caused the rope around Hitsugaya's neck to go up, choking the young Captain.
Hitsugaya gave Gin a death glare and managed to get out in a spat, singing, "Why make her lie to you to save me?" Gin just pulled on the rope again, making Hitsugaya stand on his toes to get air.
Matsumoto looked down at Gin and sang, "Old friend of my past-."
"Past the point of no return," Gin sang, looking up at Matsumoto.
Hitsugaya looked desperately up at Matsumoto and pleaded, "For pity's sake , Rangiku, say no!"
"Who deserves this?" Matsumoto sang desperately.
"The final threshold," Gin sang, his smile on his face.
"Don't throw your life away for my sake!" Hitsugaya sang pleadingly to her.
"When will you see reason?" Matsumoto sang, frustrated and scared.
"His life is now the price which you must earn," Gin sang to her, smugness written all over his face.
Hitsugaya looked up at her with an almost gentle expression, his eyes sad. "I fought so hard to free you," he sang softly, blinking away tears.
"Old friend of my past," Matsumoto sang.
"You've passed the point of no return," Gin sang, a creepy smile on his face.
"You deceived me," Matsumoto to the silver-haired man. Her expression became upset and she whispered, "I gave you my mind blindly."
"You try my patience," Gin said, his tone dark. "Make your choice." He pulled on the rope again, pulling Hitsugaya up so that the white-haired Captain could barely breathe.
Matsumoto looked from Hitsugaya to Gin, back to Hitsugaya then back at Gin. She had a sudden revelation.
No, mistress, don't do it! Haineko exclaimed in Matsumoto's head. You don't want it, and just imagine how Toushiro will feel, watching you do it!
It's my only chance of saving Toushiro and getting us both out of here alive, Matsumoto told the ash cat. You're right, I don't want it, but it's the only way. She took a deep breath and began walking down the stone steps.
"Pitiful creature of darkness," she sang, looking into Gin's eyes. "What kind of life have you known?" She closed her eyes and sang, "God give me courage to show you," she opened her eyes and went to stand in front of Gin, "you are not alone." With that she reached up to cup his face in her hands and lowered his face to hers to cover his lips with hers.
Gin's eyes went wide with shock, and he lost his grip on the rope leaving it loose enough so that Hitsugaya could breathe. Hitsugaya stared for a few moments then looked away, his heart aching. Even after all of that, she still chooses him, he thought, frustrated and depressed.
Don't be so sure, Toushiro, Hyorinmaru stated comfortingly. Just wait and see what happens.
Hitsugaya reluctantly looked back at the two, waiting to see if any good could come out of this.
After quite a few seconds, Matsumoto pulled away from Gin. But Gin pulled her back, capturing her mouth in another, deeper kiss. He was searching, looking for answers to questions she made him ask due to her actions. She just stood there, letting him kiss her.
Finally he pulled away, breathless, looking down at her with such joy in his eyes. She had her eyes closed, her face turned up towards his. All was silent until she whispered, almost missed by both males, "Toushiro…"
Hitsugaya's breath caught in his throat. She was thinking about me…the entire time! But, that means…
She has made her choice, Hyorinmaru told the young Captain, practically purring with satisfaction. She has decided, and she has made the right decision.
Gin stared down at the woman in his arms, his expression blank. Suddenly his face became upset and he pushed her away from himself, turning away from her. "Take him!" he told her, his tone angry and sad. "Forget me! Forget everything!"
Matsumoto opened her eyes and gasped, then rushed over to her Captain and quickly untied his hands, and he slipped the noose over his head, freeing himself of it. With a little cry of relief, she hugged him to herself, tears of joy sliding down her face. He, in return, wrapped his arms around her waist and embraced her back, noting for only a moment that his head reached her collar bone to therefore his face was no longer going to be buried by her enormous breasts.
Gin looked at them then turned away again, saying, "Leave me alone! Forget all that's happened!" He took a few steps away from them. "Go now! Don't let the Squads find you!" He looked at them. "Get out of here, swear to me never to tell the secret you know of the angel in hell."
Hitsugaya pulled back and grabbed the scarf around Matsumoto's neck, using it to lower her head until he could cover her mouth with his in a kiss, determined to make her forget about her kisses with Gin. She kissed him back, eager to reply to his mouth.
Gin couldn't stand watching them. He shouted at them, singing, "Go now! Go now, and leave me!"
Hitsugaya separated himself from Matsumoto and pulled away from their embrace. He grabbed her hand and quickly led her out of the cavern through a side exit.
…
Ten minutes later, Gin sat on a rock in the cavern, the box in his hands again. He had it open and it played a light, cheery melody. He smiled weakly and sang to the melody, "Masquerade… Paper faces on parade… Masquerade," he whispered, then continued to sing, "Hide your face so the world will never find you."
He slowly turned his head to see Matsumoto standing six feet away from where he sat. He smiled softly and sang to her, "Rangiku, I love you…"
She smiled weakly at him and turned to walk up the stone stairs into a little room beyond the high edge. He looked after her, then looked back to see Hitsugaya standing nine feet away from him. The young Captain just looked coldly at the silver-haired man. Gin turned his head away and watched as Matsumoto walked down the stairs towards him, dressed back in her Soul Reaper uniform, the white clothes folded neatly in her arms.
Matsumoto went over to Gin and held out the clothes to him. He took them and looked at her. "So, is this your choice?" he asked her softly.
"Yes," she nodded. "I'm sorry, Gin." She smiled at him sadly. "I'm sorry that it won't work out for us."
"Matsumoto," Hitsugaya called to her.
"Coming, Captain," she called back over her shoulder, then looked back at Gin. "I'll miss you…my old friend." Then she turned away and went back over to Hitsugaya.
The white-haired Captain took her hand in his and lead her out of the cavern.
Gin stared at where she had stood, then looked down at the clothes in his hands. He let them fall to the floor and followed after the two. He walked all the way out of the cave and could barely see their outlines as they walked away. He could barely hear as a soft tune floated to his ears.
"Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime," Matsumoto's voice sang.
"Say the word and I will follow you," Hitsugaya's voice sang.
"Share each day with me, each night, each morning," Matsumoto's voice sang, barely there before it faded altogether.
Gin smiled sadly and sang softly, "You alone can make my song take flight." His expression contorted and he sang loudly, practically shouting, "It's over now! The music of the night!"
Suddenly a huge crack formed in the sky, and a light shot down, landing on Gin. He began to slowly rise in the light.
Hitsugaya and Matsumoto stopped when they heard a sound and turned around to see the light. They saw Gin being lifted up, already halfway there when they saw him.
Matsumoto took a few steps forward and shouted up, "GIN!"
The silver-haired former Captain looked down at her.
"I'm sorry!" she shouted to him, tears sliding down her face again. "I'm so sorry that I hurt you! I'm sorry!"
Gin gave her a small smile, trying to tell her that it was okay. Then he looked at Hitsugaya.
The Squad 10 Captain returned the gaze evenly.
'Take care of her,' Gin told Hitsugaya with his eyes.
Hitsugaya nodded, showing that he understood.
Gin nodded, then gave Matsumoto another small smile before he was brought up into the sky and disappeared as the sky closed up. All was silent.
Matsumoto collapsed, sitting down on her knees. She wrapped her arms around herself as her shoulders shook from the force of her sobs.
Hitsugaya went over to kneel in front of her. He reached out and wrapped his arms around her, bringing her to rest against his chest. She grabbed the front of his robes and sobbed into his Captain haori. He held her close, squeezing his eyes shut. I hate seeing her like this.
I know, but she will get over this, Hyorinmaru assured his master. She knows that she made the right choice.
I'm proud of you, Haineko told Matsumoto.
It hurts, the blonde woman whimpered in her mind.
I know, but you did the right thing, Haineko told her mistress. And you still have Toushiro to help you through this.
Just be here for her, Hyorinmaru advised Hitsugaya. Show her that you're here to help her, and that you love her. And you do Toushiro, you can no longer deny it.
I do, Hitsugaya thought, opening his eyes to look down at the woman in his arms. Forgive me, Rangiku, but now that I have you, I'm never letting you go again.
He's so good, Matsumoto thought, opening her eyes as she sobs calmed down to sniffles. She looked up at the white-haired Captain, who was looking down at her. He deserves so much better than me, but I'll never let him go without a fight.
Forgive my selfishness, Rangiku, Hitsugaya thought, cupping her face in his hand.
But I will never let you out of my sight again. He lowered his head to hers, covering her lips with his in a kiss that claimed her as his. You are mine.
Matsumoto let him claim her in his kiss. You were wrong, Gin, she thought. This is the point of now return…
The End
So, what do you think? Good? Bad? Do you like it or no? Please remember to review and let me know. Peace