Here i am with today's chapter!
this one's a little more serious because that's just how it happened...
it's really amazing at what comes out, none of this stuff is planned at all. actually the last (or 2nd to last if i add an epilouge) is planned, but i don't know when this story will end anymore :D it WAS only going to be 2 chapters, but after all of the reviews, faves, and story alerts that i got, i'm being seriously inspired to write! so thank you guys, and keep up those things, cause they make me feel awesome ;)
but enough of me blabbering, read on!
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Matsumoto Rangiku
We're lying side by side in the mud, my taicho and I, and this is the most happiness that I've experienced for a long time.
I look up at the sky. Judging by the position of the sun, it's about 6:00, but it is late summer— just a few weeks after the betrayal— so the sun is still bright in the sky.
"Hey taicho?" I ask sweetly.
"What is it?" he responds warily.
"Umm, where exactly are we?"
I'm still gazing at the sky, though I can feel his glare burning on the side of my head. "Well, due to the actions of SOME person whose name shall remain unspoken, I was forced to land here, or else risk smashing into a tree and injuring us both. So, to tell you the truth," he says, calming down a little. "I'm not sure."
"I see," I say cheerfully, getting to my feet. He looks at me suspiciously.
"Where are you going?"
"To the top of that hill. Seeing that we can't really be more lost than we are now, I'm going to explore!" I start to walk up the hill, smirking at his struggles to unearth himself from the sea of mud.
"Hey, wait up!" he yells as he finally succeeds in getting to his feet.
"I'll race you!" I call back. "Last one to the top is a rotten Hollow's egg!"
Laughing at his sputtered protests, I start to run, the wind pushing at my back. I feel like a bird who didn't know how to fly, but has finally gotten the strength needed to spread its wings and take the first, tentative step.
0-0-0
Hitsugaya Toshiro
"Catch me if you can!"
I glare at her back as she races up the hill. But as always, I can't stay mad at her for long and I start to chase after her. There's no way that I'm going to let her beat me. Besides, it's not as if she's naturally athletic, especially when running—her massive…assets…always slow her down. But she did have a big head start, and I'm not sure if I can catch up to her in time.
So I cheat a little—well actually a lot—using a shunpo to reach the top of the hill first. I sit down on a rock to wait for her. I've tried to distract her from her misery and I think that it has worked. She seems full of life again, and I hope that this is a sign that she will be able to fully return to the Rangiku of the past.
I hear panting, and turn my head to see Rangiku arriving at the top of the hill.
"Taicho!" she gasps breathlessly. "You cheated!"
I smirk. "You never said that we couldn't use shunpo."
"That's not fair!" she pouts. "Now I'm all sweaty and gross for nothing!" She plops down beside me, fanning herself with her hand. "And everybody knows that black robes absorb heat! Somebody should complain to Yammamoto-soutaicho about this!"
Then she looks over at me, her eyes lighting up. "Taicho! I just had a great idea!"
I have a bad idea about where this is going.
"No way, Matsumoto."
"But taicho!" she begs. "It's so hot! Can't you make just a little snow?"
I scowl at her. Usually, I dislike using my ability to control the weather. In the summer especially, my office is flooded with people who want to make use of my powers as an air conditioner.
But I guess this time there isn't anybody else around. And it is a hot day.
"Fine," I sigh. Using my mental link to Hyorinmaru, I concentrate and the air temperature drops as snow begins to lightly fall around us. The mud on my robes freezes solid, but seeing the expression on Matsumoto's face as she happily chases the snowflakes like an overgrown kitten, I can't bring myself to regret it.
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Matsumoto Rangiku
I love the snow. I always found it amazing how my taicho can defy nature and make it snow whenever he wants, even in the summer. It kind of reminds me of Gin too. When we were growing up, he would disappear for days on end without telling me where he was going. I would sit in the doorway of our little shack and watch the snow, watching his back vanish into the storm.
To distract myself, I start to gather the snow on the ground. My taicho eyed me warily, in case I was going to throw it at him. Instead, I form it into a ball, and then add more snow on top of it. Using my fingers, I make 2 dents for eyes and give it a smiling mouth so that it now vaguely resembles a person.
When I'm done, I grin and blow on my hands to warm them. "Look taicho! A snowman!"
He examines it. "You definitely have the makings of an artist." he says sarcastically, but he's smiling as he says this.
I look at my creation. The snow had always meant an ending, a goodbye. I decide that this is going to change. I want to think of the smile on my taicho's face instead of Gin's retreating back whenever I see the snow. I don't want to be tied down anymore—I want to fly.
But first I have to say farewell one last time.
0-0-0
Hitsugaya Toshiro
She pauses and for a moment, I see sadness in her eyes.
"Rangiku?" I ask. She looks over at me and smiles a little bit. Then she scans the snow-covered ground. "What are you looking for?"
"Aha!" she declares happily, as she bends over and picks up a large stick that was lying on the ground, shaking the snow off of it as she does so.
"Why do you want a stick?" I ask her. She doesn't respond. Instead, she turns to her snowman, raising the stick in the air. She brings it down; smashing the snowman's smiling face.
She keeps doing this, fiercely attacking the snowman again and again. Soon, it is reduced to a small heap on the ground.
She was completely silent during the demolishing of the snow man, but now I see tears streaming down her face. "Goodbye." she whispers.
0-0-0
Matsumoto Rangiku
I stare at the little pile that is all that remains of the Gin-snowman. I can feel the tears running down my face, but for each one I shed I feel a little more healed. Then I feel a familiar pair of strong arms reach around me and hold me tight. For a few moments, it is as if the two of us are alone in our little world formed by the falling snow.
The snow around me is beginning to stop falling. I guess my taicho thinks that the snow is depressing me by reminding me of Gin.
"Arigato, taicho," I say as I turn around to face him. Even though my face is wet, I smile. "For everything. But you don't have to stop the snow; I want it to hold a different meaning for me now. It's going to represent a beginning instead of an ending."
Thanks to you. I think, though I don't say this out loud. But he seems to read my mind again, because he smiles in return and the snow begins to fall again.
I slowly down and grab some snow in my hand, hiding it behind my back.
"Hey taicho," I say with a grin. He looks at me, a quizzical expression in his bright green eyes.
I pull the snowball out from behind my back. His eyes widen. "Not again—" he manages to get out, before the snowball hits him.
"That's it, you asked for it!" he exclaims, as he shakes the snow off of himself. He concentrates and a huge snowball forms in his hand. "You think you can defeat me in my own element?"
Uh-oh.
SPLAT!
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i leave the rest to your imagination :D they are now covered in mud and ice and their clothing is probably beyond repair. imagine old man yama's face when he sees them...i think i might write a scene with that in it ;)
anyway, i hope that you like it, even though it was more serious-minded
see you next chapter!
-stormwolf527
