Life After You

Chapter 7 ~ Change of Heart
Disclaimer: Bleach and all characters belong to Kubo Tite.
Author's Notes: Here's this weeks chapter! I want to take a moment and sincerely thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for your continued support of this project! It means a lot to me that you're willing to support such an obscure pairing! You guys are the greatest fans a girl could have!

Random info for the last chapter - though unmentioned, Chad, Mizuiro, and Uryuu are the other members of Ichigo and Renji's group. The point of this random tidbit and the one about Rukia's group of friends? These characters will appear in later chapters! And yes, my personal bias in favour of Keigo is the reason he got a bigger part!

Dedicated to all my readers and reviewers ZareenBlack, Nnoitra-Szayel, StarPrincess999, Dragen Eyez, and turtle11!


"On my way to L.A. looking into the rear view as the roads fade away/I've sworn off my past, first to last bad call that I ever made/Tell me how to make right every wrong turn that I've learned?
So this can all end tonight/Tennessee line just changed my mind, well it's my heart I'll follow this time" (Tennessee Line, Daughtry)

Gin sighed as he sat on his bed and idly played with a small wooden puzzle he had found in his closet. He had been officially dating Rukia for a week but things were seemingly getting worse for him. Not only had Rukia cancelled their date for that night (their first date at that!) but Rangiku had been acting odd around him as well. She was always giving him strange, sad looks when she thought he wasn't looking On top of her weird looks, Gin thought her sudden change of heart towards Rukia was suspicious.

'She better not of done anythin' stupid,' he thought, suddenly feeling angry with Rangiku. He had no other explanation for her behaviour. Even Shuuhei couldn't offer Gin any information on Rangiku's sudden change of heart towards Rukia.

Gin set his completed puzzle down and moved on to the next one. He was nervous. When he was nervous or worried he worked on puzzles or anything else that would force him to focus on finding a logical solution. Being a genius had its drawbacks. Instead of seeking comfort from real people, he sought it from stimulating mental challenges. And when it got really bad, he wreaked havoc on anyone unlucky enough to cross his path.

"I'm going to need new puzzles," he said as he set aside another completed puzzle.


Rangiku leaned her head against the moist bathroom wall as she soaked in her bubble filled tub. She had used needing a bath as an excuse to avoid dealing with her family for a little while. She had not been herself the entire week that had followed her talk with Ichigo. Her feelings about Gin's new relationship hadn't changed but her understanding of Rukia had. The things Ichigo had revealed to her weighed heavily on her heart; she found she could no longer muster the desire to try to sabotage Gin and Rukia anymore.

She sighed and closed her eyes. 'No matter what happens, Gin will end up getting hurt,' she thought sadly. Even if it wasn't Rukia's intention, Gin would be hurt by her. Rangiku hated the idea of Gin being heartbroken. She'd had a hard enough time breaking him from his shell the first time around. She didn't know if she'd be able to do it again.

"Damn it, Kurosaki! Why'd you have to tell me her life story?" Rangiku groaned, sinking deeper into her bathtub. She began to push all thoughts of Rukia Kuchiki from her mind. She wanted to spend the rest of her bath relaxing and thinking about herself.

Fate was not on Rangiku's side. As soon as she began to relax, there were several loud bangs at the door. "Get out Rangiku! You've been in there for an hour!"

"Shut up, Brat! It's my bathroom!" she yelled back.

"Our bathroom! Now get out!"

Muttering something about brothers being pains, Rangiku got out of the tub and grabbed her fluffy pink towel. She pulled the plug from the drain and wrapped the towel around herself before unlocking the bathroom door. Almost immediately after it was unlocked, the door was thrown open.

"It's about time! Some of us actually have things to do other than wait around for you all night," griped her thirteen-year-old step-brother.

"I'm sure playing video games can wait Shirou," Rangiku said with an eye roll.

"If you must know." The young boy said through clenched teeth, "I'm taking a girl from soccer out tonight."

"Ohoho, little Shirou has a girlfriend! How cute! I bet she's taller than you!"

"Shut up! And stop calling me 'Shirou'!" the boy shouted as he shoved Rangiku out of their shared bathroom. "By the way, that snake-eyed bastard called for you!" he added before slamming the door shut in Rangiku's face.

Rangiku just sighed and quickly walked to her bedroom. If Gin was calling her house phone it meant he was desperate to talk to her. Rangiku wasn't sure, though, if she was able to talk one-on-one with Gin. She was afraid she'd tell him everything Ichigo had made her swear to keep secret. They weren't her secrets to tell even if every fibre of her being wanted her to tell Gin. He deserved to know the truth but he needed to hear it from Rukia.

So Rangiku did the only thing she could think to do. She grabbed her cell phone and sent Gin a quick text message and shut her phone off as soon as it was sent.

"I'm sorry Gin," she said softly and set the phone down on her night table.