First off, I want to thank BelleCelestyn and "Guest" for the feedback they left on the previous chapter. This time around, for this update, we have an interlude, featuring the duo of Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto.

TO FORGE A
BETTER TOMORROW

Interlude 05: "Fire & Ice"

Soul Realm, Tenth Division HQ...

Toshiro Hitsugaya, renowned as the young prodigal Ice Dragon and Captain of the Tenth, had come to an important conclusion of late... specifically, regarding his Lieutenant.

By any account, Rangiku wasn't the sort of woman one could simply forget. And as he sat at his desk, inside his Office, he was suddenly struck by a realization. And, if the youth was being perfectly honest with himself, he'd been aware of this (at least on some level) for quite some time now...

There was no other way to say it: Rangiku Matsumoto was his woman! And it was now only a matter of 'how' and 'when' he was going to make this clear. In particular, Toshiro longed to clarify this point to the countless men who always seemed to be eyeing her up wherever they went. Surely, the Ice-Wielder would be well with in his rights- as a man- to take some action?

By their own kind's standards, the snowy-haired Shinigami was still considered young. And there was perhaps no better illustration for this then when he was in the company of his second-in-command. The buxom woman radiated sexuality, but she was far from a loose woman... Rangiku was seductive, yet she could also be endearingly innocent; she was capricious, but was also dedicated and caring; there were times she infuriated him, just as she also drove him mad- with passion!

As he thought about her, their exchange during the invasion of Karakura came to mind...

"I don't think I could survive loosing you, not after everything we've been through together..." Rangiku had confessed. "You've become more important to me than ever." She paused. "Toshiro, I-"

He silenced her with a kiss. "I know, Ran... I feel the same way." He replied, his cheeks flushing at the admission. "But I made a promise that I wouldn't ever leave you... And a man keeps his word."

If there was one that thing Toshiro Hitsugaya had come to realize over the more than a century that he had know the woman, it was that he couldn't live without her. And so, damn the consequences, because frankly he was tired of retraining himself- fed up of denying his passions! After all, what was pride, but a trifling price to pay when it came to being true to himself and to his feelings?

At the moment, however, what the restless Captain needed- more than anything else- he decided, was a break from all this. He needed to get the hell out of this stifling office, and go... well, anywhere, as long as it meant no longer feeling like he was trapped inside four walls and a ceiling.

"I have to get out of here..." He murmured to himself.

Toshiro set aside his documents and- with deliberate motions- stood up from his desk, then wordlessly retrieved his Zanpakuto (the prideful ice dragon spirit that inhabited the sword being a rather apt mirror for himself!) as he swiftly exited his office...

. . . ...o.o.o... . . .

Rangiku sighed, idly sipping a cup of sake in the Officers' Mess...

The curvaceous strawberry-blonde had been feeling listless as of late. Rangiku wasn't sure when the feeling had first germinated in her mind, nor why. However, she'd made it a point of not allowing it to outwardly affect herself or her performance around others. As far as she was concerned, the last thing she needed was the thought of the people around her worrying needlessly about her.

In particular, the Lieutenant didn't want to pointlessly trouble her already busy Captain with- what she felt were- frivolous matters. After all, Toshiro had been so incredibly patient and understanding when it came to dealing with all of the drama and emotional baggage that had invariably come as a result of being with a woman like her- a woman with her sort of checkered and storied past...

As such, she was reluctant to burden him any further. Rangiku spent enough time about the longevity of their relationship... He was young, much younger than she was, with so much ahead of him, and yet he'd wanted to be with her, even fully knowing what came with this.

She had been elated when her Captain had reciprocated her feelings. But over time, she increasingly found herself caught between the happiness she felt while being with him and the nagging guilt that she was ultimately holding him back... What could she possibly offer him that some younger, more fitting, girl could? It made her heart ache to even consider such thoughts, but she couldn't help it.

On one hand, the thought of such worry frustrated her. When had she gone from the strong free-willed woman she believed herself to be, to some heart-struck girl? Rangiku sighed softy, realizing the answer was obvious... The moment she'd put her heart on the line and opened up to Toshiro, she was no longer the same person she'd been. It hadn't been easy for her, to give another power over her heart- the power to potentially break it, and leave her shattered as a person.

What if things had gone differently... For Rangiku Matsumoto (in that moment), the thought of being rejected- or more pointedly, of being unwanted- was more than she could bare. She'd been through too much throughout her life- had endured so much hardship, and had lost too much- that the Lieutenant couldn't imagine herself being able to go on had her hopes been dashed.

Then, she smiled, recalling a past conversation...

"There's no need to get so embarrassed over it." Nanao had offered

"No..." Rangiku had lamented. "He has his whole life ahead of him, and he certainly doesn't need someone like me holding him back."

"Absurd." Retsu interjected with a smile. "You are most certainly not is a burden. And I think you'll find that Hitsugaya-san would say the same were you to ask him."

"The Captain is correct." Nemu spoke up. "To feel wanted- even needed- in the eyes of another, I too have experienced this sensation." She revealed. "I believe that it is universal."

Her inner-musings were interrupted when she noticed her cup was empty. With a sigh, she paused to refill the small porcelain vessel with more sake.

"What's wrong with me...?" She thought silently to herself.

Perhaps she was being foolish, risking so much even, when she knew there was so much uncertainty involved. But Rangiku was- for lack of a better word- still only human (so to speak) in the end. And, she tried to remind herself, no one ever found happiness without taking risks.

With that thought, she took another sip from her cup...

. . . ...o.o.o... . . .

Toshiro Hitsugaya made his way down one of the corridors of the Tenth...

Though, perhaps it was more accurate to say he wondering. When he'd departed his office, the young Captain had done so without any particular destination in mind. Rather, only the vague notion that he just needed to 'get the hell out'- to escape the oppressive atmosphere of that room.

But it was more than that, because if he was being perfectly honest, Toshiro simply wasn't in the mood to spend ages staring at seemingly stacks of seemingly identical documents. And this was something of a breakthrough for him, the fact that he at last truly understood the appeal or escaping from something so tedious, in favor of something more... stimulating.

And for Toshiro, at the point in his 'life' (for lack of a better word) that he was, there was nothing more stimulating than his buxom Lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto!

Ironically, the normally astute Captain would become so consumed in his thoughts regarding Rangiku, that he had failed to realize the effect they had on him- to say nothing of the extent. Whenever he spent any length of time thinking about her, and the prospect of other men leering at her, his spiritual energy invariably began behaving erratically- sometimes violently. In some cases, his frustration manifested outwardly, frosting the surrounding area in a frozen slick of snow or ice.

However, it was far more common for these 'outbursts' to take the form of sudden chilled winds and temperature drops. And neither the Captain or the Lieutenant seemed to be aware of- the former being an ice wielder, and the latter likely simply having spent so much time around Hitsugaya that she had grown accustomed to the cold he sometimes exuded.

And the fact that this often seemed to happen when Rangiku was somehow involved hadn't gone totally unnoticed by those in his wake... Especially, as this was hardly a recent occurrence. As such, those with any experience regarding the Captain and Lieutenant had long since made sure not to earn the ire of the Ice-wielder with any untoward behavior. The reality of the situation was that any males stupid enough to do so didn't remain this way for long- as it lead to a rather chilly fate.

He came to a halt, stark-still in the corridor. "No, things can't keep going on like this, we can't continue like this- the two of us circling each other endlessly." Toshiro thought to himself.

"I have to do something." Toshiro resolved. "Otherwise, I'll never be able to face myself as a man!"

With that, the young Captain set out. And so focused was he in his goal, that he failed to register the sound of Jushiro Ukitake calling to him. The smiling older man, always eager to seize upon a chance to interact with the younger officer, had happened to spot him while paying a visit to the Tenth.

"Now that's odd..." Jushiro mused aloud to himself. "Hmm, I wonder... What could Toshiro-kun be in such a hurry about?" He wondered, folding his arms.

. . . ...o.o.o... . . .

In the Officers Mess, Rangiku Matsumoto was sitting alone at a table, lost in her own thoughts as she finished going over the documents assigned to her...

The buxom strawberry-blonde Lieutenant idly reached for the nearby bottle of sake, only for it to be conspicuous absent from the spot she'd left it. Rangiku looked up, her stormy blue eyes going wide in surprise at the sight of her Captain- holding the errant bottle in his hand.

"C-Captain?" She started, only to watch in amazement as the young Shinigami took a long swig, then unceremoniously slammed the (now empty) bottle back down on the table.

He closed his eyes, shaking his head. "Rangiku..." The Captain started, an odd look in his sea-green eyes as he paused to wipe off his mouth with the back of his hand. "There's something that I need to tell you, something... important." Toshiro continued, his eyes keenly focused on her, planting his hand on the table as he leaned in close- causing the woman to blush.

"The two of us, you and I, we've been together for a long time." Toshiro went on, seemingly oblivious to all of the attention he was drawing. "Long enough for me to understand what's really important, and for me... what's most important is us." He stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Okay... they say women like poetry, right?" Hitsugaya thought to himself. "Shit, oh shit! I can't think of any of the romantic stuff, not off-hand." He thought to himself. "Maybe something... 'classy'? Screw it, I'll just improvise something- yeah, I know her better than anyone, I'm sure Ran 'll like that!"

Rangiku started to protest. "B-but Toshiro, we-"

"Ran." He spoke, silencing her, taking her hands in his. "In spite of everything you've been through... Even though much is taken, much still abides." Toshiro continued. "You and I... That which we are, we are... one equal temper of heroic hearts; strong in will to strive, to seek, and not to yield."

Toshiro inwardly cursed his spur-of-the-moment choice. Honestly, Tennyson wasn't the best of choices. Still, given the circumstances, choosing his work was far from the worst choice...

Rangiku's eyes started to tear up as he continued. "I won't let you go, and I won't allow anyone to take you from me." Toshiro continued, kissing her hands. "And I'm more than prepared to back that up... I'll fight and defeat any challenger for you." He declared resolutely.

He then smiled warmly. "So, please, won't you stay with me, at my side?"

"Oh yes, of course!" Rangiku replied happily, tears running from her eyes. "Nothing would make me happier, to always be with you, Toshiro." The buxom woman exclaimed.

With that, Toshiro closed the distance between them, planting a kiss on her lips!

The next thing he knew, Hitsugaya heard the sound of clapping, drawing the attention of both himself and Rangiku towards the sight of Captain Jushiro Ukitake. Beyond this, the two of them quickly noted that others in the Mess Hall were looking their way, all of them smiling.

A mortified expression rapidly fell over the younger Captain's face, while his gorgeous Lieutenant bore an expression of embarrassment (having let herself get caught up in the moment).

"Congratulations, you two!" Jushiro proclaimed. "We should do something to celebrate!"

(- End of Interlude 05 -)