A Little Longer

There it was. A rustle in the leaves! Matsumoto shook her head. She needed to stop jumping at the slightest movement of leaves and doing something productive for once. But if he returned while she was gone out on a walk… and thought she had left him just because he was gone for a little longer than usual…

Even if a little longer than usual was two weeks.

Her eyes remaining transfixed upon the slight parting of leaves which lead to the trail, Rangiku lifted herself from the tree stump stretched her legs. She could just see his smiling face emerge from the trail and greet her cheerfully then proceed to drop assorted pieces of food from his hands. No matter how long he'd been gone… she'd wait for him…

Sometimes she wondered… what if he really did get injured? When he returned covered in blood and cuts, Matsumoto often wondered how he even made it back home without fainting from blood loss, but she mostly questioned where he'd have gotten wounds like that. It was possible that he'd gone and done something stupid and was laying somewhere… groaning and calling out her name… writhing in pain all alone in the dark…

Rangiku bit her lip shaking horrifying images out of her head. She picked berries from nearby bushes and chewed on them for a bit, letting the tart juice wash over her tongue as she thought about her choices. She could either leave and search for him risking the chance that he might return, or remain there… sitting on her log and jumping whenever the wind picked up in the trees.

Matsumoto returned to the clearing and slumped down on the log. She picked up a stick and poked at the blackened ashes of the previous night's fire.

Without warning, her eyes started filling up with tears. She trembled hugging her knees close. Sobs emerged from her chest shaking her shoulders. She couldn't deny it any longer. He wasn't coming back. She'd rot here and never be able to see his smiling face again… never be able to see what lay behind his blinking eyes…

"Where are you… why did you leave me… how could you just leave me… I'm going to find you Gin… I'm going to find you…"

Matsumoto glanced one last time at the spot that had been her home ever since she could remember. She smiled sadly to herself then turned on her heal pushing the bush out of her way and stepped onto the narrow dirt trail.

Her mud-covered bare feet ached badly as she trudged along the trail, rocks digging into her heals and small pine needles scraping her legs. Thin rays of sun shone through the trees lighting up small spots on the trail. But despite the limited light, Matsumoto watched carefully for any irregular shadow and kept her ears open only to hear the rustle of leaves and the wind blowing around her.

"Ouch…"

Matsumoto stopped and plopped down on a boulder lifting her foot onto her other knee rubbing it with her hands. Dirt was ground into the bottoms with small bloody spots covering her entire foot. Rangiku licked her hand and rubbed her foot hard. She looked around then remembered she had passed a stream a long time ago.

She let out a loud groan and swung her head back. After all this, she could never stop looking for the stupid Ichimaru until she found him and gave him a good yelling. Finally, Matsumoto stood up wincing and continued down the trail.

She noticed the sun peeking through the horizon as the trees parted way for her temporarily. She had already traveled farther than she had ever traveled in her life, but with the sun lowering in the sky, she decided to stop and rest. She had traveled enough for today

Ok… I realize the chapter was probably mighty boring, but it was necessary so I can get to the ICHIMARU PART! Yay!