Ichimaru had no idea what he was doing when he rescued her. Upon later ponderings, he decided that she could be of some use, and that's why he saved her from certain death. It was not because he wanted to be nice. It was not because the girl reminded him of her. He only rescued her for her use. Otherwise he probably would've left her for dead.
Because, really, he didn't need someone else to take care of.
Every day he would first go to the girl. After that, he normally fixed the small wooden building he lived in. Until noon, that is. He never was at the house at noon.
So, everyday at noon, he would leave the house without a word and slip into the village. Into the small hut of the only doctor in this district.
Then he would sit by her bedside.
At first, he hesitated to tell her about the orange hair girl he had rescued. He didn't want his sibling to think the girl was more important. She would always be foremost on his list of priorities.
Eventually, he spilled it out. He told her the girl had, at first, not had a name. He, however, had named her Rangiku because of her beauty. He told his sister about the girl's beautiful wavy golden hair and her emotional gray blue eyes. He even told his sister how every time he looked at Rangiku's hair, he thought of honey trickling from the top of her head.
And all the while, his sister would listen with a seemingly infinite patience, although he assured himself it wasn't because she couldn't hear him, just because she was like that.
He had never really known his sister all that well. He vaguely remembered a girl screaming, "Don't kill him! You monsters! Don't kill him!" Then the same girl was crying and holding him close. His mind was filled with the same girl, that same girl, smiling, saying, "Gin, you should really open up your eyes more…" And then he would reply, "But people always think my eyes are scary!"
He would remember his sister with her red brown hair, and the sad eyes, the shattered eyes, the look that Rangiku often had in her eyes. The soft red eyes his sister had filled his heart with serenity every time he thought of them. They had lived together, often separated because his sister had to work. She also had high spirit energy, and therefore had to work to fill both of them.
She never told him why his parents weren't there to do this. He never asked.
They had lived in peace, he doing as much yard work as his tiny body would permit. And when he fell over because of the size of his equipment, she would laugh and help him up.
How he loved her laugh. It was a melodic sound, like the song of small bells. And even when her eyes were filled with horrible tears, somehow, she could laugh them away. Most of the time.
He remembered the time she couldn't clearly. More clearly than he would've liked.
He had awoken that morning with the feeling of something amiss. Then he heard her sobs, the shrieks, and the patter of tears against the hollow wooden floor.
He had rushed over to her side immediately. She had looked half mad, screeching, "I did it! It was me! I'm sorry! Mom! Dad!" She had rolled over on her side, tears falling like rain down her cheeks. Finally, he spoke.
"Nee-san?" Almost immediately, her eyes widened and she looked at him.
"Gin…" With that, she pulled him close, silently weeping. It tore his heart to see her in such a state, but he was as quiet as she was.
After that, she had confessed the whole truth about their parents. In between the facts, she stated gibberish like "I'm sorry, it was all my fault" and things like that. All his memories fit together, like his sister calling his parents monsters. It made sense. Monsters would try to eat him, wouldn't they? And then, of course, the hero would rescue him, and vanquish the evil monsters.
The only problem here is that the hero hadn't wanted to vanquish them.
It was only a few weeks later when his sister collapsed. She had been wan the entire day, but she said it was nothing. When, however, she was so dazed she nearly fell into the river and drowned, Gin put his foot down. In the middle of his "Lie down and sleep, I'll do the rest" speech, she had fainted.
He had taken her to the doctor, who said she could help his sister, but only for payment. Luckily, his sister had earned plenty of money at her job, so it would be no problem paying the doctor for a couple days, would it?
But the days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months, and soon a year went by. His sister still had not come to. Although the money had not gone out, it was still dwindling, rather quickly at that.
That's when he had seen Rangiku in the desert. He had been gathering food - he couldn't buy it because he had to save money for his treatment - when he had stumbled upon the girl in the desert.
Seeing her development in… certain areas… Gin had an idea. An idea that would work to his advantage.
There was a brothel near there, after all, and people paid high prices for girls like Rangiku. With that money, he could pay his sister's expenses, maybe until she woke up!
In a few years, he thought, she'll be ready. Until then, he'd just have to steal the money. He'd get it somehow. It was a plan.
Then his plans were torn apart.
He had gone to visit his sister that day. He remembered the skies had been especially gloomy, which is how she liked it. She loved the rain.
When he entered the building, he could hear heavy breaths. He immediately rushed to her side. Her eyes were slightly open, the red barely visible. Sweat ran down her pale skin. As he gripped her hand, she suddenly noticed him.
"Gi…n…?" Her voice was raspy, the melodic tone no more.
"Nee-san…" This time was the only time there was ever tears in his eyes. She smiled softly.
"Call me… my name… Gin…"
"Shirayuri…" It was a beautiful name, and upon his lips it tasted gently sweet.
"That's right…" She slowly inhaled again.
"Gin…" It was barely recognizable, said as an exhale. Soon, the room was completely still.
That was the first time Gin didn't come back to the house for a while.
He wandered around, going to his sister's favorite spots, and hurried to get away from the main area of the town. He was lost. His sister was gone. Dead. Deceased. No more. Passed on.
What was going on? How was it possible she could die? So many times he tripped over his own feet, clawing at the ground, wanting to cry but not allowing himself to.
Eventually he returned to the house. At the sight of his mangled clothes Rangiku burst into tears and yelled at him, with her "I was so worried" and "Where have you been". But he never answered, and she accepted his silence… eventually.
Because of not recent anymore events that he still hadn't gotten over, Rangiku had to get food. She often used her charm instead of skill to get it, although occasionally she had to swipe a few. In Gin's depression, she was always there, sitting by him, laying on his shoulder, or just looking at him. Although she didn't know it, little by little, she grew to love him.
Then the unthinkable happened.
People from the 1st district of Rukongai came into the one the two young children were. The man and woman looked around and, spotting Rangiku, immediately asked if she would like to come with them.
At first Rangiku rejected them and ran away, until Gin found her. He pleaded and even begged her to go with them. And eventually, she was persuaded.
That instant was perhaps even more painful then the silence in the room when his sister died. He watched them take Rangiku away. And he only stood there.
She became Matsumoto Rangiku. She became the most popular girl in all of Rukongai. He, eventually, snuck away from his district in Rukongai, and snuck off to just outside of the main area.
Because of this, he picked up the news that Rangiku had gone - or rather, had been forced to go - to the shinigami school. That was the instant Gin decided it all.
He would see Rangiku again. He would help her. He would go back to her. And all the while he knew why he would. Of course he'd know.
It was the same reason a young boy picked up a starved girl in the desert many, many years ago.
End
Whoo! Another fic done. I hope you liked it. A lot of fics explaining how Gin found Rangiku are all alike, and I wanted this one to be a bit different. I hope I succeeded. If you didn't get the part with his parents, they were starving and tried to eat Gin, but Shirayuri intervened and killed her parents. So, yeah. Review please!
Starfire