Author's Note: I'm sorry it's been so long, but I had severe writers block about this one and I couldn't figure out how to write the flashback into Rangiku's past. I hope it's good enough because I spent ages writing it. I'll try and get some more chapters up soon but I'm not promising that they'll be anywhere near good enough to meet my standards of writing. Anyway, enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think.
Disclaimer: Why am I still writing these? I think everyone knows by now that I own nothing of Bleach, it belongs to Kubo Tite-sama
What? My mind was reeling from this sudden revelation. Two Sins targeted? Why? I couldn't believe what I was hearing, and before I knew it, we were making our way back to the bar. Juushiro led me back to our room and sat me down. He made me look at him.
"What's wrong?" I could hear the concern in his voice and it pained me to worry him.
"Nothing. It's just a lot of information to take in, that's all" I sighed and snuggled into his arms. He held me and I eventually fell into an uneasy sleep.
Fleeing from the area where my sister had been murdered a fortnight ago, I ran as fast as I could through the narrow, winding streets of Whitechapel. My waist length, strawberry-blonde hair streamed behind me and I leant against a nearby wall, clutching my racing heart and trying to calm my breathing. Looking up, I saw the dark haired man who had saved me walking by. He passed me without a word and then I realised I was in unfamiliar territory. A man in a white coat stared at me from an alley and I was unnerved by his steady gaze; it seemed as though he was staring into my soul. Slowly, I turned my head and looked around me. Many men in white coats were staring back at me, partially hidden in shadow. Immediately, I broke into a run, taking every corner as fast as I could without losing balance. Eventually, I hit a dead end and all I knew was darkness as the men in white coats advanced on me.
I blinked and tried to shield my eyes from the bright light, blinding me, but I failed. Squinting at where my wrists were, I saw they were bound with leather. I tried moving my legs, but to no avail, and I assumed they were also bound. I shivered and saw that I was bound to a metal table. I had also been stripped of my clothing and had nothing to keep me warm. A previously unnoticed door opened and one of the men in white coats stepped in. He smirked when he saw me awake. He didn't say anything but he stepped forward and looked at the line of medical instruments on the side next to me. After what seemed like an eternity, he chose a scalpel and slowly dug the rusty metal deep into the flesh of my arm. I bit my lip to stop myself gasping in pain and closed my eyes as I felt the metal rip open my arm. I let out a small whimper of pain and the scalpel was taken away. When I opened my eyes, I was alone again; my blood trickled down my arm and the deep cut throbbed from rudely being ripped apart from its counterpart. A tear ran down my cheek absently, knowing that I wouldn't like what was in store for me.
I screamed; the pain was excruciating. I'd never felt anything like it in my life. My body involuntarily jerked, and I couldn't do anything to stop it. It was intense. My body felt like it was on fire and all I could hear, apart from my screaming echoing off the walls, were the cackles and jeers of the men experimenting on me. I thought I was going to die. My heart was pounding hard against my ribcage and I thought it would burst at any moment. The pain lessened and my breath came in short, ragged gasps as I calmed my aching body.
I shot bolt upright, feeling like I'd just run for miles and I struggled to get my breath back. A cold sweat ran over my body and I took in the familiar surroundings of my room and the concerned face of Juushiro looking at me. I relaxed into Juushiro's strong arms, glad it was only a dream but hating the fact that my past had decided to haunt me in my sleep as well as in my waking hours. There wasn't a day that went by where I couldn't stop thinking about how awful the experiments were. I could only imagine what it was like for the other Sins. Juushiro never asked what the dream was about; he was more than content to hold me until I relaxed completely and rested against him. It seemed like an eternity passed, but I eventually fell asleep again. Flashes of my past haunted every minute of my dreams, it didn't matter what I did; they were infinite.