DISCLAIMER: All credit goes to Tite Kubo.

A/N: I'm sorry if you guys have been waiting impatiently for this chapter, I've been very very busy lately and have hardly had time to update all of my stories. I was really keen to update this one, cause it should start getting interesting soon. I don't expect this story to be as long as my other ones, unless of course I come up with more things to happen. If there's anything you'd like to see happen, please tell me and I'll take them into consideration. Thanks and enjoy!

Chapter 3: A Narrow Miss?

Rangiku's heart thumped wildly as she spotted the guards approaching her room. There was no way she'd make in time to warn Gin. She'd only hoped he'd heard the announcement.

"I'm here!" she said loudly, waving her hand at the guards. She bowed shortly as she attempted to regain her breath, standing before them. "I am sorry. I was speaking with my Captain. I would have been here sooner."

"That's alright," one of the guards responded, turning to the door, reaching for it.

"Wait!" Rangiku hurried before him, blocking the entrance.

"What's the meaning of this?" another guard asked, staring at her curiously. "Got something to hide?"

"No," Rangiku said hastily. "But I'm afraid I haven't had the chance to clean up, you see. Various unmentionables strewn across the floor, papers everywhere, it really is a mess. I would hate to embarrass myself in front of you fine gentlemen. Certainly you would allow me to clean up a little?"

Some of the guards seemed to find this alright, as long as they could keep watching her, however, others were not as easily swayed by her charms.

"We have strict orders, Miss," a rather large man said. "We have many places to check. I'm certain a few unmentionables are not enough to embarrass a strong Vice-Captain as yourself. Please step aside."

Rangiku's hands trembled as she moved away from the door, praying to herself that Gin was hiding. They couldn't risk being found. It would mean death, for the both of them.

The guards started into the room, none of which spoke as they searched the area. Rangiku, surprised by their silence, peered into the room.

It was empty. Gin was no longer asleep on the bed, as he was when she'd left him. There was absolutely no sign that any other person had ever inhabited the room. She felt herself grow red as a couple of the younger guards took notice of the small pair of panties that were lying at the end of her bed. Her embarrassment grew to fear quickly as the large man moved toward the closet.

She hadn't thought about that. If there were any place Gin would hide, it would be the closet. As he stepped closer, Rangiku thought quickly, trying to come up with some kind of excuse to stop him, failing to come up with one quick enough. Bracing herself, she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Well..." the man spoke. "Things seem to be in order here."

Rangiku's eyes shot open. The closet door had been closed and the guards were moving to the front door. The large man stopped before leaving, nodding in her direction.

"Thank you, Miss," he said shortly. "I apologize for the spur-of-the-moment decision. Hopefully, next time you won't be so embarrassed."

The younger guards chuckled wholesomely and the disappeared in the direction of the next room. Sighing deeply, Rangiku found herself collapsed onto her bed, rather confused and worried.

Where had Gin gone?

Certainly he hadn't returned to Aizen, had he? He would have said something before leaving.

Since when does he do that?

Rangiku tried to ignore the annoying, but horribly accurate, little voice in her head. Frustrated, she rolled over, thinking of the possibilities.

Aizen would kill him if he returned...

This wasn't true. Perhaps in the long run it was, but Aizen would need Gin at the moment. He would need any ally he could get, and Gin would certainly be a powerful one.

Perhaps he's hiding...

But where? Rangiku couldn't think of a single safe place he could be, unless of course, he'd gone to find Kira. But then again, Kira's place was going to be searched too, therefore would be a stupid change in location on Gin's part.

Gin...where the hell are you?

She buried her face into the covers, feeling as though she wanted to scream at the entire Soul Society. The Soul Reapers, the rules, and all those stupid guards. She wanted to yell at all of them. Didn't they understand? Didn't they see how much she needed Gin to be with her? Couldn't they see how far she'd fallen since he'd been gone?

Several empty bottles of sake lined her room, as though they were some kind of room ornament. She eyed a few of them as she lay there, secretly longing for more. If she were intoxicated, hardly any of this would matter anymore. She'd be numb, once more.

Things were easier when she was that way.

Sitting up, she decided that she was going to go for a walk. Or rather, that's what she told herself. In reality, she was going to look for Gin, with no real expectation of finding the slick bastard. She honestly wouldn't have been surprised if he'd left her. He'd done it so many times before.

What would make today any different?

Stepping out from her room, Rangiku watched as the guards moved from room to room in search of their prey. She watched in a panic as they moved toward Kira's room, knowing that Kira was probably much more frightened than she was. His poor legs were probably trembling more than ever.

Jerking her head in another direction, she started toward another part of the grounds. A part that wasn't under a complete search. A part where she was certain no one would find her this time.

Breathing deeply, Rangiku wandered through the flowers, finding the silence peaceful. Loving the idea that no one else was there. Finding it freeing that-

"Ah, Rangiku..."

Rangiku whipped around, her eyes growing wide. Standing about twelve feet away from her was the unmistakable form of Ichimaru Gin. She stared at him with an accusing stare.

"Where the hell did you go?" she asked sharply.

Gin put on an innocent front. "I was in hiding. It wouldn't have been wise of me to hang around while they searched the rooms, now would it?"

Rangiku knew he was right, but that hadn't been her point. She was worried sick about him. He could have at least left some form of indication to let her know where he'd gone.

"I couldn't do that..." he said, as though reading her mind once again. "They may look it, but those guards aren't entirely stupid. If I'd left anything behind, they'd know."

Rangiku fell quiet, feeling a bit guilty and selfish for thinking such things. "Where did you go?" she asked. "Where did you hide?"

"Nowhere in particular," he answered calmly, moving toward her. "I kept moving, as to throw them off the scent." His wide grin grew, if possible, even wider, sending chills up her spine.

"What if someone saw you?" she asked, sounding worried once more.

"No one did," he said assuredly. "If they had, there would have been an alarm. No worries there, Rangiku."

"I meant hypothetically," she said, her gaze becoming hard. "Hypothetically, if someone had seen you, what would you have done?"

Gin didn't answer immediately. "Run or fight," he said finally. "Isn't that what I always do?"

Feeling a bit bitter about this statement, she nodded curtly. "I suppose that's true."

Gin sighed, moving past her, circling her as though he were some kind of vulture. "Come on, Rangiku...stop acting so tense," he cooed into her ear. "It's not becoming of you."

Rangiku attempted to shake off the feeling she got with him so close to her, whispering things into her ear. "Please, Gin..." she said, glancing around. "This is dangerous. You shouldn't be out here."

He wrapped his arms around her protectively, still nuzzling her ear. "No one's around. We're perfectly safe."

"But if someone were to-" she started.

He pressed his lips to the side of her neck, causing her to stop abruptly, melting at his touch. She hated when he did that. She wished she could have more control over the way he made her feel when he was with her. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to happening anytime soon.

"Mm..." he muttered against her pale skin. "Something wrong, Rangiku?" His voice was teasing as he grinned widely.

She shook her head, trying to force her eyes to focus once again. For a brief moment, they seemed to be slipping back into her head, her whole body becoming tense.

He kissed her neck again, causing her to turn around sharply, glaring at him. "Please don't do that, Gin..." she mumbled. "We shouldn't be out here."

"No one's going to find us," he said cockily, his arms still locked around her waist.

"That's not the point," she said stubbornly. "There's still the possibility." she pressed her forehead to his, her hands traveling up to his silver hair. "I can't let them find you..."

Gin sighed deeply, his lips brushing hers. She pressed herself up against him, welcoming the warmth of his mouth and the fire behind it's actions. He chuckled lightly, finding that it seemed to reverberate through her body.

"Should we take this somewhere else?" he asked, grinning against her lips.

Rangiku couldn't help herself. Finding it difficult to resist him, she nodded, whispering into his ear. "My place is safe..." she told him. "We shouldn't be expecting any more visitors tonight..."

As though they were children again, Gin playfully chased Rangiku back to her room, hiding occasionally when other captains or vice-captains were spotted. The two found their excursions to be a game. A game where neither player could get captured by the opposing side as they hurried toward their safe house.

A game where the prize was the warmth of a friendly body.

GINXRANGIKU

"Did you find anything?" An unseen captain asked as the guards returned from their search.

The large man who'd spoken to Rangiku earlier shook his head. "Nothing concrete, sir. There were a few who didn't cooperate as well, or had some suspicious items in their offices pertaining to Aizen, but nothing truly indicating signs of Ichimaru."

"Pertaining to Aizen?" the captain asked, his voice rising with curiosity. "Memorabilia, or what? What were the items exactly, and who had them?"

The man stared down at a small sheet of parchment he had rolled up in his pocket, reading the names that were listed. "Uh...Hinamori Momo."

The captain tensed a little, falling silent before speaking again. "That is understandable. He is her ex-captain. She would have items, for memorial purposes."

The guard looked up. "Would these ties lead to a possible following? Should we keep her under surveillance?"

The captain shook his head. "No. There would be no need for it. There is no way Vice-Captain Hinamori would betray her people."

"She has a record, sir-"

"That's not important," he replied sharply. "I will keep an eye on her myself. Who else?"

"A Vice-Captain Kira Izuru seemed rather uptight about something," he continued. "Didn't seem to like having us around."

"Kira usually finds himself in positions such as that. Many things make the poor Vice-Captain nervous," the captain explained. "And seeing as his ex-Captain happens to be Ichimaru himself, he would certainly feel like there was a target on his back."

"Is he under watch as well?" another guard piped up.

"I will look into it," he said shortly.

The large guard looked back at his parchment, scanning it for more names. Finally, he came to a stop at the bottom, clearing his throat.

"There was another, sir," he started hesitantly, glancing at some of the other guards. "Another we sensed to have an usual amount of spiritual energy, more so in the room itself than her." He paused, expecting the captain to speak, continuing once the man had merely stared at him. "She didn't seem to fond of us entering her room either. Almost like she was hiding something."

The captain raised an eyebrow, staring at the guard with intense curiosity. He leaned on the desk in front of him, folding his hands beneath his chin. "And who is this?"

As if he didn't already know. It was more than obvious who would act in such a manner. And after all, he had said she.

"Matsumoto Rangiku."

A/N: Who didn't see that one coming, eh? Lol. Anyways, you saw what I said in the first A/N. If there's anything you'd like to see happen, just let me know and maybe I'll work it in. In the meantime, please take the time to review! I really appreciate all of those who do so!! Thanks again! Ciao!