Chapter 5: Time Stood Still Part 2(What Matsumoto saw)

Note: The italics are Ichimaru's instruction.

I constantly had to change stuff around so this chapter may show up as constant uploading of a new chapter. Sorry to get anyone's hopes up to those get alerts for this story, but I'm just trying to polish things off that I probably won't see if I kept it in MS Word draft.

Only in adventure stories do our heroes not worry about where the next meal is coming from. Ichimaru's supply of dried goods was nearly emptied but luckily they only had to starve for a day and conveniently, mugged on that day where their energy was at it's lowest.

"THIS IS YOUR FAULT, ICHIMARU!" fumed Matsumoto.

"Whoa, whoa, gots some fire there, no?" He held up his hands in mock surrender. "Save it for 'em who took our food and money, Ran-chan."

"You watched idly by while they got away with our goods!" she barked.

"Can't get yo' back forever. Let this be yo' first victory." Ichimaru's grin disappeared and an ominously cold wind blew. "O' yo' first loss. Get our stuff back...Ran-chan." His smile came up again.

Matsumoto's heart skipped a beat and she gulped. Matsumoto has been with Gin for a few years since they first met. She seldom sees him without his signature grin. And those couple of times that she saw him without the grin? They were the times Gin meant business. Ichimaru with his grin is unsettling. Ichimaru without his grin? That's downright horrifying.

She couldn't quite master it yet so she needed a running start. After five seconds, she disappeared from sight and appeared many yards away, the debut of her first use of shunpo. Will yo' reiatsu behind ya. A flash step's ya basics fo' battle. An' quite fun too. As ya' reiatsu catches up ta'ya' you'll be "spirited", Ichimaru said with a chuckle. Think of it as a rubber band.

At one time, she recalled asking him how he knows all he knows. How he is so damn good at fighting.

T'is a story for 'nother time. And that was the end of that.

Rangiku caught up with the thugs in no time. She was all warmed up too, a double-edge sword because it means she's warmed up, but it also means she's a bit spent before the first blow was dealt or received. Still, Ichimaru forced her to cross the Rubicon, willing to sacrifice all their food and money to test how she is doing. And she could not see herself catching up with the people holding their effects without using shunpo.

This was a group session. There's one of her and five of them. "In a group fight take the leader, if it's obvious, if not, pick the biggest or toughest looking enemy and make him unrecognizable by his mother." Ichimaru said with a grin.Matsumoto picked up a rock the size of her fist, ran a couple more steps to be safe, then pitched projectile at Tall and Ugly holding their knapsacks of possessions. A crack could be heard as the rock collided with his head but the guy is a tougher sucker. He turned around and looked even angrier, ready to put Matsumoto through the ground.

"You fucking bitch, I'll put you in your place!" He reared back to swing his fist.

"Oh, sorry." Matsumoto held up her zanpakuto that was minus a blade. "My sword broke. I surrender." She held up her hands, still holding the handle of her weapon. She laughed nervously. The sheer absurdity of such an action almost threw herself off.

"What the heck-?"

The leader of the bandits did not see this coming at all. "Growl, Haineko!" Matsumoto shouted. A feral snarl was heard, followed by a roar that would make everyone in the mile radius change their pants. As the bandits' bloodlust was rapidly replaced with surprise and best of all, fear, Matsumoto made short work of them and her released zanpakuto finished the rest.

"Our...effects." Matsumoto gasped between breaths. Behind her were the bandits fallen from battle. Though she did not kill any of them, they were heavily injured and won't be going anywhere for hours. She dropped the two knapsacks that they respectively carry on the ground in exhaustion. Ichimaru's smiled opened a little, because his prediction proved correct. She was good enough to take down these guys. And, as much as dried meat for a week tastes like cardboard, cardboard is a better option than starvation hands down. Still, compliments spoil a good pupil. After all, it was how his master taught him when he initially appeared in Rukongai. He started to think of the broad-shouldered man with brown hair. Heh. There's time to reminisce later. Gotta strike while the iron is still hot.

Ichimaru jumped down from the branch that gave him a good view of the one-sided takedown. Instead of getting up, he lashed out his rightfoot in a circular motion to sweep Matsumoto off her feet. "Ya' outta breath 'ready?!" She jumped back in obvious surprise and tensed up in a stance dreading the surprise sparring match as Ichimaru moved in for the attack.

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Hours later in a cave somewhere...

Matsumoto's eyes widened. "What's that?" she pointed at the jug and two small cups.

"I see someone's neva had sake before. S'good stuff, bev'rage o' the gods." Ichimaru's grin revealed some teeth again. "Figur'd this is reward as any fo' your efforts today."

Matsumoto thought about getting roughed up by Ichimaru after she roughed up the thugs. None of the injuries she sustained were deep but an attack is an attack. That act threw up a wall in her heart against him. It was a moment of vulnerability and try as she might to not think the worse, that is that Ichimaru would not think twice to hurt her if the opportunity presents itself, she did not feel safe around him.

"T'was tough love." Ichimaru said simply, as if reading her mind. "It's all I kno'. Heh. Dun' mean fo' ya to feel bad. But 'helps me sleep at night...that I help ya' the only way I kno'. If I di-..." Ichimaru's grin faltered. "If I were parted from, ya', I want ta kno', ya in betta' hands than...than before ya' met me." Ichimaru's grin returned. He rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Heh, Imma weird one, ain't I?" What's going on, he thought. I'm a stammering idiot around her!

Matsumoto was still grim but his explanation revealed a bit about him, at least in regards to how he views her. "You are weird. But you meant well. Thanks."

"That outta tha' way. I got a game." The grin and teeth returned. "It's called "Neva' hav' I ever." Here's how it's played..."

Two hours later...

"How is this a game, Ichimaru. I've had one shot, and that was a cheap one. You said "Never have I ever played "Never have I ever."

Ichimaru, quite sloshed by now, just laughed. "T'was an' easy one! Cain't lettit sliiide." He laughed again at his stretching of the syllable.

"Hey, it's not my fault I never been headbutted by a goat while playing mailbox baseball on foot! O-or smoked ice with Heidi Fleiss by a nuclear missile silo!" Matsumoto said, quite flustered that she hasn't really have a chance to do serious drinking.

"Heh...good time, in tha' pas' life o' mine! Ya' turn by tha' way."

"Never have I ever been in love." There was a pause. The festive mood was up in the air and depending on how it lands, gracefully or powerfully, it'll alter the mood dramatically. Matsumoto did not drink. Ichimaru, after a long moment, picked up his shot glass and drank.

This was Matsumoto's turn to smirk. "Want to fill me in on the details?"

"Whoa-whoa, t'is game still goin' on. Gotta phrase it wit' "Never have I ever"! 'Sides, it's my turn. Never have I ever remembered mah past life."

Ichimaru chuckled. He raised the cup then swooned a little. Rangiku's eyes were horrified. "Jus' joshin' ya'. Nah goin' faint, nah when got such a pretty face to keep happy. Heh." Rangiku blushed a little. He wasn't such a bad guy when he's nice. But when he just sits here and grins? That's a creepy sight.

Then out of nowhere he spilled. "Mah pas' life, I'sa sickly kid. Ya' know? Pale. Eyes missin' proper pigments. Trouble breathin'. Thinks called "asthma". Was' married to tha hospital bed pretty much." He chuckled again. "An' I always got ta be on top in that relationship." Matsumoto couldn't help but laugh a little. "Din't kno who mah 'rents were. Doctors say I's hopeles'. Waitin' fo' me ta die. He din't say that tho'. But I could see."

Rangiku didn't know what to say. Funny how this works she thought. From the day she met him, till now, she wanted to know about him. And here he is, talking about something most would not recall or want to. Yet, she was at a loss of words. "I'm sorry to hear." It was cliched but it seemed better than saying nothing.

"Eh, ya' din't do nything. The docs din't care. My foster 'rents couldn't be happier to be rid'a me. But there was this real nice nurse. Saw me 'least once a day. She gav' me this." He pointed to his smile. "I use'd ta scowl like sum orange-haired punk o' sumthin'. But she cared if I liv'd o' die'd an' I made her sad by dyin' and showin' up here. Tha' smile'sa daily reminda' to tell myself that someone, somewhere cares, yer kno'?"

"I...see." She suddenly put two and two together. "Is that why...why you're afraid of death?" She immediately regretted the words. "There he is opening himself up finally and now I have to go and be greedy, wanting to know more."she thought bitterly. "Baka." she muttered to herself.

"Yep!" he answered brightly again. The reaction surprised Matsumoto. She was relieved.

"Well, it's only fair I talk then." Ichimaru was back to himself again, eyes closed, grin wide. She just learned to assume this means he has no problem with what's happening and could go on. "Wish I could recall who I was even just a little bit in my past life. But I can't. I'll start with well, how I started here, in Rukongai. I was at a poor district, somewhere in the mid 70s of Southern Rukongai. My reiatsu is strong enough to cause discomfort to those around me but not enough to scare or use to my advantage. On top of that, heh...I'm well-formed," she said, referring to her breasts and really nice figure. "and if that is not enough to stand out, I have to eat, something not seen as normal."

Ichimaru only grinned when she took the pause to form her thoughts. However, the grin isn't the default one, it seemed to encourage her to continue.

This she said kind of rushed and with her head down. "I traveled at nights to avoid not being seen to not be judged...or be taken advantaged of. I knew I was stronger than average but at the same time, I was lonely. I wished for someone to be nice for once instead of wanting something out of me or shunning me before I got a chance. I broke into granaries, pantries and stores at night. And I ran a lot. I picked the wrong person to steel from when I targeted Daichi's...before you fought those hollows, before you came along, I was on my way to be her concubine." A tear of shame rolled down her face.

"There, there." Ichimaru said, "t'is okay. We're here now. An'...you'll no longer be chosen by your circumstances, but can do the choosing."

"Is that why you work to be so powerful? I can't imagine you being a sickly kid, all this came naturally."

Ichimaru just grinned and took a swig of his untouched shot of sake. "Neva' have I met someone' as special as you." he said when he finished refilling his shot. What he didn't say is, no matter how much he cared about Matsumoto, how much he could help and be important for her, at the end of the night, it was being more powerful that quelled the fear of death at night. The fear that grips him like a ghoul with a white face. The fear that threatens to consume him. It was what the man with the brown hair told him.

The light reflected off his glasses ominously. Ichimaru always believed that not being able to see the eyes make the person hard to trust, it's why he opted to keep his eyes closed most of the time. But this man, the man with the brown hair and broad shoulders, his eyes were covered not from darkness but from too much light. "One person should not contain so much light!" That was one of Ichimaru's first thoughts upon meeting him.

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Author's notes:

- This was a tough chapter to write. I originally had something else in mind and had a lot to say too. However, as I started to wrap up what would have been this chapter, I realized Ran-chan got very little air time in my story thusfar. If I can figure out how to fit what I already wrote to this chapter, the next update should be VERY soon (how many reviews I get is also a factor! )

- Props to writer CarrietheNinja for telling me to write non-stop. She has a great story out called The College Experience, excellent, long IchixRuki fic.