Author's note: I do not own Bleach or its characters. This is AU and set in the same universe as Tales of the Kingdom.
Sunrise
Rangiku had not been alert when it happened. After all, she and Gin had been living in these woods for over a year, and she had never once seen a soul besides the two of them. So it was understandable that she wasn't paying to much attention to her surroundings. The thug that grabbed her from behind completely took her by surprise. Of course, even a surprised Rangiku had instincts. She fought like a cat, all claws and teeth. Rangiku even managed to hit him in the privates. That at least got the man to release her from his grip. Unfortunately, for her, Rangiku was too winded to really get away.
A blow to her head sent her reeling to the ground. Rangiku bit her lip and tried to scramble away, but one of them grabbed her feet. He laughed at her attempts to free herself and hauled her up off the ground, dangling her upside down.
"We've got a little fighter here, huh? What's your name, pretty?"
Rangiku snarled at him. He just laughed.
"You won't be so feisty when we're done with you. Not bad looking for a kid though. Too bad you don't have much in the way of assets yet. Ah well."
Before he could get any further with his plans though, he was attacked. Rangiku found herself tumbling to the ground, jarred and winded. She rolled out of the way of the ongoing fight, looking up to find it was Gin who had attacked the man. Not only that, Gin was clearly having better luck in this fight than the older man. It didn't make sense that a child was winning against an adult, but Rangiku wasn't going to complain. She didn't know where Gin had gotten the knife he was using either, but he was making good use of it. The man who had been holding her was down, and Rangiku didn't think he would be getting up any time soon. One of the other two was bleeding pretty badly, and his compatriot simply took off.
Part of Rangiku thought she should be a little concerned about Gin's ruthlessness and lack of mercy, but these men had wanted to hurt her. That much had been clear to the girl. Besides, even if Gin had attacked and killed these men, she had no reason to fear him. He would not hurt her. Rangiku knew that in every fiber of her being. For her, Gin meant safety. The fight didn't last long. When it was over, Gin came over to her, and Rangiku couldn't help herself. She wrapped him in a tight hug.
Gin hugged her back, just as tight, then pulled back to inspect her for injuries. They didn't actually talk about what happened. When he was satisfied that she was not seriously hurt, the two of them made their way over to the stream to both get cleaned up. Rangiku noticed that Gin kept her within grabbing distance the entire time, and when they headed back to their humble abode, he kept a tight grip on her hand. She wasn't going to complain about that. It was comforting.
The evening was a little more subdued than normal, and Gin didn't complain when Rangiku moved their pallets together. She didn't know if she was going to have trouble sleeping or not, but if she did, she knew that being close to Gin would help. Besides, he didn't seem to have any complaints about her sticking close. If anything, he seemed to be keeping her closer than normal. Maybe he had been scared too. Rangiku blinked at that thought.
That would mean she meant something to Gin. She had never asked, but she had hoped. After all, he had let her stay with him for over a year now. Of course, there was always the off chance that Gin simply wanted companionship of some sort. Still, it would be nice to mean something to someone. Gin was the only constant that she had ever really known other than hunger. And Gin was much nicer than that. She didn't think she ever wanted to do without Gin.
Rangiku curled up in bed that night barely a finger length away from her friend. She knew that the attack earlier today had changed something, and that their peaceful existence here might not last much longer. But as long as Gin was at her side, Rangiku didn't think it really mattered.