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.

Sunset

Gin did his best not to be noticed as he slipped out of the Shinigami Knights' compound. Things were beginning to pick up speed, and he needed to get the next few things put into place before anything else happened. The princess was not quite old enough for them to worrying about her education, but she would be soon enough. Gin didn't know the princess personally, but he rather doubted that she was the docile, shy, bookworm she appeared to be. Kyoraku would not have been so fond of her if she was. Furthermore, most people forgot that until Kyoraku's banishment, she had been trained in kidou by the Shinigami Knights.

No, Crown Princess Nanao would not be the easy pawn that Aizen expected. Even with taking away the support of the royal champion, the little girl was much more than she appeared. She was also extremely intelligent from the reports her tutors gave. And it wouldn't be long before Aizen realized that her intelligence was a threat and wanted her school in the more "ladylike" skills. That was where Rangiku came in. She knew everything there was about proper manners and entertaining. Furthermore, people tended to dismiss Ran's intelligence due to her pretty face.

Ran would be the perfect tutor for the princess if she was willing. With that in mind, Gin slipped silently through the streets, heading for a house he knew very well. While it was true that his visits to Rangiku were infrequent, he typically managed to see her at least once every two months or so. Rangiku had been feeding him information about the state of things in the merchant classes for several years now as well as any other useful tidbits she picked up. Her own network of informants had become invaluable to him. What was even better was no one knew where he got that information from.

It was easy enough for Gin to slip into Rangiku's private rooms in the house. She wouldn't be home yet, but he could wait. No one would be looking for him tonight, and this was more than just a business call. It didn't take him long to lay out Ran's futon and find a book to entertain himself with until she arrived. That didn't take long either. Within an hour the door to the room slid open, and Rangiku stepped through, dressed in a simple yukata. She did not seem that startled to see him. Of course, she was used to him popping in on her like this now.

She sat down on the futon beside him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"So is this a business visit or a social one?"

"A little bit of both, Ran-chan. I wanted to run an idea by you. Then we have until morning to ourselves."

Gin dropped a kiss on the top of her head, and Rangiku nuzzled his neck.

"So what's this idea?"