Ugh, I meant to be in bed already, but this chapter and the next took much longer than I anticipated, but I had to have both done today--I work fifteen hours tomorrow. I'm going to die. Ugh.

Thanks to: Blueberry Absinth, blackteaplease, Solar Kitty, LilyGirl101, PunkRockHolly, Sonozaki-sama, Renji's Girll, and Falln4DarkAngel


71. Unsettling Revelations

Rangiku was standing and worrying about everything that was going on when Hitsugaya announced that they were going to save Rukia. Part of her was glad of his decision; she knew something was very wrong with the decision. The other part of her, however, wanted to search through all of seireitei, look down every alley and hiding place in rukongai for one person.

Someone who had left. Again.

The problem was, Rangiku had her duties, and she could not leave. What she did not want to admit was that she was afraid of finding Gin.

Rangiku raced after Hitsugaya as they flew inside Central 46, the lack of security sending an unsettling ripple through her stomach.

"Ho… How is this possible?" Hitsugaya whispered. Then Rangiku saw, and she was more stunned than her captain. "What happened here?"

The central government had been destroyed. The six judges and forty wisemen lay in a bloody morgue. It was a brutal slaughterhouse, but no one had fought back.

Rangiku watched in silence as her captain fingered the blood. "The blood is dry… It even turned black and breaks into flakes. They must have been dead for at least two days."

The words were sound, there was no tremor to them, but even so, Rangiku knew Hitsugaya felt the same sick, twisted shock she felt. Even more, this meant that the orders for Kuchiki Rukia's death, the latest orders, for her to be executed in a matter of hours, did not come from Central forty-six. Her stomach lurched as she thought of who it might have come from.

A new voice said, "I thought you would be here Captain Hitsugaya."

"Kira! It can't be. Did you do this?" Hitsugaya stared up at the blond man. Izuru flew away. "After him, Matsumoto!"

"Yes, sir!" She would follow her captain's orders to the end of the earth, even if she was afraid of whom she would find when they finally caught Izuru.

Hitsugaya pulled ahead of her, and she heard bits and pieces of horrible accusations concerning the massacre of Central 46. Then Hitsugaya ordered Rangiku to stay and deal with Izuru. She did not understand why her friend was opposing her and her captain now, but she knew he had to be stopped. Why was he still running?

All at once, he stopped. "Hm? Are you done running?" She said, catching her breath.

"My mission is to keep you here, Matsumoto-san."

"'Mission'? Who gave you that mission? Gin?" Rangiku frowned and crossed her arms. It made her look intimidating and hid the tiny tremors of fear in her hands.

"There is no need to answer you."

"There is…"

"There is not," Kira said. A few words of banter more, and then, "What I meant was, there is no need to answer someone who is about to die anyway."

How did this all get twisted around so horribly? Kira unleashed wabisuke and the world became a blur. Her blade met his, and then, abruptly, it was too heavy to hold. It hit the ground with a heavy thud; wabisuke's hidden power. So Rangiku unleashed haineko and she no longer had a blade to hold; the ash was her weapon now. Gin, what on earth do you want with this kid? What do you want from me? Where on earth do you want to go? I know you're leaving now. It is hurting just as much as it did the first time you left. I don't understand.

Then Isane stopped her in her tracks. She had won the battle with Kira moments before, and she was going back to her captain. Isane began an emergency alert. Rangiku could barely stop from trembling now. Every word out of Isane's mouth was one closer to finding out something horrible, and she knew in her heart that Gin would be involved somehow.

"Everything I am about to say is all true," Isane began. Isane's words tumbled out quickly in a horrible nightmare.

For a moment, only one thing registered, "Captain actually lost?" Then it sunk in, Aizen beat Hitsugaya. Aizen nearly killed Hinamori. Aizen's second in command was Gin. Her Gin.

The world shattered, and Rangiku's soldier took over.


Soooo much referencing from the manga. It made it soooo pesty and difficult to write! Aaaaaaaaaaaahhh! And it's sad. :(