So wow, IchigoxRukia is a much more popular genre than I thought! Blackteaplease's one-shot was very well received. I was quite happy about that; it even brought an old reviewer of mine from another fanfic in another genre in, which was quite cool. Work is still horrible as far as making money goes.
Thanks to: Solar Kitty, Stebbins -Stella-, capslocknanao, Nicky Eira (congrats on being reviewer 800!), Spockie, Beautiful Nightmare07, Sonozaki-sama, blackteaplease, katiegirl101199, PunkRockHolly, Blueberry Absinth, and gaarasracoon
98. Enthusiasm
The chair was hard, the wooden back digging into his spine. Shifting did not help in the least; instead, it only tugged at Gin's wounds. They were healed enough he could get around and walk a short ways, but for the most part, he still had to rest frequently. If he was not so worried, he would be very bored. Instead, he just hurt.
He hardly paid attention to what everyone was saying. He was mostly certain of the outcome; he had not even expected to live through the fight. Rangiku was alive, though, and happy enough he supposed, so that was good enough.
Yama-jii asked him question after question. Gin responded mindlessly. It was not fun anymore to spin his word games. He was not even sure why he was being given a trial.
"Will anyone speak on Ichimaru Gin's behalf?" Yama-jii asked.
Gin listened to the crickets.
"Y-yes, I will," Izuru said. "Ichimaru may have made mistakes, but he was an excellent captain."
Gin listened to Izuru list virtues alongside faults, and somehow, Izuru made him sound almost like a good man, especially as the third squad came to Izuru's aid when the lieutenant struggled for words and blushed under Yama-jii's gaze.
The thing that made Gin stare in wonder was that they all seemed to be sure they were telling the truth. He was a horrible man; he had done terrible things, betrayed them all. How could they say things like that?
Even with that though, it meant little. Gin may have been a good captain, but then he betrayed everyone. Then he was no longer a captain.
"And in the end, Gin saved us all," Rangiku said. Gin stared at her; he had not seen her since the final fight. "He chose us in the end, and it was Gin who destroyed the Hoguyoku so that Aizen could be destroyed."
Gin closed his eyes and listened as Rangiku, and then Kurosaki spoke about that fight. Then Kyouraku and Ukitake spoke on his behalf. He was astounded; he could not comprehend their support, the enthusiasm they were defending him with. Were there really people who wanted him alive after everything he had done?
I dunno what I think about this chapter. It was a bit... odd. Oh well. How old are you, or what age range? Do you believe in love at first sight?
