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I'm Watching You

She just stood there, motionless. Her heart was being pierced by a thousand needles. As much as she wanted, she could shed no tear. The pain she was feeling at that time was too much. Crying would not be enough to ease the leaden weight in her heart.

"Matsumoto!" a shout came from behind her.

Startled, Rangiku turned around. There, standing at the shack's entryway was 6th squad Vice-Captain Abarai Renji. Evident in his face was anger.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I might ask you the same question," Renji spat. "Hitsugaya-taichou told me that you didn't attend to your duties. When we went to your place you weren't there. Some of your squad members noticed you leave. There was still a tiny trace of your reiatsu so I followed it and it led me here.

"Do you really need to punish yourself, Matsumoto? Coming to this place by yourself where you first met, revisiting the past that is best buried. You must be a masochist. Why the hell don't you fix yourself, Matsumoto? He is not coming back!"

Rangiku bowed her head. Silence took over. She didn't realize until now how her behavior affected her comrades and made them worry about her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"You should be. Now, let' go before the weather turns any nastier."

She simply nodded her assent.

They went out the shack together. He leading the way, she trailing behind him. He was still bristling with anger towards her. And rightly so.

They walked on in silence. His shouts she could stand but not this.

"Renji."

"What!" he snapped, not breaking the pace of his strides.

She didn't answer. Besides, what could she say?

The rest of the day passed by with nary a word exchanged. How she wished to be in the comforts of her own room.

After a long walk they finally arrived in civilization. Renji went on to the direction of the tenth squad's quarters using Shunpo. He didn't even bother to check if Rangiku was still following him.

The hairs at the back of her neck stood in attention. Someone was watching her. They were already in the vicinity of Seiretei. Apart from herself and Renji, she could see no one else below out on the streets. No one in his right mind would venture out in this weather.

She shook the feeling off. It was most probably her imagination running amok. The result of the combination of fatigue and hunger and cold.

Renji came to a halt in front of the building of the tenth squad's main offices. Rangiku would have careened straight to his back had she not caught herself in time.

Hitsugaya-taichou was there, along with some Captains Ukitake Jyuushiro of the 13th squad and Kyouraku Shinsui of the 8th squad with his ever faithful Vice-Captain Ise Nanao.

"How are you Matsumoto-san? Are you injured or anything? I'll have somebody called from Unohana Retsu's 4th squad for you," Ukitake-taichou was the first to express concern for her.

"What took the two of you so long? Did something happen?" Kyouraku-taichou wiggled his brows meaningfully.

Nanao elbowed her superior discreetly.

"Aw, that hurt, Nana-chan. You only have to say you want to do it and we'll leave," Kyouraku-taichou teased.

Nanao just cleared her throat and straightened her glasses. The only sign of her discomfiture: the reddening of her cheeks.

Rangiku laughed. She turned to look at Hitsugaya. His face was devoid of any emotion when he said, "Hurry up and fix yourself, Matsumoto. There are plenty of paperwork waiting for you." It never entered her mind that her captain was thinking of the week after Gin had left, that time in her office, looking out the window with a sorrowful look before Hitsugaya called to her.

"Arigatou, minna-san. But I'm fine. Really," she said to appease them all.

She had to stop herself from frowning. There it was again. The feeling that someone was watching her.

"Ah, Kuchiki-taichou. What brings you here? You worried about Matsumoto-san too?" Kyouraku-taichou called to the person behind her.

Rangiku almost dropped her jaw in surprise when she saw Kuchiki Byakuya, head of the 6th squad, striding towards their group.

He didn't answer Kyouraku-taichou but "Who said you can slack off during work hours, Abarai?"

"Gomen nasai, taichou. Hitsugaya-taichou here asked me to look for Matsumoto. She just disappeared without a word this morning. I brought her back," Renji said in reply to his superior's question.

"Do not interfere with the lives of people who won't appreciate your interference."

He left.

Just like that.

How rude.

And how characteristic of him.

Naze, naze. How long will it take for you to get over that bastard?

You neglected your duties, disappeared for most of the day just to revisit the past? You worried your friends for such a stupid reason. More like, for nothing at all.

He walked briskly, his strides sure. His body language screamed the words "Bow to me I am superior."

He kept his face straight. Nobody who knew him would believe it was he if they knew what he was thinking.

Soon, love, soon. I'll make you forget he once became a part of your world.

Whew... Some updates finally. Please tell me what you think.