Hopelessly Devoted to You (Gin Ichimaru love story)

Chapter 6

My gaze remained fixed on the orange-haired mistress. She had a lieutenant's badge tied to her arm which had a black daffodil flower and the kanji number for Squad ten.

"Is something wrong?" Rangiku asked. I realized that I had a blank expression on my face from looking at her.

"Umm, no! Not at all." I mustered a fake smile even though I had no idea why she didn't call me out for my earlier clumsiness.

Rangiku let a small chuckle escape her lips and extended a hand to me. "Matsumoto Rangiku, though you probably already know that from earlier," she said, a trace of anxiety lingering on her face. I proceeded to take her hand in a kind gesture. "Tsuki Neko."

After she let go off my hand she looked down at me with bright blue eyes. "Want to talk for a while before returning to Squad three?" How did she know I was in Squad three? I looked down at my badge, giving myself an idiotic look. Duh. I tried to think of an excuse not to, but I knew Captain Aizen would most likely still be in Squad five lurking about.

Momo had told me Captain Aizen usually disappears around the evening and sometimes even the night time. She guessed he was making his rounds visiting comrades. The thought of him put a scowl on my face that I rubbed off instantly as to not cause suspicion. Either way, I would have to pick up the paperwork from Momo sometime later.

Suddenly Rangiku stuck her face in front of mine with a pouted expression. I flinched but I could see she obviously wouldn't take no for an answer. "Aw come on, let's get to know each other! I'll only take up a little of your time," she asking in a pleading tone. I finally agreed with the nod of my head, putting a gleeful smile on her face.

I couldn't lie that I was curious about who she was, but I'd just let her explain herself before I did. We began walking around Seireitei, asking questions like "what do you enjoy doing?" and "what kind of food do you like?" I could feel myself opening up to Rangiku after a while of chatting away with her. Sometimes I did prefer having someone to talk to rather than battling the thoughts in my mind.

Apparently from what I learned from her so far, she used to be close with Captain Ichimaru. They lived in Rukongai together at a young age since they had no one else to depend on. One night during a heavy snowfall he left, telling her that he would become a soul reaper so he could change things.

It was nice to have a different perspective on the narrowed eyed captain, especially since it seemed that Rangiku had gone through a rough time and her words sounded sincere. Maybe this guy wasn't as heartless as I thought.

I could see pain lingering in her powder blue eyes so I decided to change the subject. "Matsumoto-san-" "Oh you don't have to address me by my last name, just call me Rangiku," she said, not meaning to cut me off. I fixed my words to where it would satisfy her. "Rangiku, if you don't mind me asking, why did you want to get to know me?" I was uncertain of the response I would receive, but I was curious about what the woman's motives were.

She tapped a finger to her chin, looking up at the sky for a split second before her gaze fell back onto me. "Well, lieutenant Kira has been missing for some time now and by meeting you I wanted to forget about that and move on, you know?"

I hummed, figuring the missing lieutenant had meant something to her. "How long has he been gone for?"

No smile was to be found on Rangiku's face as she let out a soft sigh. "Half a year. There have been no reports from any search parties for a few months now either."

I gasped, surprised that it has been that long. She suddenly stopped and I came to halt soon after, now standing almost directly in front of the orange-haired female. "He was sent on a mission to the hollow realm which is known as Hueco Mundo. Reports were coming in of countless hollows leaving into the world of the living. Kira-san volunteered to go figure out what was making them swarm the human world so suddenly. Captain Ichimaru allowed him to go through with his decision. After that, he was sent with four other soul reapers to Hueco Mundo. The week after was their deadline to return."