Hopelessly Devoted to You (Gin Ichimaru love story)

Chapter 19

I was alone in the Captain's quarters, laying on the foam mat that Gin had slept on during my stay.

Oh dear, ya really shouldn't be here Neko-chan.

But why? I couldn't shake his fox-like smile from my head. Why couldn't I forget about him and leave his memory behind?

After the battle I had my wounds healed up by Squad four since they were minor injuries. Then I ran into Rukia and the Ryouka. The orange-haired girl who called herself Inoue Orihime shook my hand ecstatically.

"You looked so brave fighting that silver-haired guy!" She chimed.

I gave her a weak nod and a fake smile. "Thank you."

Kurosaki Ichigo pulled Orihime away and rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry about that, Neko was it?" he asked.

I nodded, surprised he would use my first name but he did call Captain Kuchiki by his first name, Byakuya. Either way, I didn't mind.

"It's no problem. But thank you for thinking of me," I said.

A few days had passed since then and I remained locked in the Captain's old room the entire time, eating the dried persimmons he had left behind and a few pre-made sandwiches. Other than that I did nothing. I had snooped around but found nothing left, not even the yukata he had worn a few nights ago.

A knock came at the door. I didn't bother to answer it as three soul reapers walked in. I could see Rangiku, Izuru, and Renji out of the corner of my eye.

I couldn't even remember the last time I had talked to Renji. I remember seeing him on the ground next to Ichigo, but I was only worried about Gin at the time.

He's got these creepy narrowed eyes and he always has on a sickly smile. Those were Renji's words about Captain Ichimaru. Why was that smile so endearing then? And those squinted eyes so comforting?

I forgot to mention that the room was a disaster. After I would take a shower I would leave my clothes on the floor. My hair, though clean, was practically a tangled mess. Then there were the plastic sandwich wrappers on the floor from the sandwiches.

"Neko what happened in here? It looks like a tornado hit," Rangiku said, closing the door and picking up one of the wrappers.

Izuru began picking up the discarded uniforms while Renji approached me. He held a bouquet of marigolds that he had picked from the courtyard of Squad six.

He sat down in front of my broken mentality. "Captain Kuchiki said I should bring you these," he said with a soft smile, putting the flowers next to my head.

My gaze remained fixed on the ground as if the life that once appeared in my eyes was no longer there.

"Man, she really took a beating from all this," he said, turning to the other two soul reapers.

Rangiku looked down at me before an idea popped into her head, running towards the bathroom and grabbing a hairbrush. "All she needs is a little pick me up."

She lifted me into a sitting position and sat behind me, fighting with the tangles in my hair until it was sheen and smooth.

Izuru continued with the house cleaning while Renji tried to bring me back to reality. "Neko, it's okay now. Besides now Gin's not teasing you every second of the day anymore."

At that moment I looked up at Renji, realizing again why I was broken. "Gin," I said as my lip began to quiver.

Rangiku reached past me, smacking Renji in the face. "Don't say that! Do you know what she's been through?!"