Rangiku couldn't find Gin Ichimaru. The members of the Third Division said he went out, but the captain is practically a god; who knows where he is?
So Rangiku waited for Gin Ichimaru to return to the Third Division. She waited for more than two hours, and it was almost dark when Gin Ichimaru finally returned.
"What are you doing here?" Gin Ichimaru had just finished fighting the Little Lion and turned around to see his adjutant, Rangiku. Even the most composed man would panic for a moment.
Rangiku went to greet her, "I've come to ask you something; this isn't the place to talk."
"Ask something?" Gin Ichimaru instantly realized what Rangiku had come to ask, and led Rangiku directly to the barracks at the back.
Rangiku suddenly felt a pang of unease, a feeling she couldn't quite describe, a kind of butterflies in her stomach, especially after the three sisters had just revealed the secret that her closest confidant was Gin Ichimaru.
It might not be believable, Rangiku and Gin Ichimaru haven't spent much time together in public since graduation. Rangiku only just realized this now, and she couldn't help but feel a little angry. Why was Gin Ichimaru avoiding her?
"Are you investigating Captain Aizen's suicide with your little Vice-Captain?" Gin asked as soon as he opened the door, as if they were a married couple returning home, treating Rangiku like she was no stranger.
Rangiku didn't think anything was wrong, replied with an "Mm," and then followed Gin Ichimaru into the living room.
Although it was her first time visiting Gin Ichimaru's dorm, Rangiku went straight to the second shelf of the cabinet, took out some tea leaves, and then asked, "Where's your kettle?"
How did you know where the tea leaves were?
"Hehe, when we were kids, the tea we stole was always hidden in the second compartment of our cupboard."
Gin Ichimaru, for once, grinned and laughed out loud. "Hahaha, really? You still remember after all these years?"
"Of course I remember! I remember everything that happened when we were kids."
Rangiku's simple words struck a chord with Gin Ichimaru, but this guy was, after all, an assassin, devoid of emotion, a stark contrast to Soi Fon, the Second Division Captain.
Haha, really? I don't remember a lot of them.
As Rangiku brewed tea, she glanced at Gin Ichimaru, a look that was undeniably alluring and incredibly captivating. However, he was an assassin, devoid of emotion.
"Boys usually don't remember things from their childhood, that's mostly true."
"Really? Me too."
"Yeah, boys don't like playing with girls when they're little. I remember when we were little, it was just you and me playing. The other kids on the street would laugh at you and bully me, so we'd fight them. Hehehe~ It's so funny to think about it now."
"Ha~ yeah," Gin Ichimaru felt he was about to give up. Why? Why is this happening? I'm an assassin! I have no emotions!
Rangiku had just finished brewing the tea and brought it over, smiling at Gin Ichimaru, still bent over and not yet sitting down.
"Hey~ Why are you still like a little kid? Or rather, why are you getting more and more like a child?"
"What do you mean by that?" Gin Ichimaru really didn't understand.
Rangiku leaned over the coffee table, her face almost touching Gin Ichimaru's, and said, "I'm asking why you've been avoiding me for so many years."
Yin took a slight step back, looking slightly flustered. "Where?"
"You still say you didn't?! What kind of relationship do we have? We used to sleep together when we were in school, and this is the first time I've come to your house since graduation. And you still say you weren't deliberately avoiding me!"
"Uh, well," Yin said, unusually embarrassed, "You know, we're all grown up now, and men and women shouldn't touch each other."
"What do you mean? You think you're so smart because you're well-educated, and you're taking advantage of my lack of education?"
Rangiku's continued advance left Gin Ichimaru exasperated. "Oni believes you don't understand," he thought, but Rangiku's feigned ignorance left Gin helpless.
"Aren't we just friends?"
"So, this is what friendship is like—only visiting someone's home once every hundred years or so? Wow! This is the first time I've ever thought friendship was like this."
"Tsk~ This," Yin felt she was about to be overwhelmed, "What exactly did you come here for today?"
What was Rangiku thinking at that moment? She was thinking about her success. She remembered the feeling she had when facing Jun, that feeling of having words left unsaid, so she pressed her advantage.
"What am I here for? I just want to catch up with some old friends."
Gin Ichimaru was utterly defeated. "Fine, fine, let's catch up then. I was wrong, okay? I should have invited you to my house sooner."
Is that all you've got?
What else do you want?
"An explanation?"
What explanation?
Why are you distancing yourself from me? Why are you avoiding me?
"Tsk~, we're a guy and a girl, we're not a couple or a married couple. You have your own life, and so do I. How can we be too intimate, right?" Gin Ichimaru explained seriously.
However, Rangiku suddenly blushed and shook her head, "No, you know what? Someone sent me here today."
"Who?" Yin asked in a low voice, though he already had a guess.
But he guessed wrong. Rangiku said, "It's Kiyo, Ise Jun, and Lisa Yadōmaru and Nanao Ise. We played a game and asked everyone who their closest person was. Kiyo said it was our captain, Lisa Yadōmaru said it was Kiyo and Nanao, Nanao said it was Kiyo and Lisa Yadōmaru, but my closest person is Tōshirō."
Gin Ichimaru frowned. Rangiku was now gathered around, watched this scene with amusement. "But they all say it's you."
"Uh," Gin Ichimaru was dumbfounded. He was truly bewildered. Had he acted strangely? He had clearly distanced himself from Rangiku, so why had others noticed? And three of them at that! This was just too much!
"Hmph~ You still say you haven't distanced yourself from me? Many people can see how you feel about me; we're Childhood Friends! If you like me, just say so. It's not like I haven't felt the same way."
Rangiku blushed and her heart pounded, and Gin wasn't much better off. "You... you've misunderstood," he said.
But he couldn't continue, because Rangiku was looking at him with tears in her eyes. Gin silently repeated "I'm an assassin, I have no feelings" a hundred times in his heart, but it was completely useless.
Everything he did was to make Rangiku happy and to ensure the woman in front of him was no longer in danger, but now he's made her cry. Who can tell him what to do?
I'm shy.
As expected of Gin Ichimaru, his quick wit was astounding. In an instant, he made Rangiku stop crying and start laughing. And the next second, he was pulled into Rangiku's arms. Rangiku stepped over the coffee table and sat down next to Gin, taking his arm in her lap Rangiku.
"Gin~, you're so cute!"
"I," Gin's mind was filled with the feeling on his arm. No matter how cold he was, he couldn't calm down when his goddess was holding his arm. Moreover, this was the first time in hundreds of years that he and Rangiku had been like this; it had gone beyond the intimacy of friends.
"Yin, let's get married."
Gin swallowed hard. Gin Ichimaru mind had completely transformed into a supercomputer, countless thoughts racing, capable of performing hundreds of millions of calculations and deductions per second. Then, he abruptly shoved Rangiku.
"No!!"
What are you afraid of?
"Afraid? Who's afraid?"
The atmosphere took a sharp turn for the worse. Even Rangiku, who wasn't usually very perceptive, noticed that Gin Ichimaru was acting strangely, and Gin Ichimaru was now genuinely panicked.
Rangiku remained silent, staring intently at Gin Ichimaru. Gin Ichimaru, on the other hand, snapped, covering his face and gritting his teeth, "Who sent you?! It couldn't be those three women! It was Jun Shimizu, right?! It was him, right?!"
"You have a grudge against Captain Shimizu?"
"What's it to you!?"
"Why is it not related? You're my friend."
"Who said I'm your friend! Get out of here!!"
Gin Ichimaru was now somewhat hysterical, and Rangiku finally saw through Gin Ichimaru true colors. "What are you so afraid of? You won't even let me stay by your side?"
"I! Am I! Scared! Get out of here!!"
Rangiku remained completely unmoved. "If I don't leave, will you kill me? If I don't understand why you're leaving me today, I'll die rather than leave. Come on, do it."
This isn't the battlefield of Karakura Town Gin Ichimaru. Even if Rangiku used the Hakufuku to put Rangiku to sleep, it wouldn't have any effect. Rangiku would wake up sooner or later. This situation has now driven Gin Ichimaru into a corner. Rangiku is his nemesis; he can't even think calmly when facing Rangiku.
So now Gin Ichimaru is helpless. Rangiku has discovered his purpose and his actions, and he's doomed. After some thought, Gin Ichimaru simply sat down on the ground, giving up in despair.
"Haha~, Jun Shimizu, Jun Shimizu! You're amazing! You're amazing!!"
"It was Uncle Shimizu who told me to ask my closest person about the situation. I didn't lie to you. It was also Jun and the others who said you are my closest person. I didn't lie to them either," Rangiku said, feeling a pang of sympathy.
Gin Ichimaru took a deep breath and shook his head. "Never mind, none of that matters. I lost, I lost terribly."
"That guy used my feelings for you to make you come to me, all so you could break through my defenses. Now he's achieved his goal, haha, I... I..." Yin's breath trembled. "I... haha, he saw right through me from the start."
Rangiku walked over, unsure of Gin Ichimaru's condition. But just as she got about a meter away, she was suddenly embraced; Gin Ichimaru held her tightly in his arms.
Gin opened his eyes, looked into Rangiku's eyes, and asked with a smile, "You want to know what I'm going to do, right? You want to know my purpose, right? You want to know all of this, don't you?"
Rangiku was surprised by Gin Ichimaru's sudden Explosion of assertiveness; how to describe it? It was like a domineering CEO style. However, Rangiku liked Gin, so she accepted any style.
So, her face flushed red, and she didn't dare look at Yin. She looked away and softly replied, "Mmm~"
However, Rangiku realized this wasn't enough. Gin's face was getting closer and closer to hers, and suddenly she felt his lips press against hers. For a moment, Rangiku froze. She hadn't expected things to progress so quickly; while she didn't dislike it, it was too fast.
Gin's breath was incredibly the Heat. He didn't just kiss her once; he slowly pecked at Rangiku's face, then moved to behind her ear and her neck. Then, Gin Ichimaru whispered seductively in Rangiku's ear...
"I will let you know everything, but you will also pay the price for your actions. You will know how much I love you, and it will be too late for regrets now."
The two thus consummated their relationship. What Gin didn't know was that at the very moment he chose Rangiku, the sword Jun had given him began to vibrate.