[AnimeFreakGeek]

Continuation of story already posted! ^_^

Gin's face was half turned to her and she could see that his eyes were slightly open. Strange. She'd only seen those red eyes opened one other time. It had been the first time she'd met him, out in the vast wasteland in the poorest section of the Rukongai district and he had found her passed out from hunger. Those eyes were the first things she'd seen once she'd regained consciousness. A sly smile crossed Gin's face and Rangiku's mood grew strange again. Turning away from her, Gin spoke to Kira, drawing Kira's attention towards Rangiku. A flutter of worry lay heavy in her stomach as she came closer to Kira. Once he'd been such a good friend, open and happy to be with all of the other lieutenants, but now...Rangiku couldn't quite put her finger on what happened to change Kira so much.

"Kira! Hello!" She waved to get his attention.

Kira turned slightly and looked in Rangiku's direction as she approached, and she wasn’t sure, but it was almost like she saw a flicker of annoyance pass over the lieutenant’s face as he saw her.

"This is three days in a row now" he muttered under his breath to Gin. "Three days she has asked and three days I have said no, and yet she keeps on asking."

Gin smiled and laughed slightly as he took a step towards Kira, his back to Rangiku for a moment.

"Why don’t you go Izuru? Might do you some good."

Kira was about to say something when Rangiku called out to him again. Turning away from his captain slightly, he smiled politely at her.

"Hello Matsumoto" he said with a slight bow.

"Izuru... I..." her eyes met Gins and she had to tear them away. "I was wondering if... you would like to join me for some sake. We use to all the time... before. Remember? It's been ages it seems since we have spent any time together..." her voice trailed off as she felt Gin's eyes boring into her.

Why was she so unnerved? Was it because she was seeing Gin with his eyes open? Or was it because of the inexplicable fear she felt growing inside her when she thought of her long time friend and what was happening to him. Rangiku stood there still and silent for a moment as she looked at Kira. He was so different. He had always been somewhat timid and a little on the shy side at the academy but he had gotten so much better after they graduated and was a wonderful lieutenant- one any of the captains would have been grateful for. For years they had been friends and confided secrets to each other and enjoyed each other's friendships. But lately, Kira had changed... he was spending more and more time with his captain, even outside of normal lieutenant duties, and it was like he was shutting out everyone else.

"I... I've missed you Izuru, that’s all" she whispered softly.

"Yes, well, I've been busy with my duties as lieutenant for the past few months." His voice was cold and somewhat harsh, taking Rangiku aback a bit. Pushing her red hair out of her eyes, Rangiku turned her attention to Gin.

"Hello, Captain Ichimaru." Those harsh red eyes closed.

"Captain Ichimaru? Why Rangiku, there's no need to be so formal." He bowed and then straightened up. "What brings us the honor of your presence?" Smiling, he waited for Rangiku to speak.

"Captain Hitsugaya is out on a mission and I'm all caught up with my paperwork. I thought I'd take a walk and then I spotted Kira and even though he's turned me down three days in a row," Rangiku gave Kira a mock frown. "I thought I'd try just one more time."

Gin turned to Kira. "Why, Kira. Turning this lovely lady down three days in a row? My, my, my. Surely I'm not working you that hard that you feel the need to stay by my side every minute of the day?"

Kira turned and looked at his captain. There it was again... that tone in the voice, that smile, that look in those half opened eyes. What was it about this man that made him feel the way he did?

"That’s easy" he said to himself "he’s the only one who really understands me" Kira turned and looked at Rangiku as a thought crossed his mind. "She use to be your closest friend. Izuru" he thought to himself. "You told her things you trusted no one else with..." "But that was then and things have changed" he thought shaking his head slightly as he managed a smile and laughed slightly.

"Of course not Captain," he said with a slight bow. "I just wanted to make sure I was not neglecting any of my responsibilities to my squad... or to my captain...." he spoke the last few words in a lower tone as he looked at his captain.

Gin took Kira by the arm and turned his back to Rangiku as he pulled Kira close.

"Excuse us just a minute my dear" he said with a grin over his shoulder. "Kira... you cannot stay with me every waking moment... even as much as you may want to" he said holding a finger up to his lips, silencing Kira's protest. "Go with her. This might be the best time to see where her loyalties truly lie" he said as he laid his finger against Kira's lips softly. "See if she can still be trusted" he whispered as he leaned in closer to Kira.

She could hear their voices but couldn't make out what Gin and Kira were talking about. With Gin having his back to her, all Rangiku could do was watch the play of emotions as they crossed Kira's face. Just what was going on with these two men? It wasn't as if their personalities were alike and this was the reason they seemed to be so much closer lately. Gin's finger lay softly against Kira's lips, silencing whatever the blonde man had been about to say.

"Rangiku seems loyal to Captain Hitsugaya, but surely she can see how Soul Society has fallen to the place where it is now." Gin leaned closer to Kira's face. "Maybe she's only loyal to him on the surface. As one of her closest friends, my Little Kira, you are the one who can get her to open up and reveal her true feelings."

"But, Captain..."

With his lips only a whisper away from Kira's cheek, Kira could feel the rush of breath against his skin as his Captain spoke to him.

"This is not an order, Kira." A brush of skin against his skin. "I'm asking as a...friend." Kira felt his heart race as Gin's lips moved softly and quickly over the corner of his mouth. Kira felt his face grow hot and fought it back as Gin smiled, that same convincing smile and turned back to Rangiku.

"Well well now, I think I have some paperwork waiting for me among other things. Kira…" he said as he turned and looked at Izuru, who had been silent up till this point, "have fun" he said with a quick wink.

Kira bowed slightly as he watched his captain leave. He stared after him for a long moment, almost forgetting Rangiku. When he finally turned to her, she had a confused look on her face.

"What... what was he talking to you about, Kira?"

"Nothing... just Squad Three stuff" Kira muttered as he walked past her. "So we going or not?"

Kira's insides were in knots and his mind was racing with what had just happened. He could sense Rangiku's eyes on him all too clearly as they walked. When finally they stopped, at their usual spot under the large cherry tree, they sat down, the flask of Sake between them. Rangiku was silent as she poured the glasses and handed one to Kira.

"So, how are things going with squad three?" she asked, her voice soft as she looked up at Kira hesitantly.

“Things have been calm, despite the problems that seem to be plaguing Soul Soceity at an alarming rate.”

Rangiku let out an involuntary shudder- Kira was even starting to talk like Ichimaru. She fell silent as she took a sip of the sake and let her eyes drift over the empty field that surrounded them. Normaly they would have had a large group there with them, but Rangiku wanted to be alone with Kira, to talk to him.

As silence settled over them, Izuru realized just how long it had been since he had spent time with Rangiku and the others. Many afternoons they had spent there under that same tree- sometimes being joined by Hisagi, Renji, or even Ikkau and Asewayge would join them from time to time and enjoy drinks. He didn’t know why things had changed… well that wasn’t entirely true; things had changed because of Gin. Gin Ichimaru, his captain and behind close doors when it was just the two of them, the one person he turned to for comfort., he was the one Izuru looked up to. He was the one Izuru wanted to be with. He was the one Izuru looked up to. He was the one Izuru loved.

It had started out innocent enough, but over time, Izuru could no longer deny the feelings he had towards his captain. Had that been it, feelings and foolish imaginings, things might not have changed at all. However, that was not the case. Much to his surprise, his captain seemed to return the feelings, at least in part. Izuru felt a slight blush creep over his cheeks as he thought back to a few days ago. They had been in Gin’s study finishing up some paperwork when it had happened.

Kira was standing at the desk stacking the last of the papers together as his captain reshelved the various books that had accumulated around the study. They had talked while they worked about everything and anything. That was what Kira liked about Gin; he could be himself around his captain, he could ask the questions he feared asking anyone else, and he didn’t have to worry about being judged or ridiculed. His captain understood him in ways no one else ever could and he was grateful for that.


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The day had gone by relatively fast, and in what seemed like only a matter of hours, the paperwork was done, the study was cleaned and they were getting ready to leave. As he stood there stacking the last of the papers together, Izuru heard Gin walking up behind him.

“Everything is filed away, captain” he said over his shoulder.

“Izuru, I’ve told you before, when we are alone, you can call me Gin.”

Izuru turned back to the papers in his hands, his face flushing red as Gin stepped closer.

“Where do you want the papers filed away.. Cap… Gin?” Kira said softly.

“You can leave them on the desk…Izuru” Gin whispered as he stood right behind his lieutenant, his hands resting lightly on his shoulders as he looked over Izuru’s shoulder.

“Gin…” Izuru said softly as he tried to pull back slightly.

“What’s wrong?” Gin said softly as he leaned his head in closer to Kira’s ear. “Its alright… there’s no one else around, it’s just the two of us here, my Little Kira.”

That familiar shiver ran up his spine as Gin’s breath tickled his skin, the same shiver he had felt that first day he had felt those fingers trace over his arm. The same shiver he had felt just a few days ago as he watched his captain disrobe. Gin leaned closer as he softly spoke Kira’s name, and moved around slightly and stood in front of him.

“Do you fear me, Izuru?”

“What? No, of course not, Gin… how could I?” Kira said, eyes wide in shock. “You are the only one I trust!”

“I am flattered, Izuru… but how deep does that loyalty go? How far would you go to prove your loyalty, and love, to me?”

Gin looked at Kira as his fingers gently traced over the young man’s cheek.

“I would do whatever you would ask of me, Captain,” Kira said softly as he looked up at Gin.

“If I asked you to have nothing to do with the other squads?”

“I would stay by your side alone.”

“If I asked you to get information from one of the captains?”

“I would do it at once, Captain.”

“If I asked you to abandon those you call friends?”

“I would look to you and only you, Gin.”

Gin smiled as he stepped closer, his hand sliding behind Kira’s neck as he leaned towards him, his head almost touching his.

“And that is why you are my Little Kira.”

“Gin…” Kira whispered as he closed his eyes.

“I do have something to ask of you, Izuru. Rangiku… you and her have been friends since Aizen-sama and I found you in the academy. I need you to find out something for me. I need you to find out how far her loyalties go. Will you do that for me, my Little Kira?”

“Of course… course I will... Gin,” Kira said softly.

The next moment, Kira knew he would remember forever, that moment as his captain’s lips brushed against his softly. Kira pulled back slightly in surprise but his captain’s hand behind his neck held him still. Speaking his name softly, Gin kissed him again, and this time Kira did not pull away. He tasted sweet… like, Kira didn’t know exactly what, but he knew he tasted at least in part like the glass of sake he had seen Gin drinking a earlier as they talked. The kiss was simple, yet to Kira it held more importance than any event at that time. Could he dare to believe that his captain, the man he idolized as a god, did he dare to hope that he would have the same feelings for someone like him?

“Gin…”

“Shhhh, Izuru,” he said, as he laid a finger on his lips softly, silencing him.
Kira felt the arms he had imagined holding him slowly wrap around him as his captain embraced him, pulling his head to his shoulder. Timidly, Kira slowly inched his hands up till they were resting on the shoulders of his captain. With his head lightly against Gin’s chest Izuru felt wave after wave of emotion wash over him as they stood there… not caring about the world that was passing by just outside those doors…


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Kira now sat under the cherry tree, his mind far away from where he and Rangiku were sitting. The cup of sake remained untouched in his hand as he sat there. Rangiku had already finished her second one when she looked at Izuru. He really was acting odd lately, and the way he was reacting to being with her really bothered her- they use to be so close. Kira would confide in her when they were going through the academy. It was her he confessed the slight crush he had on little Momo when they had first joined the academy. Though she was a good deal older than Izuru, having graduated the same time as Gin and Aizen, they had always been good friends. But all that was changing lately. It seemed that more and more often Kira had no room for anyone else in his life except for his Captain, Gin Ichimaru. Gin... Rangiku had her own troubling memories of the man, but she had gotten over them, for the most part- or at least that was what she kept telling herself. She sat there and looked at her friend, his eyes distant and empty. What was Gin doing to the boy? The way they had talked just a little while ago... there was something strange about it, and she was both troubled and worried about it.

"Kira..." she said as she faced him again. "Kira!"

[dearest]

Good characterization and descriptions throughout. Well done! ^_^

[Peppy]

You did a good job at making the second chapter. This time through you managed to make this seem organized. The interactions between the characters was decent, it seems plausible and anime-like. I watched a few episodes of Bleach and the characters are always reflecting on the past or they are filled with so many emotions they have no choice to speak up(physically or mentally), I think you did a swell job at transferring it here on "paper".

But the main problem with this piece is the missing commas, a few missing periods, and dialogue organization. The best thing to do to make this cleaner is to put the dialogue their own paragraphs. There are a lot of missing commas throughout the piece, I think you should look over it.

Example:

"This is three days in a row now(,)"

"Why don’t you go Izuru? Might do you some good."

["Hello(,) Matsumoto" he said with a slight bow.

...was a wonderful lieutenant- one any of the captains would have been grateful for.

...was a wonderful lieutenant- one of which the other captains would have been grateful for.

Good work. Good job.