Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Black Roses ❯ Rangiku (The withered smile) ( Chapter 1 )
Anime/Manga: Bleach Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Psychological | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 03.16.2009 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.1K | Visits: 221 | Status: Completed
Author's note: Here it goes my first fanfic for Bleach. I'm usually a very slow writer (if, by chance, someone read my InuYasha fanfic she/he knows what I'm talking about), but for this fanfic I waited until I had all chapters finished and betaed and I plan to publish them at regular intervals. The story is rather short (four chapter plus epilogue), so I guess I'll go with one chapter every three days.
Disclaimer:
'Bleach', along with all the characters, places, Zanpakutō, Kido and everything else had been created by Kubo Tite sensei.
The song quoted in this chapter is "Ten Black Roses" (The Rasmus, from 'Black Roses', 2008).
A big Thank you to my beta-reader rukia23, who did a wonderful (and fast!) job.
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Black Roses
1 - Rangiku (The withered smile)
Skyless_star
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Through the glass you see the same faces
Hear the voices fade like a drone
When your life's a boat in a bottle
You're surrounded drifting alone
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Rangiku stared at the fireworks exploding in the sky of Seireitei. It was a feast day, the war against Aizen was over, Gotei 13's losses had been moderate and those who had been killed had been brought back to life by Orihime with the help of that large pink-haired Vizard. The Shinigami and the Vizard exiled one hundred years before because of Aizen had been allowed back in the Gotei 13's ranks and the Sotaichō had declared them and Orihime cleared of every accusation of treachery. Every thing was perfect, they had all the reason to celebrate and that was exactly what everyone was doing.
From the room behind her, she could hear the happy voices of all those that took part in the battle -even the humans and the Vizard- and she could make out the voice of Nanao, shouting at Kyōraku to come down from the table and stop his impromptu striptease. Usually, she would have rushed to see and, if the Sake in her body was enough, maybe she would have followed the Captain's lead, but at the moment the idea of someone acting in such a carefree and inconsiderate way made her angry. Even more considering there were children in the room.
Leaning on the balcony's railing and trying to block out of her head every noise coming from the hall, Rangiku wondered whether she should go back inside to avoid arousing suspicions. She who was always ready to celebrate for even the slightest occurrence, as well as one of the heroes that delivered the death blow to the three treacherous Captains, should have been the first to let go and gulp down alcohol. Too bad the fact she had finished off none other than the Captain that had saved her life as a kid had drastically cut down her will to celebrate.
At that moment, she just wished the party to be over as soon as possible so that she could go home and be alone with her own thoughts.
To tell the truth, she wanted to cry.
She heard more cries coming from the hall; a voice, resembling that of the green-haired Vizard, was telling 'Kensei' to show everyone that Vizard were a lot sexier than Shinigami. Maybe, Rangiku thought, they are too busy inside there to notice my absence. Right, the world seemed to spin even without her and, even more, without Gin.
Leaning a little off the railing, Rangiku tried to assess the height separating the first division's buildings from the rest of Seireitei, wondering if the idea of jumping was really that bad. While she was lost contemplating her own escape route, something passed in front of her eyes, moving back and forth. Caught off guard, Rangiku turned abruptly and noticed the dangling object was attached to an arm and in turn that arm was attached to...
«Shūhei!»
Taking in her reaction, he raised his eyebrows in an apologetic expression. «Did I scare you?»
«No...» She waved a hand in front of herself to assure him everything was fine. «No, I was just distracted. No problem.»
«Then why are you out here alone instead of being inside enjoying Kyōraku-Taichō & Co. dancing half-naked on a table?» He said, his tone vaguely sarcastic. «Sake?» So, that was the object he was waving under her nose.
«I'll gladly do without, thanks.» Rangiku leaned again on the railing and let her eyes wander far away.
«Without the Sake or without the striptease?»
«Without both.» She absolutely didn't feel like getting drunk; not there, not in that moment, not with that atmosphere. And sincerely, even if she did always get along well with Shūhei, right then she hoped he'd leave her alone as soon as possible.
He didn't miss the hint of sadness and annoyance in Rangiku's tone. He put the jug and the cups on the railing -drinking alone wouldn't help cheer her up- and, looking at the Seireitei to avoid making her feel watched, he decided to ask the question he had gone there to ask.
«Listen, I know it's not my business, but... what's wrong?» Even looking away, he noticed how she instantly froze.
«Nothing... There's nothing wrong. Why do you ask?» She had turned her face toward him, but Shūhei managed to resist the urge to do the same.
«Because during all the time we've known each other, you've never turned down a cup of Sake and you've never failed to attend a party. You've been out here alone for more than an hour, you know?»
«I... I'm just a little tired. That's all. Aside from that, I've never been better. Honestly. There's no need to worry.»
He wanted to point out that, if that was really all, she wouldn't have had a reason to deny something was wrong -not after the severe injuries she had suffered- but decided to cast the logic aside and ask her a more direct question. He turned toward her but then he lowered his eyes, as if he didn't feel worthy of looking her in the eyes.
«You are thinking about him, aren't you?»
Rangiku opened her eyes wide, she wasn't expecting such a straightforward question and didn't know if she should feel offended, violated or elated by the fact someone had noticed.
«Shūhei, 'he' is no longer a topic worth discussing, don't you think?» She forced herself to use a carefree tone and look like she really meant it, but failed miserably.
Shūhei sighed. «Listen, Rangiku-san, I don't want to make you talk about it if you don't want to, but... you see... I think I can understand, at least partially, what you are feeling, and I'm surely the last person who would think badly of you because of this, so...» He sighed again and this time he resolved to look her in the eyes. «...I just want to say that, if you need to talk with someone, don't hesitate to ask me. Okay?»
Rangiku stared at him for a moment, weighing his words. She just wanted to be left in peace and still didn't feel like talking about the things that had happened, but she couldn't get angry at him just because he was trying to be helpful; he simply came at the wrong time. Tightening one hand around the opposite arm, Rangiku lowered her eyes and nodded.
«I will.» Shūhei heard her whisper, despite all the screams coming from the hall that urged the Captains to take off everything -and that both Lieutenants wisely decided to ignore.
He waited a little while for Rangiku to begin to speak, but the whole time he spent staring at her she didn't even lift a finger, making him understand that maybe it wasn't the right time. After he collected the cups and the jug from the railing, Shūhei was about to tell her she could call him at any moment but, before he could do it, Rangiku gestured him to keep quiet.
Confused at first, when he sensed the Reiatsu of the substitute Shinigami and of the girl who had been abducted by Aizen coming out to the balcony, he guessed Rangiku did not want to be noticed. Luckily the light that came from the hall did not enlighten them directly, and that, together with the dark Kimono he was wearing and with his black hair, made him virtually invisible to anyone looking without paying attention.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
«STAY HERE, I'M GOING TO KILL THEM!»
«Calm down, Kurosaki-kun. They weren't doing anything wrong...»
«THEY WEREN'T?» Ichigo calmed down after realizing at who he has screaming. «How could grown men be so irresponsible they'd strip down in front of a girl?» In truth nothing had happened yet -and probably Hiyori would kick Shinji before anything could happen- but all the encouragement the Captains were receiving were enough of a reason to get angry, at least for Ichigo.
«Maybe Urahara-san and the others didn't notice...»
«...You were there? I remind you that both Shinji and that drunkard Captain spent the whole night telling you how 'pretty' you are! And that Kensei? He seemed a relia-»
«Look at him, isn't he sweet?» Rukia cut in, with an overly sugary voice.
«I'd say that Carrot-top is jealous.» Renji answered in a mocking tone.-Took it out, it's not needed and I don't see Renji saying that. Good point.
Ichigo ignored the sudden heat on his cheeks and pointed a finger to the hand Renji was keeping behind Rukia's back. «How about that? You took Rukia out of the hall too!»
«I was the one nearest to her; if she were to see something, Kuchiki-Taichō would have hung me up to a door by my b-» Renji stopped himself, not because there were two girls with them but because he wasn't willing to risk his captain hearing him and deciding to punishing him for his language using the same method he was describing. It wasn't like him to get his hands dirty like that, but one could never be too sure.
«By your... what, Renji-kun?» Orihime asked, genuinely unaware and curious about whatever Renji had almost said.
The glare Ichigo shot the Lieutenant spoke volumes about what would have happened to him had he answered, but luckily for him a sudden but small spike of Reiatsu caught their attention.
«What was that?» Orihime asked.
«It felt like someone using Shunpō.» Rukia answered, and then she turned to Renji. «Do you know who it was?»
Renji took a moment to analyze the last remnants of Reiatsu still in the air. Could it be that Shūhei finally managed to win Rangiku over after years spent talking about her? But... Her Reiatsu -and his, to a lesser extent- exuded sadness, it wasn't like that of someone who leaves a party for a night of love. Whatever it was, the following day he would pay Shūhei a visit and ask him if everything was alright.
«No.» He lied. «Maybe we were mistaken.» The others didn't need to know.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Hidden behind Shūhei, Rangiku observed Ichigo and Orihime coming on to the balcony beyond his shoulder; considering what happened and Ichigo's mood, it would take a long time to get back inside. Exactly what she needed, a heap of senseless chat about her superiors' inconsiderate behavior. She turned to Shūhei, who she didn't want to hold back.
'You can go, if you want.' She said, with only the movement of her lips.
Once again, Shūhei had perceived her state of mind and, notwithstanding the momentary distraction caused by the mention of the name 'Kensei', he had noticed that her will to stay away from everyone and everything was unchanged.
'They'll see you.' He objected, without letting out a single noise.
Before she could say anything, Renji and Rukia had joined the other two and begun joking with them with the same carefree attitude that only served to wound more those who already had a reason to feel wretched. Without really thinking about his actions, or wondering if she was fine with it, Shūhei took a firm hold of Rangiku's hand.
'Let's jump. At my three.'
Rangiku had clearly written on her face her astonishment of those words and wanted to say 'No' to not involve him in her misery, but Shūhei began to count all the same, in a tone -although silent- that left no space for any objection; after all, he knew she wouldn't stay behind, he could feel her need to get a breath of fresh air, to think about different things. And, exactly as he expected, when the time came they jumped in two.
They landed on the roof of a building not too far away and, after some Shunpō step in a random direction, Rangiku stopped, sliding her hand out of his.
«You didn't need to get away with me, Shūhei. You can go back, if you want.»
«And see the man I admired for a whole century dance bare-ass on a table? I'd rather not, thanks. I'd like to maintain a bit of esteem toward him.»
Rangiku said nothing. And he should have expected, after all, that a question of admiration and esteem would seem irrelevant in regard to what was going through her mind. They shared a heavy silence for a while, until he decided to relieve her of the embarrassment.
«Look, I can go back if you don't want my company.» It was a sincere offer, but the exact moment he began to utter the words, he realized they could be interpreted as an effort to make her feel guilty.
«No, it's not that, it's just-»
«You feel like being alone. Don't worry, I understand.» He offered a hint of a smile to make her realize he wasn't resentful. «Now I'd better go, before Yamamoto gets angry at me for not bringing these back.» He joked, showing her the cups and jug of Sake he still held in one hand.
«Matsumoto-Fukutaichō!»
Both Lieutenants turned toward the group of Shinigami calling her; Shūhei did not recognize them, but considering her reaction they seemed to be in tenth division.
«The high ranking officials' feast is already over?» A man asked.
«Please come with us for a round of Sake!» A girl offered.
Shūhei gladly noticed everyone looked very happy to see her. To be well-liked in one's own division was a good medicine, but like every medicine it had to be taken at the right moment.
«Uhm... No, thanks, I have to...»
«Rangiku-san, I think we should hurry and go retrieve that thing from the real word. If we make them wait too much, they could die from boredom.» He pointed his thumb toward the first division's barracks, hoping for everyone to understand it was something waited on by all the Captains and that, consequently, could not be delayed.
«Hi-Hisagi-Fukutaichō! Forgive us for not recognizing you!» Another girl -who looked far happier to see him than she had been to see Rangiku- said.
«No problem. Now, if you would excuse us...» He motioned to Rangiku, who immediately seized the second escape opportunity he had offered her that night.
«See you later, everyone!» Rangiku said her goodbyes with a suddenly cheerful tone.
«Goodnight Matsumoto-Fukutaichō, Hisagi-Fukutaichō.»
Shūhei waved a hand at them, wondering whether the encounter with her underlings had been enough to improve her mood; maybe it had been a mistake to give her an excuse to get away. But he had no time to articulate his thoughts, because after just one Shunpō step, she stopped and dropped the smiling façade.
«Thanks, Shūhei. I really didn't feel like it.» She whispered.
Shūhei felt his heart break. The skill she had just shown in putting up that fake smile was almost frightening, and it made him wonder how many times before she had hidden her distress behind that exuberant personality of hers. He wanted to embrace her, tell her everything was going to be fine, that he would be there to share her pain, but he settled on putting an hand on her shoulder to offer her the slightest of support.
«There's no need to thank me.» He let his hand slide down until it rested between her shoulder blades. «Come on, I'm taking you home. Tomorrow morning I'll come and see if you're okay.»
After a short pause, she took him up on his offer and let him guide her to the tenth division's barracks.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Life is like a boat in the bottle
Try to sail you can't with no air
Day by day it only gets harder
Try to scream but nobody cares
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Chapter last edited: February, 24 2009
Thanks to everyone who read this chapter and thanks to the ones who will review. Any opinion, even negative, will be greatly appreciated.
There is an Italian version of this story, the links to my accounts can be found on my profile.