Day 2: Epilogue, Gin Interlude.

Ichimaru Gin frowned slightly from his position on the rooftop, observing the situation with eyes half open.

Rangiku was there, perched frozen by the door frame, hands crossed under her chest, waiting...waiting.

"Of course ya would, right Ran-chan,", he muttered under his breath, hands clasping his precious burden tighter. "Ya have no idea, and ya still care for him like for yar own. Mother cat indeed."
Toshiro had fallen asleep in his arms. He protested at first, of course, but he needed his sleep and Gin would be damned if his child didn't get it. It was the least he could do for him. He was a failure of a parent anyways. It had been a very long day and Shiro-chan was tired, his body rebelling against him, already limp in his arms. Still, he didn't stop mumbling things, determined to stay awake as long as he could.

Stubborn child, so much like myself.

That was not a comforting thought. At all.

When the boy still continued to protest, rather weakly he might add, Gin had smirked and pressed his forehead to the little ones, instantly shutting him up. The wide teal eyes, still so innocent despite everything that happened were utterly confused. That confusion morphed to disbelief when he started to hum a soft tune. Not even five seconds later Toshiro was already asleep, tucked into the safety of Gin's arms.

Well, no wonder. He always calmed down after Gin sang to him that particular song. Some things never change.

An impatient huff snapped him back to reality. Ran was very annoyed. He quirked one silver eyebrow.

"Ya'll be getting a piece of that when ya wake up, Chibi-taicho. Gotta say, I don't really envy ya. She can be devil's own hellcat when she's angry."

Even breathing answered him. He smiled and jumped silently to the back of the house, away from Rangiku. Quickly spying a window, he stealthily opened it with one hand and crept in, Toshiro safely tucked in his left arm. He was a bit too small, too scrawny, too bony... Just like him at that age.

Letting out an audible sigh, Gin repositioned the boy and carried him to one of the futons on the floor. He needed to hurry, else Aizen would know something was up. He was still going to get for disappearing like that. The 'mission' alibi he prepared would definitely work, but that didn't mean he was getting off unpunished. Shaking his head, he willed those thoughts away.

Ran was still out there, waiting for her captain. Maybe he should..?

No. She couldn't see him.

Inhaling deeply, he tore his gaze away from the door and started to unwrap the tightly clasped little sandals. The tabi socks came off next. Gin discarded them on the side and covered the boy with a blanket. Knowing he only had a few more minutes to stay and a punishment for disobedience waiting sweetly for him, he still lingered, hand over the child's heart. When he moved away, Toshiro's brow furred and he gave a little grunt in his sleep. Gin pressed a finger to his forehead, smoothing out the wrinkles.

"Shh, Chibi-Taicho." He ran a hand through the snowy hair as Toshiro relaxed. "Yar hair is whiter than mine... Makes me wonder if it's cos of yar Hyourinmaru." The boy shifted around, subconsciously facing him, a small hand clasped into the folds of Gin's white robe. The smile dropped into a sad frown.
How he wished things were different. If Aizen didn't exist they would be a proper family. Toshiro would know his own parents, would never grow up so alone…Would probably even have siblings. They would all sleep in one room, him, Ran and their precious white bundle of joy. The absence of a third futon and the sheer emptiness of the second clawed at his heart. Unhooking the fingers that grasped his clothing as if their life depended on it, he stood up and bolted from the room without even a second glance at the sleeping figure.

He never saw Matsumoto Rangiku entering the room mere seconds after he disappeared, surprise plastered on her face as she observed her captain, sound asleep in his futon. He was already on his way back to Las Noches, formulating his alibi to a believable story when Toshiro violently shot up awake, eyes wide and searching.

"Taicho.."

The boy looked to his right sharply, nearly cracking his neck. Rangiku was there, lying in her own futon wide awake, facing him.

"Ma..Matsumoto", he croaked back, eyes still wide, heartbeat going faster then was considered normal.

"I am not going to ask where you went or when you came back. I'm not even going to ask about the wound." She closed her eyes for a brief moment and took a deep breath. "Just, tell me please.. are you all right?"

A choking silence stood between them.

"Yes", he finally breathed, curling into the fatal position. "Na, Rangiku…"

She waited for him to collect his thoughts.

"I wish I could order you to go back to Soul Society, or even better, go to my Gran's and stay there, along with Momo until the war is over.."

"You know as well as I do that a vice captain's place is beside the captain. I am not going to leave you alone to face off the arrancar and Aizen!" she huffed. "And you should give more credit to Momo, that girl is strong. She needs to fight. She needs to understand!"

He gulped and balled his fists under the blanket.

"A..ah."

Rangiku's eyes softened. She could tell that the conversation was over. Whatever Toshiro had on his mind, he would either tell her tomorrow, or never. He had already decided.

This meant it was time to finally call it a night and get some much needed sleep. Question time was over anyways.

Toshiro watched her as she relaxed and drifted off to the world of dreams. He hoped she saw some good ones at least, unlike himself. He hugged himself, curling into a tiny ball and screwed his eyes shut, willing this weakness to disappear, this.. stupid, stupid fear.

"Rangiku, Gin, I'm scared…", he whispered into his own arms, voice coming out a harsh muffled whisper.

It's war, I'm scared! I'm scared that Momo will die, I'm scared that Rangiku will die…I'm scared that Gin will die…

Don't die, please!

A/N. I was thinking the other day that this fic might be a bit too cheesy :D oh welp.

An I honestly, really did prop open a document, fully prepared to write day 3, but then... ugh, I needed more Gin action! Plus it wasn't exactly explained how they got back, so, here's a little chappie chap.

Same request as always, please tell me about typos!

Thank you for reading :) I appreciate it a lot.