Title: Stuck Between Heaven and Hell

Authoress: icedragongurl

Fandom: Bleach

Pairing: Gin/Matsumoto

Disclaimer: This series rightfully belongs to the god Tite Kubo… I just own the fic… that's all.

Chapters: 1/5

Important Author Note: For all of my original readers… I have indeed extended and edited this yummy chapter… as I plan to do to all of the chapters… so please don't forget to reread this chapter and tell me what all of you think…. The original edition had been only 3 pages… this time… its 7 pages… So please review…. Thanks to everyone!

Side note: As a side note…. I'm thinking of maybe writing Gin's perspective throughout all of this and calling it "Stuck Between Hell and Heaven" using Hell and Heaven as an analogy for Hueco Mundo and Soul Society… if I write it… would any of you consider reading it?

Matsumoto let out a long deep sigh, yet another day at the human's school and still no information on Aizen… or Gin. Her steady footsteps faltered for a moment, it just wasn't the same without the obnoxious jerk. She still couldn't figure out what had compelled Gin to follow Aizen in the first place. All Rangiku knew was that, the second he had become a shinigami in the fifth division, everything had changed… he changed… into someone she could no longer recognize. Gin became a man that hid behind the mask of a constant smile. Even so, the more he drew away from her… the deeper she fell for the aggravating fool.

When they were children, she had grown accustom to him being away for long periods of time. After all, she knew that he would always return eventually, and typically he'd bring food with him. She'd watched him grow from an awkward little boy into a confident young man. Rangiku had seen how the other men his age chased after women and got drunk all day long. Except nothing changed with him, Gin was still as dependable as he'd always been. Even as well endowed ladies flirted with him, he'd ignore them, keeping his eyes fixed firmly upon her. It was almost as if she was the very pinnacle of his entire world, the center of his own existence. Those wine red eyes always seemed to be able to pick her out of a crowd, no matter how populated the crowd might be.

The day he suggested that they enter the Shinigami Academy ; she hadn't known how to respond. She simply stared at him dumbfounded at what he'd said. She wanted to yell at him, why wasn't he happy with what they had? Why did he need more then their small little one room house? Couldn't he be content with just having her always standing beside him? Did he always need bigger and better? As much as she wanted to scream at him not to even think of doing such a thing… she saw the look on his face and knew. Knew that no matter what she did or said, he had already made up his mind on the decision. So with a heavy heart she agreed, agreed to change her entire life just to follow after him.

Needless to say, she ended up enjoying her choice. He had been right, as he usually was about such things. Rangiku appreciated her classes, making friends that understood where she was coming from. Perhaps becoming a shinigami wasn't such a terrible thing in the long run? That's what she thought at first… now after everything that had come to pass through the long dragged out years…. She wished that she could go back to the day he brought up the idea of going to the academy. Except this time she would have screamed and yelled on the top of her lungs at him not to do it. Maybe then he wouldn't have ended up running off with Aizen…. Then he wouldn't have left her behind permanently…

At some point he had encountered Aizen… that was when everything went sour. Something about that man changed the Gin that she had once known. Suddenly he was no longer keeping an eye on her when he thought she was oblivious. He wasn't popping into her classroom to pester her into having lunch together. All of the sudden, she wasn't the pinnacle of his entire existence anymore, his world no longer revolved around her at the center. Suddenly he wasn't there… it was as if he'd become Aizen's very own living shadow. So dedicated that it almost made her sick to watch, he'd never been so attentive to anything like that. Not even towards her.

Maybe that was when the two of them drifted apart. Becoming two separate entities instead of what they had been in the beginning. He went on to become the fuku-taicho for the fifth division… Aizen again… go figure… She became the tenth division fuku-taicho a few years later… it was like an unspoken race to see who could get the others attention first. Like a childish game of tag. He won, just like he always had when they were children. Obtaining captain rank of the third division, she watched silently with pride for Gin, pride she would never tell him she had. Even as great as it was that he became the highest rank one could gain, that didn't stop the rumors. She had heard how the other shinigami had talked about him when they thought that no one was listening,

"Ichimaru-taicho is so very creepy."

"Whenever he smiles it feels like he's plotting ways to kill me in my sleep."

"He reminds me of some sort of venomous snake."

It hurt her to hear people speak about him like that, they didn't know the real him… Not the Gin that she knew, the man that always seemed to know exactly what to say to get under her skin. How often had she sat staring out the window in her room, wondering when she'd lost him? Was it when he chose to become a shinigami? Was it the day he was placed into Aizen Sosuke's division? When was it that he'd become a complete and utter stranger to her? It used to be that when he was around, she felt safe, as if nothing bad could ever happen to her. Now she didn't even know whose life to fear for more when he was near or far, his or her own. She scoffed at herself and shook her head of her frivolous thoughts. After all the past was the past and there was nothing she could do to change that.

The odd thing was that, even after watching him being raised into the dark yet welcoming arms of Heuco Mundo… it was as if her mind couldn't accept what she was seeing. It had to have been some sort of horrible prank on his behalf. It didn't fully sink in that he'd betrayed her completely until she found what he'd left for her in her quarters…

Only after making sure that her Taicho and Hinamori was alright done, did she leave the fourth division, and went straight to her room to simply collapse in complete exhaustion. Except she was interrupted by the sight of a pale peach cream envelop that lay upon her pillow. Within it sat a letter in his neat elegant handwriting. Rangiku had lay in her futon silently crying while holding onto it for dear life. In that instant all of it sunk in fully what she'd witnessed before her very own eyes. This was all she had left of the man that she had once loved. On the paper was a lengthy yet sincere apology as well as an excuse for his behavior; it spoke of how he had asked Aizen to permit him to bring her as well, followed by a blunt but logical refusal from the former fifth division taicho; it spoke of how deeply he'd cared for her, how much regret he felt for abandoning her, and how strongly he felt sorrow for the fact that the next time they would meet it would more likely than not be as enemies upon the battlefield.

All she could do was hold the letter to her chest as if it withheld her very life blood, as if that piece of parchment was her beating heart that would stop if it was ruined in any way. She lifted the envelope out of her school bag to hold it, standing in the middle of the sidewalk as the mortals passed her, gazing at it with soft affection,

"I hope you're alright…Gin." she whispered to the sky. Matsumoto knew that if she didn't hurry, Hitsugaya would wonder about where she'd run off to. Returning the letter to her bag carefully so it wouldn't get wrinkled, she then began to walk again. A sudden flash of silver hair hit her eyes, caused her to freeze in place. The pedestrian that had been walking behind her snapped angrily that she shouldn't just stop in the middle of the sidewalk like that. Except she didn't hear what they'd said, all of her senses were focused on what she'd seen. A shiver went down her spine as she unknowingly took off after them.

All she could think of in that instant was of how ridiculous she was being, chasing after some random silver haired person… damn they were fast! They turned down to a side street that lead to what looked like rundown apartment buildings, finally she managed to get a firm grip on their shoulder, Matsumoto turned them around to face her. She exhaled the breath she had been holding in relief; the poor teenage living boy was startled, he looked at her in confusion. His friend gave her an amused look, the silver haired boy asked nervously,

"Um… do you need help?" for a second she just stared wide eyed at him. Then laughter tore free from her chest and she shook her head,

"No… I'm fine… I thought you were someone I know. My mistake." The two boys nodded before hurrying on their way. They wanted to get away from her as quickly as possible, as she stood there with a self-loathing smile on her face. The day had already long since faded into the darkness of night; the street lamps bathed the sidewalk with its weak light. Her heart was filled with regret and she hated herself for that. Letting the conflicting emotions wash over her, Rangiku let out a long deep disappointed sigh as she scratched the back of her head.

Matsumoto's movement was cut short as an arm emerged from the dark and wrapped around her waist from behind. She was pulled against a strong well-built male body; she became enraged that some pervert would attempt to take advantage of her. As she tensed up her muscles and got ready to break free from the assholes hold, her movement was interrupted by an all too familiar voice that whispered into her ear…

"Lookin' for me?" her body felt as if Hyourinmaru had frozen her spine, but everything else had been left fleshy and warm. Blue eyes widened in shock, how could he actually be here?

"Gin…" she whispered as she spun around to look at him. Sure enough… She was right… He smiled at her and opened his mouth to speak but before he could she slapped him hard across the face. Matsumoto was briefly horrified that she had struck him but the feeling of accomplishment was greater. Gin was stunned for a moment, but when he got over the initial shock, laughter broke free and she glowered at him.

"You-are-a-bastard" she hissed furiously through gritted teeth. He smirked, amused by her reactions, before responding

"So I've been told." He extended her his hand with a genuine soft smile, something that she hadn't seen since the day that the well known icy façade has taken a hold of him. Warmth sparkled in the wine red eyes as he spoke again,

"Can I treat ya ta coffee?" Rangiku was hesitant at first, she wouldn't let herself be fooled twice. This wasn't necessarily the Gin that she remembered. He could be the Gin that was Aizen's lap dog. She wasn't going to let him slip in and think that he could use her for information just because she cared for him. Matsumoto Rangiku was a hell of a lot stronger and smarter then that!

"You want me to tell you about Soul Society don't you…" she said with distrust and spite cutting deep into each of her words. She watched as the sparkle dulled and his brows drew downward into a brief frown. What? Did he honestly believe that he would be able to simple waltz back into her world without there being negative feelings? Her hands tightened into fists, she wanted to throttle him so badly, scream at him until he realized just how deeply his betrayal cut into her heart. He paused for a long moment, trying to carefully pick the right words to say. When he did, he spoke again with a calm voice…

"I missed ya and took advantage of the perfect moment ta see ya. Is tha' so unlike me mah dear Rangiku?" she scowled at him. He always knew the right words to say to soothe her fiery anger. She was apprehensive of him; she had no way to be certain that he was sincere with his intentions. Gin picked up on her hesitance; he always did love how shrewd her mind could be. He gave her a gentle smile before reaching down and taking her hand in his own.

"I promise there will be no discussion of Aizen-sama or of Soul Society. It'll just be two old friends catching up."

Why was it that when he called the back stabbing bastard 'Sama' a nasty taste entered her mouth? How far had Gin fallen into the dark abyss that the Ex-Fifth division Taicho had created? Her eyes narrowed in aggravation, that name alone caused her to get on edge, though she hid it well from others. Matsumoto's hatred for Aizen Sosuke knew no bounds. Between his manipulation of Hinamori, his nearly killing Hitsugaya, stealing Gin away from her, and backstabbing everyone that ever trusted him… she had nothing positive to say about the man.

Even so, the look on Gin's face was sincere and almost pleading, well whatever one could call his version of 'pleading'. Her negative feelings swayed; maybe he was telling the truth. Perhaps all he wanted was one last private moment between the two of them. Who was she to deny that she would like nothing more than to have at least one positive memory to fall back upon? Against her better judgment, Matsumoto let herself be selfish, he relaxed her fingers so that they were no longer clenched together tightly into fists. A small true smile graced his features as he silently acknowledged her acceptance. Gently he lifted her hand so that he could place a chaste kiss to her knuckles. Those wine red eyes watching her the entire time, it caused a shiver to run down her spine, and a blush to stain her cheeks pink.

"Shall we mah dear Rangiku?" she paused for a second, then nodded and allowed him to lead her. Silently they walked hand in hand out of the side street, emerging back onto the main thoroughfare. He glanced around, as if trying to figure out exactly which direction the coffee shop was at. His hand gently tugged hers to walk to the left, heading against the pedestrian traffic. She didn't care about being randomly nudged aside by strangers; it was something that never really bothered her even back when they lived in Rukongai.

Besides, all she could really focus her mind on was the sensation of his larger rough and warm hand that was entwined with her own smaller daintier one. Her thoughts were dragged back to the last time they'd been like this. He dragged her along to some unknown destination, and she would follow blindly but willingly. The last time this had happened was before they'd ever been in the academy. Her mind dragged forth the memory of his tall frame in front of her, when he wasn't wearing the black garb of the soul reapers.

She remembered exactly where he'd taken her too; it had been dark out, evening just as it was now. He led her to a cliff that seemed to be suspended in the very sky. Just as they had arrived, the black night was filled with colorful explosions of light. Fireworks. Splashes of crimson red, vibrant orange, sunshine yellow, and other colors danced brilliantly as she watched wide eyed and amazed. Matsumoto recalled the huge smile that had been on her face, and how smug he had been. After all, he'd been right that she would enjoy seeing this, hadn't he? That had been the last time the two of them had ever done anything as just the two of them. Less than a week later they'd entered the Academy…

How long she'd been buried deep in her memories, she had no idea, but the next thing she knew, Gin's voice pierced through. Dragging her back to the present,

"We here Rangiku." She looked up at the building before her; it was a simple little café. A sign in the window said that they served dinner as well. One of her eyebrows rose in curiosity… just coffee…right. She should have figured that he would have planned on something a little more elaborate than just a drink. With a small mischievous smirk she squeezed his hand,

"I hope you do realize that you're paying." Gin chuckled as he held the front door open for her. He nodded his head politely with a small smile,

"Anything for you Ran-chan." What he said had shaken her up a bit, but she refused to let it show. If he was trying to earn back some brownie points that he'd lost…. Well he was most certainly succeeding…

TBC

I do hope that you all enjoy this… I can tell you that I most certainly enjoyed editing and rewriting it. Please review and tell me what you all thought of this! Thanks a bunch!!!