Author's note: I do not own Bleach or its characters. This is AU and set in the same universe as Tales of the Kingdom.

Dawn

She was alone and near dead when he found her. Rangiku had been alone long enough that she didn't know if she was an orphan or had simply been abandoned. It didn't really matter anyway. She remembered blacking out while on the road. When Rangiku opened her eyes again, there was a silver haired boy standing above her, offering her some fruit. He waited while she ate, introducing himself.

"I'm Gin Ichimaru."

"Rangiku Matsumoto," she replied between bites.

"You're on your own then?"

She nodded. Gin was a sort of funny name when she thought about it. And he looked a little odd with his smile and closed eyes. But she wasn't going to tell him that. Not after he had offered her food. Gin appeared to be studying her. It didn't take her long to finish the persimmon he had given her, and while it helped, Rangiku was still hungry. Gin looked up at the sky and then reached out a hand to her.

"It's gonna rain, Ran-chan. We should get under shelter."

Rangiku didn't even hesitate. She slid her hand into this strange boy's and followed him as he started running into the woods. The rain had already started by the time they reached the little shack. Gin pulled her inside as it began to really pour. Rangiku peered around the room. It was clear that Gin had been living here for a while. She could see a makeshift pallet and the remains of a fire as well as a cache of food. It wasn't exactly luxury, but it was more than Rangiku could remember having.

Later she would realize that Gin had never actually invited her to stay. She just had, and Gin had not protested nor tried to make her leave. It was simply as if she belonged here with him. The food didn't go as far with two mouths, but Rangiku found that her presence did seem to make some of the work easier for Gin. It wasn't an easy life for either of them, but at least it was better than the alternatives. Rangiku liked it better than being on her own. The one thing that worried her was the fact that sometimes Gin would just disappear without a word. He always came back, but sometimes he was gone for days at a time. Rangiku always worried that some day he wouldn't come back.

She didn't know what she would do if that ever happened. Somehow Gin had become her touchstone. He was her proof that she wasn't always on her own. As time passed, he taught her how to do everything from navigating the forest around them and recognizing edible plants to cooking fish over their little fire. He also insisted on teaching her a number of ways of getting away from an attacker. Rangiku wasn't sure why. She had never run into anyone other Gin in her time with him. The last time she had seen another person besides him had been when she passed through a village almost a full six days before Gin had found her.

Honestly, Rangiku didn't mind too much. For the most part, villagers had rarely been kind to her. Here she didn't need to be worried about being hit or kicked, and while perhaps she could have managed just as well if she had made it to a city, Rangiku was happy where she was. And Gin seemed to enjoy her being here too, so she didn't really need to worry about anything else. As long as the two of them were happy and fed, Rangiku couldn't really see things changing. They had pretty much the whole forest to themselves, and life was good. As winter approached it got colder, but between their fire and their shared body heat, the two of them were quite cozy.

It was home, and that was more than Rangiku had ever had before.