Chapter Text
Originally published on Fanfiction.net: 11/27/2014
“Why aren’t you wearing your lieutenant’s badge?” Rangiku asked Gin as they sat at their table in the crowded bar.
“Forgot to put it on,” he shrugged in reply.
“It kind of defeats the purpose of celebrating your promotion if you don’t have the proof with you,” she teased him.
“Eh, it don’t really matter anyway; it ain’t required ‘cept at the meetings. I don’t need it to drink with ya.”
She reclined back in her seat with a mischievous smirk. “Well, you better prove it by getting me some sake.”
“Sure thin’,” Gin agreed as he got up to fetch their beverages.
Rangiku waited patiently for her friend to return, absorbed in twirling the pickled vegetable dish before her.
“Hey, there, beautiful.”
She glanced disinterestedly at the guy who had just helped himself to the seat next to her. He was a plain-looking man with dark hair cut close to his scalp and small curly sideburns running a little bit in front of his ears. His features were average, not too handsome, but not particularly hideous either. His most outstanding attribute was the cocky, arrogant grin on his lips that probably encapsulated his personality.
“Can I get you a drink?” he offered.
“I’ve already got someone attending to that,” she gave a polite smile in return.
“I’m sure I can provide you something of finer quality.” Not at all fazed by her subtle denial, he pulled out a jug of sake. “Are you sure I can’t tempt you?”
“Quite,” she answered brusquely. She might have been gentler in turning down his advances, had there not been a distinctive leer in his eyes that told her he was only interested in one thing from her, and he seemed rather determined to get it.
As if to prove the aforementioned point, he placed his jug on the table in front of her in spite of her refusal.
“The name’s Sato Tarō,” he said confidently. “The Thirteenth Seat of the Fifth Division.”
“That’s nice,” Rangiku replied in a manner that clearly stated her lack of interest, and pointedly did not even glance at the offering of sake he had given her.
“Aren’t you going to grace me with your name?”
“Since you’ll be leaving in a moment, no.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” he smirked. “The company’s fine right where I’m sitting.”
“I wish I could say the same.” With that she deliberately pushed over his jar, allowing it to wobble all over the table.
“You’ve got spunk; I like that,” Tarō chuckled without batting an eyelash.
“Didja make a new friend, Rangiku?”
Rangiku smiled in relief as she saw her companion arrive with their liquor.
“Rangiku, what a beautiful name,” Tarō complimented her, and then amiably asked Gin, “And who might you be, kiddo?”
“The name’s Gin,” he replied. “You?”
“Sato Tarō,” the man introduced himself again.
“Pleased to meet ya,” the prodigy said.
“Likewise,” Tarō returned. “I don’t want to sound rude, but would you mind giving Ran-chan and I some privacy?”
“Don’t call me ‘Ran-chan’,” Rangiku snapped at him.
“Okay, sorry,” the womanizer raised his hands defensively. “I didn’t mean to make you mad. What nickname would you prefer?”
“Matsumoto-san,” the girl answered coldly.
“No need to be so formal,” Tarō chuckled. “We’re all friends here.”
“Gin is my friend,” Rangiku replied snippily, her patience quickly running out. “You are an annoyance. Go away.”
“He’s been botherin’ ya?” Gin asked.
“I just want to spend some time with a beautiful girl,” Tarō spoke in his defense. “Is that a crime?”
“It is when you’re harassing her,” Rangiku said.
“I’m not harassing you,” the annoyance protested. “I’m simply talking.”
“And refusing to leave when I ask you.”
“See, this is what it looks like when girls play hard to get,” Tarō advised in a mock whisper to Gin. “When they get like this, the only thing you can do is try harder.”
“I’m only going to say this once, buster,” Rangiku growled. “When a girl says, ‘no,’ she means ‘no.’”
“They only say that to save face,” said the man who was now getting an upgrade from “Annoyance” to “Creep.” “Trust me, by the end of the night, they’re always enjoying themselves.”
That was the final straw.
Rangiku grabbed Sato by the shihakusho and proceeded to drag him out of the establishment. The creep put up no resistance, laughing in amusement like it was all part of the game. Gin smirked at the sight; he knew what was going to come next. Picking up his jar of sake, the impish teenager followed his friend out the door and prepared to watch the spectacle. While it was tempting to abscond with Tarō’s sake, he did not because there was a good chance it was drugged with something intended to make his victim feel more… cooperative.
Illuminated by the full moon, Gin observed with amusement how Rangiku violently released her unwanted suitor’s uniform in the middle of the street to spin around. "Oh-ho!" Sato smirked. "You want to go at it right…?"
This was as far as he got before the beautiful blonde delivered a solid punch to his face. Years spent learning how to fend off overly amorous men and tips from Gin meant that she was well-trained in hand-to-hand combat. Her fist struck at the dead center of Sato’s face, and all could tell by the sound that it was now broken.
Sato staggered back with a curse. “You little b-!” This was cut off by a follow-up strike to his solar plexus, causing him to double over. Rangiku concluded her chastisement by chopping her hands down on his lowered shoulders and sending him to the ground. Satisfied that he was down, she turned around and walked towards Gin.
But lover boy was not done yet. He slowly pulled himself to his feet, and glared at Rangiku’s back, his friendly façade completely gone. Predicting what was going to happen next, Gin pointed behind her. It was all the warning she needed.
Sato wordlessly charged forward in hopes of catching her off-guard, but Rangiku managed to sidestep the assault and deliver a swift kick to his ribs. Knocked off-balance, her not-so-friendly suitor fell to the ground again. He rose, this time quicker, and gave Rangiku a positively withering glare. Neither she nor Gin was impressed.
Suddenly, their new playmate ducked past them and ran back into the building.
“Somehow, I doubt he’s given up,” Gin commented.
“Me neither,” Rangiku agreed. “Come on, let’s go before he comes back.”
Before they could act on her words, Sato returned, this time with two other men. One was about the same height and bald, while the other one looked a head taller and had dark hair with bangs that framed either side of his forehead. Interestingly enough, Sato was standing to the side of the tall man, indicating that this new guy in the middle was the leader of this little clique. All three of them ignored Gin and focused their attention on Rangiku.
“She may look like a pretty little thing, but she’s also a feisty one,” the lounge lizard informed his pals.
“I can’t believe you need back-up for this girl,” the bald one sneered.
“Hey, she’s tougher than she looks,” Sato said a little defensively. “Besides, this way we can all share her.”
“Excuse me,” Rangiku glared at the three men, her ire rising not only at what they planned to do to her, but also at the casual manner Sato suggested they “share” her; it implied this was not their first time ganging up on a girl.
Gin, for his part, had quietly set the sake jar down, and prepared to intervene if necessary. He was quite willing to let his friend handle things by herself if she could, but the moment it looked like she was out of her depth, he would eagerly help out.
“Listen, Ran-chan,” Sato said. “I tried to be nice and give you a chance for both of us to have fun tonight, but I guess you’re one of those types who like doing it the hard way.”
“Fine by me,” Baldy grinned as he cracked his knuckles. “I like the hard way.”
“I think you’d all better leave,” Rangiku warned them as she assumed a standard combat stance. She had to admit no small part of her wanted them to stay so she could beat a lesson about respecting women into their heads.
“And I think you should shut up and learn your place,” the leader growled. “I am Tanaka Ichirō, Third Seat of the Fifth Division, and I’m giving you one chance to stand down and accept what you’ve got coming to you.”
“As lieutenant of the Eighth Division,” Gin spoke up for the first time. “I say ya don’t need to listen to anythin’ he says.”
The Thug Trio looked at the silver-haired boy for the first time.
“You? A lieutenant?” Tanaka scoffed. “What kind of idiots do you think we are?”
“The ugly, nasty kind,” the smiling youth immediately riposted.
The bald officer looked about ready to charge at Gin, but Sato held him back. “Ignore him, Akio-san, he’s just a stupid kid; c’mon, let’s just focus on the pretty girl. Am I right?”
Placated by their cohort’s words, his partners-in-crime returned their attention to Rangiku.
Tanaka was the first to move. He reached out to grab the girl’s arm, only to receive a punch to the gut for his effort. Winded by the surprising strength of his opponent, the Third Seat stepped back to catch his breath while his underlings charged forward.
Swiftly and smoothly, Rangiku ducked below their fists and crouched to the ground. She swept a leg out that knocked the hairless man off his feet, and followed up by springing up with an uppercut to Tarō’s chin. The instigator of the whole affair staggered back and almost fell over, but just managed to catch his balance in time.
Before Rangiku could take advantage of Tarō’s weakness, Tanaka attacked her once more with a noticeably faster swing than his subordinates. Rangiku just managed to block the blow with her crossed forearms, but the force still made her scoot back an inch and would leave a bruise.
Though Rangiku was currently only a Twelfth Seat, she was a talented woman due for a promotion of her own soon, and was undoubtedly destined for the upper echelons. One on one with the two lower ranked thugs, she would have won easily. Even against the Third Seat, she would put up a good fight and stand a chance at winning, though Tanaka seemed to be a subpar example of his rank. Heck, Rangiku probably could have beaten both the weaker attackers by herself. Unfortunately, she was not strong enough yet to single-handedly take care of the three men assaulting her at once.
From his spot on the ground, Akio had recovered from his sudden fall. While Rangiku was holding back Tanaka’s fist, the smooth-headed man reentered the fight by grabbing the girl’s ankles and yanked. With a surprised yelp, Rangiku fell. Quickly recovering, she sat up and prepared to violently express her displeasure, only to be stopped by Tanaka as he grabbed her wrists and pulled them behind her back. She tried to pull out of his grip, but unfortunately the man was just strong enough to earn his rank as Third Seat, and so was able to keep Rangiku from escaping.
“Thanks, guys,” Sato grinned as he leered at the struggling but restrained girl. “Let’s find a private spot where we can f-!”
Captor and victim alike gaped at how the would-be rapist’s sentence had been cut short. First of all, they noticed that Sato was no longer near them. Instead, as a brief glance showed them, he was several meters away on his back, and moaning in pain. Standing over him with one foot on his chest was Gin.
If Rangiku was talented, then Gin was blessed. His record-breaking streak not only included graduating the Academy in one year but also rising to the position of lieutenant in a mere decade. When one took into account that most vice-captains usually had to spend the better part of a century working up to that position, such rapid advancement was nothing short of astonishing. These three stooges wouldn’t know what hit them.
Rangiku’s satisfaction at her assailant’s fate vanished when she noticed the expression on her best friend’s face as he looked down at the man he had just beaten. His normally hidden eyes were now revealed that lovely blue shade Rangiku had always found to be so pretty, and his eyebrows seemed to have inched towards each other just enough to create a barely noticeable furrow between them. The pale lips which were usually drawn back into a smile were now a straight, stern line with no hint of either genuine or feigned humor in them.
In short, Gin was glaring.
Stunned by that foreign expression on his face, Rangiku did not even notice that her legs were free until she saw her bald assailant charge at Gin. The next thing she knew, the attacker was flying through the air to violently collide with a wall. Rangiku was pretty sure she heard some bones break, but the whimpering told her that Akio was both alive and at least semi-conscious.
His initial target put out of his mind, Tanaka charged at Gin in a fit of fury. He threw a jab, but the smaller shinigami flawlessly countered by leaping into the air to land softly on the bully’s overextended arm. Nonverbal taunt complete, Gin snapped a kick forward at his enemy’s throat, and immediately leapt up again. The older man choked at the sudden disruption in air intake, and collapsed to his knees as both hands went to his throat. The prodigy finished up by landing with both feet on his enemy’s head and slamming him face-first to the ground with enough force to crack bone, if not pavement.
Seeing the fate of his comrades and gaining a second wind, Tarō started to quietly crawl away on his hands and knees, hoping that Gin’s attention would still be diverted.
He froze when Gin simply appeared in front of him. Slowly, Sato looked up and gulped.
“Where do ya think yer goin’?” the young serpent hissed softly as a small but sadistic smile slithered onto his lips.
The subtle but potent venom in Gin’s voice paralyzed Tarō with terror, and sent shivers up Rangiku’s spine. She had to step in now before things went too far.
“Gin, that’s enough,” she called out while clambering to her feet.
“Whatcha mean?” he asked as he looked at her with a quizzical tilt to his head.
“You’ve already beaten them,” the girl explained with nervous patience. “Now we can turn them in for their actions. You don’t need to hurt them anymore.”
“They were lookin’ to rape ya, Rangiku,” her friend said resolutely. “I’m gonna make sure they don’t entertain such thoughts again.”
“I think you’ve already made that clear,” she said, a bit disturbed by his eagerness to inflict pain, even on these scumbags who deserved it. In all honesty, if she were not so worried that Gin was on a slippery slope, she probably would have let him do as he wished.
“This is one o’ those lessons that needs reinforcement.”
“Look, they certainly do deserve whatever you plan to do to them, but that doesn’t make it right,” Rangiku argued.
“Makin’ these guys pay for what they tried to do to ya ain’t right?” Gin asked skeptically.
She crossed her arms to glare at him in resolution. “Making sure they’re punished is right. Taking pleasure in inflicting pain is not.”
“What’s so bad ‘bout havin’ fun while punishin’ people who hurt you?”
Rangiku paled as she realized that Gin was honestly confused as to why it was bad to be cruel.
“Gin, you’re scaring me a little bit.”
That got his attention.
“Why? I’d never hurt ya!” he asserted with more vehemence than she expected.
“Because when you take pleasure in torturing people, even those who might deserve it, you’re no better than they are,” Rangiku explained.
“I think I’ve already proven who’s better,” Gin gestured to the three defeated slugs.
“I meant ethically, not physically,” she said.
“As long as yer taken care of, I don’t really care much ‘bout ethics.”
“Well you should!” Rangiku snapped at him, frustrated that a prodigy like him was so slow in comprehending such an important matter. “This time you’re making them pay for trying to hurt me! What if next time you want to torture someone, you don’t have a reason other than you just want to?”
He just continued to regard her with a puzzled look. In a twisted way, it reminded Rangiku of a confused dog, only this canine looked like he wanted to calmly tear people limb from limb.
“Why are you defendin’ ‘em so much?” Gin finally asked.
“I’m not,” she replied. “I’m defending you.”
“Huh?”
“Gin, if you continue to torture these men, you’ll go down a dark path that I don’t think you’ll walk away from,” Rangiku warned. “So, please, listen to me: stop now, and don’t let yourself become a monster.”
The young serpent looked down at Tarō, the only assailant still conscious, and the one who had instigated the whole incident. He had remained in his terror-induced paralysis throughout the entire conversation, very much aware that imminent pain was only held in check by the very girl he had wronged.
Rangiku held her breath, and was petrified by the thought that Gin wouldn’t listen to her, that he would indulge in his thirst for revenge. If he did, what would she do then? Try to stop him? The girl didn’t see how she could, he was faster, stronger, and smarter than she was, and frankly despite her lecture on ethics, a dark part of her felt that those slime deserved whatever torments her serpentine friend could concoct. But if she didn’t even try, would she be any better than Gin in that regard? Wouldn’t she essentially be his accomplice?
In her mind, an eternity passed as she imagined her possible choices if Gin decided to ignore her words. In reality, it was only seconds before he relented, “I still dunno why, but if it matters so much to ya, I’ll stop now.”
Rangiku exhaled sharply in relief, as did Tarō, who slumped to the ground in the knowledge he had been spared the serpent’s wrath.
“Thank you, Gin,” she whispered.
Rangiku always knew that her best friend was odd, antisocial, and even a bit mean at times. Tonight was the first time she had seen Gin’s sadistic side laid bare before her. She wondered what would have happened if she had not stopped him from exacting full vengeance on those three men. The teenage girl shuddered and chose not to pursue that line of thought, but one thing was clear to her now. She had never entertained thoughts about leaving Gin’s side, but what she witnessed tonight made her determined to always be with him, for his own sake.
In a way, Rangiku was actually grateful for the night’s events. If she hadn’t discovered Gin’s cruel tendencies now, how long would they have remained undetected by her? Would his pleasure in causing pain had taken deeper root and become irremovable by the time she discovered it? Fortunately, she would never have to find out. She would talk to Kyōraku and convince him to assign her to the lieutenant’s side whenever possible. No matter how long it took, Rangiku swore to make Gin learn not only how to interact with other people, but also the basics of morality.
A pained groan drew the attention of the three conscious individuals towards the slowly rising Third Seat.
“You two are dead meat,” Tanaka growled through bloody lips. “You have no idea who you’re messing with.”
“Tanaka-san, wait…” Tarō tried to warn his superior, obviously having enough self-preservation to know the situation he was in.
“Shut up!” the officer barked furiously, and addressed the younger duo, “Listen well, brats, I don’t care if you’re stronger than you look, one night you’re going to get what’s coming to you, and I will be there to enjoy every…”
“Tanaka-san!” a new voice interrupted.
Surprisingly, the short-tempered Third Seat actually stopped talking at the sound of the new arrival.
The most recent addition to the party was walking calmly towards them, his face set in a serious expression of controlled anger. The armband denoted his rank as lieutenant, and the badge identified his division as the Fifth.
“Mind your tongue,” Aizen Sōsuke scolded. “You are addressing a superior officer.”
The Third Seat appeared to not understand the statement for a moment, but then snapped his head to Gin again in shocked comprehension.
“You mean the brat really is a lieutenant?” Tanaka demanded incredulously. “What kind of moron would appoint a dumb kid as their lieutenant?”
“If ya were payin’ attention earlier, ya would’ve heard me say the Eighth Division,” Gin answered. “An’ contrary to what he likes people to believe, Kyōraku-taichō ain’t no idiot.”
“Tch, now I’m not surprised,” the Third Seat grumbled. “He was probably drunk when he gave you that badge, or maybe even…”
“Tanaka-san,” Aizen cut off warningly, “You, as well as Narita-san and Sato-san, can consider yourselves under arrest for insubordination by assaulting Ichimaru-fukutaichō. Do not compound the charge by insulting a captain.”
Gin noticed with interest how Tanaka’s eyes flashed with terror at the slight warning tone in the lieutenant’s voice.
“O-of course, Aizen-fukutaichō,” he said as he bowed in penitence.
“Very good,” the bespectacled man affirmed. “Now, both of you should take Narita-san to the Fourth Division. The three of you will stay there until I retrieve you and decide on what disciplinary actions to take towards you. I do not need to inform you of the consequences of disobeying that order.”
The two relatively uninjured men nodded meekly and dragged their unconscious member away.
Aizen turned to his peers and asked in a gentler tone, “May I have the full story of what happened here?”
“Those three wanted to rape Rangiku,” Gin stated bluntly. “I gave ‘em a brief lesson on why that was a bad idea.”
“So I saw,” the Fifth’s lieutenant noted. “I apologize profusely for their actions, and I assure you their punishment will be severe. I knew they were not the most reputable shinigami in the Gotei 13, but I did not realize they were this depraved.”
“Yeah, funny how people can surprise you like that,” the silver-haired boy replied.
Rangiku blinked. She was pretty sure no one else but her would be able to detect it, but Gin’s comment seemed to hold a certain amount of sarcasm, as if he did not believe Aizen’s words. But that didn’t make sense, because everything she had heard about Aizen Sōsuke said he was everything a model shinigami should be. Then again, Gin was more perceptive than most people; was there a hidden side to Aizen only her friend could see?
She mentally shook her head at her paranoia; it was far more likely Gin was still miffed at his fun being cut short, and was just taking it out on his fellow Second Seat.
The Fifth’s lieutenant seemed to pick up on Gin’s mood, because his baritone had a subtle edge to it as he replied, “Indeed.”
Not wanting a passive-aggressive standoff between the two men, Rangiku tugged on her friend’s sleeve.
“Come on, Gin, let’s head back to the Eighth,” she said.
“Sure,” the argent lieutenant shrugged easily as he followed her lead. “See ya, Aizen-fukutaichō.”
“Thank you for your help,” Rangiku added.
“Of course,” Aizen replied in a friendlier tone than before. “Good night.”
Aizen watched as the two young shinigami walk away, his eyes particularly focused on the silver-haired boy.
He had of course heard of Ichimaru Gin’s graduation from the Academy in a single year, and listened to the rumors of the boy’s creepy aura. Unfortunately, tonight was the first night Aizen had been able to meet the prodigy in person. The result was both fascinating and disappointing.
On the one hand, Ichimaru Gin was as intelligent and strong as his reputation had predicted. He even possessed a ruthless and cruel streak in him that Aizen would have found quite useful in his service. But what impressed him most of all was the fact that his mask of a model shinigami did not seem to fool the kit. The mastermind was fairly certain Ichimaru had not seen through his disguise, but the fact that he had detected it at all was impressive. A subordinate savvy enough to not be fooled by his deception would be a risky undertaking, as it meant that Ichimaru had greater odds than anyone else at successfully betraying him. But the benefits of having such an astute servant could be equally rewarding.
Of course, with such an admirable résumé, there were still downsides. Chief of them was his friend Matsumoto Rangiku. Aizen had watched most of the affair between his three underlings and the two Eighth Division officers. He witnessed how Ichimaru had acted towards the men who dared harm his friend, and more importantly, he saw how Matsumoto had reined him in. Even though Ichimaru shared Aizen’s lack of moral concerns, the boy still chose to listen to the girl instead of following his own impulses. This meant that even if Aizen successfully recruited him, the fox would still heed Matsumoto over him in a given situation. But more importantly, in Aizen’s personal opinion, such a choice meant that Ichimaru was unwilling to reach his true potential.
The aspiring deity supposed if he really wanted Ichimaru to have a more agreeable attitude, he could have the girl killed. With her dead and his moral compass askew, Aizen could recruit the boy with the promise of revenge on the guilty party. But he knew better than to actually implement this plan. If the prodigy was good enough to see through his mask, then he would certainly find out that Aizen was behind his friend’s death. Once that happened, there would be no stopping Ichimaru from pursuing revenge, and unlike most other individuals he had come across, the snake was actually a threat. A threat Aizen was sure he could handle, but a threat nonetheless.
In the end, even though Ichimaru was strong and smart and certainly an individual not to be underestimated, he was not good subordinate material. All the same, it would be prudent to keep an eye on him.
With that the two lieutenants went their separate ways, following very different paths.
Author’s Note: So after a year of being on hiatus, I have returned briefly to give you a bonus single-shot chapter for “A Grudge Not Held.”
The three thugs in this chapter are the same ones who hurt Rangiku in canon, and in turn set Gin off on his quest for revenge. I wrote about their canon untimely deaths at Gin’s hands in my oneshot, “Hit List.”
Originally, this was just a small segment on how an encounter between Gin, Rangiku, and those three thugs would go in this AU. It was not intended to be anything significant, but as I expanded on this chapter, I realized that I had stumbled upon a turning point in Gin’s character growth: this is the first time Rangiku realizes she is Gin’s Morality Chain and exercises that authority.
Rangiku does not realize it, but she’s going to be undertaking what is essentially a layman’s treatment for a potential sociopath. Canon-Gin displayed many characteristics of Anti-Social Personality Disorder, including a manipulative streak, lying, (almost) complete lack of ethical sense, and (almost) complete lack of empathy. The only thing that really separates him from becoming a full-fledged sociopath is his emotional connection to Rangiku. In real life, Anti-Social Personality Disorder manifests itself while a child, but if the symptoms are noticed in time, then they can be treated and the individual can live a life as a more mentally stable person. But if left untreated by the teenage years, then the condition is irrevocable. Admittedly, I have not done the research at how a potential sociopath is treated, whether if nothing more is required than behavioral therapy or the equivalent, or if prescription drugs are required. But fortunately for Rangiku, in this universe, the only thing she needs to make sure Gin does not follow his canon path is a watchful eye and intervention when he’s about to go too far in addition to pulling him into more social situations, which she had already begun.
I said in a previous author’s note that I might work on a single chapter set during the Zanpakutō rebellion, with Gin facing Shinsō. I regret to say that this will not be happening, primarily because most of the content I had planned to put into the chapter actually managed to find its way into Gin’s conversations with Shinsō in his inner world.
I am also honored to say that “A Grudge Not Held” is featured on TVTropes pages For Want Of A Nail and Tranquil Fury as an example in the Fan Works folder.
My thanks to Tomas the Betrayer for Beta-reading this chapter.
I’d also like to give my thanks to everyone who’s left a review since the last update: amado15, Ethyrin Kairos, ImSeriousBro, Chiruka, Elise, TakaSasuke, Grey-Rain-Cloud, Naomi Shihoin, Hypothetical Spiritual Entity, Sgt. Rill, CoolIcePrincess, Iskandor06, MoonlightRurouni, StrangerInAStrangeWorld, twistedthinking3, She of the Wind, The Knight of Thirteen, BladeofRays, X59, RRR98, RoshniUchina, A Midsummer, Alias the Jester, Ultra-Pop, Kaylessa, Writing bunny, Hebi R, the happy one, Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet, Sage of wind Dragon, raineynight, JasmineDragon92, Leinad312, and anonymous guests.
Omake: Shinigami Illustrated Guide
“Let me get this straight,” Kyōraku said in response to young Rangiku’s request. “You want me to make sure that whenever Gin’s out on assignment, you’re by his side.”
“That’s right,” she confirmed. “I’m worried about his ethical development. If I’m there to step in when it’s needed, I’m sure I can prevent Gin from making certain… mistakes.”
“Hmm, that’s a fair reason,” the captain considered. “And this has nothing to do with your feelings for him?”
“What?” Rangiku squawked as her face reddened in rage (not embarrassment!). “Have you been talking with Nanao-chan?!”
“Oh, she figured it out, too?” Kyōraku murmured without surprise. “Can’t say I’m shocked; she’s a smart girl.”
“She’s mistaken! And so are you!” she protested hotly. “Wait, how many people are making that same mistake?!”
“Pretty much everyone who knows you two,” the pink-clad charmer shrugged nonchalantly, barely keeping his amusement concealed at his subordinate’s horrified expression. “There are even a few who think you two are already together but are trying to keep it a secret.”
Rangiku floundered wordlessly for a few moments at the new information. Deciding there was no dignified end to this conversation, she instead jumped back to the original topic.
“Do you agree to my request to stay by Gin’s side during missions or not?” she gritted out.
“Of course,” the captain gave his permission with a knowing smile.
“Thank you, Kyōraku-taichō!” the girl quickly bowed and rushed out the room.
“Ah, young love,” the deceptively old fighter murmured to himself as he leaned back and pulled his hat over his eyes. “If those two aren’t at least together in fifty years, I’ll burn my kimono and then scold them for being dense idiots.”
AO3 Commentary: This chapter is another reminder that while Gin is much nicer than canon, and actually cares about a few individuals other than Rangiku, he still does have a dark side to him. On the flip side, this chapter also shows that Rangiku is very aware of this, and why she works hard to spend the next hundred years as his conscience.
Given that several years have passed since I wrote this, I want to correct myself by saying that Gin does not fit the definition of a sociopath, as there are several criteria he lacks that qualify him for that description. He’s not impulsive, he doesn’t have a grandiose sense of self-worth, he is capable of empathy, he is capable of accepting the responsibility of his actions and showing remorse, and while he certainly lies a lot, it’s not compulsive for him like it is with a true sociopath.
However, my point about increased socialization from a young age decreases the chances and severity of anti-social behavior still applies.
As a side note, I’ve noticed that while Gin is often shown in fanfics as calling Rangiku “Ran-chan,” I don’t think we’ve ever seen him do so in canon.
While I only have one more one-shot to add to this work, I will keep the “?” as the total number of chapters in the hope that I will add more to it at a later date.
Thanks to everyone who left kudos on this series, and a special shout-out to Noiram ARDA and FETHJJ GYHHJ for their comments.