Sacrifice
Sacrifice, a GinRan fanfiction.
Go away. Don't come near me. Fight the third, no, fight anyone. Just not me. Stay away.
I watched her as she walked around the battlefield aimlessly. Then she spotted me. Our eyes locked and I could read those familiar grey eyes. They spelt in clear bolded letters hate anger fury betrayal. I kept my eyes in their usual smile, but my mouth had slackened. She began striding towards me with purpose in her movement, evidently oblivious to the fights and bloodbath around her.
Aizen was fighting Kurosaki. Everyone had expected that. Tosen was dead. Komamura had sliced his mask and Hisagi had delivered the finishing blow.
I hated my vizard mask. I hated the vizards. I hated being one of them. Tosen loved the mask, saying that it "held justice for the world". I hated mine and I hated me. For following Aizen. For betraying her. Come to think of it, Aizen probably had me under hypnosis. Screw Kyoka Suigetsu.
I left my post and began to walk to her, seeing her when she was nine and I was ten. Seeing her when she was thirteen and turning lanky. When she was eighteen and joined the Academy. And now I saw her wanting to kill me. I deserved it for all I had done to her.
In the middle of the battlefield we met. Her hair was covered with dry blood, probably from one of those useless pawns of arrancar Aizen had sent out. She glared at me.
"Hey, Ran."
"Don't call me that," she hissed.
"Oh? Ya used ta love it."
"Not anymore." she brought her sword down on me. I parried easily and made a false attempt to stab her. And I smiled.
"Don't play with me." She swung her sword in a full circle and tried to attack me again. I dodged. "Why?"
"What?" I replied in as innocent a voice as I could manage. I slashed her cheek, but it felt like I was stabbing myself in the heart.
"Why did you go?" she was attacking with more vigour now.
"Whadya think?"
"Because it was a game to you, wasn't it? My feelings. Soul Society. Hitsugaya-taicho. Kira."
She ripped my robe, at the same time nicking my rib. At any other time I would be thinking that it was such a pain to mend the robe, but now I found that I could care less about the robe. I doubted that I would need to fix it. The odds were high against me that I was going to die here. By her hand.
I longed to grip her and tell her everything if not for the fact that Aizen was surely watching. I dared not. I was a coward. Instead I grinned mildly. "What if I told ya that I did it fer ya?"
I watched her face as it crossed a wide spectrum of expressions, from disbelief to doubt and then to anger.
She stared at me, her grey eyes flickering in the explosions that racked the battlefield. "Gin, do you really think I'll believe that? I'm not a child anymore, Gin. I'm not the one you saved with dried persimmons."
I know, Ran. I know.
"Look, Ran. Have ya ever known me to be a liar?"
"I don't know. You've left me so many times I don't know what's the truth anymore. Unare, Haineko."
Shit. I hated it when she became like this, when she doubted me. I never cared when Tosen doubted me, when Aizen doubted me. Heck, I didn't even give a damn when Hitsugaya began to suspect me. Only Ran could ever make me hate being doubted.
"Ikorose, Shinso."
We fought like that for a while. I could feel the intent to kill in her wielding. I fought as I always had. Impassively.
Then Haineko touched me. I could not shunpo out of the way in time for my entire body to escape the dust. The miniscule blades sliced through my robes and into my arms, leaving them full of tiny cuts. At first there was nothing, just a lot of cuts. Then the blood came.
I bit my lips. A satisfied smile spread over her face when she saw that she had drawn blood. "Gin, do you remember when you went out saying that you were going to get persimmons? And came back two days later with two basketfuls of them?"
Of course I do. I would never forget those days. I trekked for a day to get to a garden - come to think of it, it was one of the elite families' gardens - that had trees and trees full of persimmons.
"That was when I wondered where you went. Who takes two days to collect persimmons?"
"I do. If ya went with me on those days, maybe we'd have been spotted by one of those elites and gotten into the academy earlier."
'Weren't you already in the academy when you found me?" she seemed almost surprised.
I laughed harshly, then choked on blood. "In the academy? No, Ran. I joined the academy two years before ya did. Only reason ya never saw me there was cause I graduated when ya enrolled."
She was visibly shocked by this revelation, but continued to wield Haineko, trying to find my weak spot. Or rather, to reach my weak spot. Only she knew where it was.
I decided to stop playing. If she wanted to kill me, she had to stop me from killing her first. Anyway, even if I killed her, chances were I would get killed soon after. Either by myself or by Aizen. Or Soul Society.
I shunpoed behind her, and then stabbed her in the side. She turned around, summoning Haineko to surround me. As I was about to cut her down with a diagonal stroke from left shoulder to right rib, Haineko sliced my chest, millions of blades stabbing in my lungs and my heart. I choked out blood again.
She stared at me as the blood flowed. Shock and pain took over her features as she realised what she had done. "G-Gin...!"
I forced my usual smile and felt my body fall to the ground. I had an odd feeling of being disengaged from my body, and it ached to speak. Nonetheless I pushed air out of my punctured lungs and rasped out painful words. "Been nice ta fight ya, Ran. Ya know, I never thought to die fighting ya, since I was the one who taught ya to fight in the first place. An' ya know, I never lie. I went wi' Aizen to save ya."
She sank to her knees, her hands to her mouth and then enveloping my body. I could feel myself feeling colder. "Gin...Gin!"
"See ya next time, Ran."
She let out a scream that pierced the heavens, and then I was gone. Floating into black dark nothing.
Been nice knowing ya, Ran.
"Hey, Gin, you ever been in love?"
"Nah, love'sa stupid emotion, makes ya do stupid things."
"Oh..."
"Why ya ask anyway?"
"Cause I think I may be in love."
Come to think of it, so was I.
Fin.
Go away. Don't come near me. Fight the third, no, fight anyone. Just not me. Stay away.
I watched her as she walked around the battlefield aimlessly. Then she spotted me. Our eyes locked and I could read those familiar grey eyes. They spelt in clear bolded letters hate anger fury betrayal. I kept my eyes in their usual smile, but my mouth had slackened. She began striding towards me with purpose in her movement, evidently oblivious to the fights and bloodbath around her.
Aizen was fighting Kurosaki. Everyone had expected that. Tosen was dead. Komamura had sliced his mask and Hisagi had delivered the finishing blow.
I hated my vizard mask. I hated the vizards. I hated being one of them. Tosen loved the mask, saying that it "held justice for the world". I hated mine and I hated me. For following Aizen. For betraying her. Come to think of it, Aizen probably had me under hypnosis. Screw Kyoka Suigetsu.
I left my post and began to walk to her, seeing her when she was nine and I was ten. Seeing her when she was thirteen and turning lanky. When she was eighteen and joined the Academy. And now I saw her wanting to kill me. I deserved it for all I had done to her.
In the middle of the battlefield we met. Her hair was covered with dry blood, probably from one of those useless pawns of arrancar Aizen had sent out. She glared at me.
"Hey, Ran."
"Don't call me that," she hissed.
"Oh? Ya used ta love it."
"Not anymore." she brought her sword down on me. I parried easily and made a false attempt to stab her. And I smiled.
"Don't play with me." She swung her sword in a full circle and tried to attack me again. I dodged. "Why?"
"What?" I replied in as innocent a voice as I could manage. I slashed her cheek, but it felt like I was stabbing myself in the heart.
"Why did you go?" she was attacking with more vigour now.
"Whadya think?"
"Because it was a game to you, wasn't it? My feelings. Soul Society. Hitsugaya-taicho. Kira."
She ripped my robe, at the same time nicking my rib. At any other time I would be thinking that it was such a pain to mend the robe, but now I found that I could care less about the robe. I doubted that I would need to fix it. The odds were high against me that I was going to die here. By her hand.
I longed to grip her and tell her everything if not for the fact that Aizen was surely watching. I dared not. I was a coward. Instead I grinned mildly. "What if I told ya that I did it fer ya?"
I watched her face as it crossed a wide spectrum of expressions, from disbelief to doubt and then to anger.
She stared at me, her grey eyes flickering in the explosions that racked the battlefield. "Gin, do you really think I'll believe that? I'm not a child anymore, Gin. I'm not the one you saved with dried persimmons."
I know, Ran. I know.
"Look, Ran. Have ya ever known me to be a liar?"
"I don't know. You've left me so many times I don't know what's the truth anymore. Unare, Haineko."
Shit. I hated it when she became like this, when she doubted me. I never cared when Tosen doubted me, when Aizen doubted me. Heck, I didn't even give a damn when Hitsugaya began to suspect me. Only Ran could ever make me hate being doubted.
"Ikorose, Shinso."
We fought like that for a while. I could feel the intent to kill in her wielding. I fought as I always had. Impassively.
Then Haineko touched me. I could not shunpo out of the way in time for my entire body to escape the dust. The miniscule blades sliced through my robes and into my arms, leaving them full of tiny cuts. At first there was nothing, just a lot of cuts. Then the blood came.
I bit my lips. A satisfied smile spread over her face when she saw that she had drawn blood. "Gin, do you remember when you went out saying that you were going to get persimmons? And came back two days later with two basketfuls of them?"
Of course I do. I would never forget those days. I trekked for a day to get to a garden - come to think of it, it was one of the elite families' gardens - that had trees and trees full of persimmons.
"That was when I wondered where you went. Who takes two days to collect persimmons?"
"I do. If ya went with me on those days, maybe we'd have been spotted by one of those elites and gotten into the academy earlier."
'Weren't you already in the academy when you found me?" she seemed almost surprised.
I laughed harshly, then choked on blood. "In the academy? No, Ran. I joined the academy two years before ya did. Only reason ya never saw me there was cause I graduated when ya enrolled."
She was visibly shocked by this revelation, but continued to wield Haineko, trying to find my weak spot. Or rather, to reach my weak spot. Only she knew where it was.
I decided to stop playing. If she wanted to kill me, she had to stop me from killing her first. Anyway, even if I killed her, chances were I would get killed soon after. Either by myself or by Aizen. Or Soul Society.
I shunpoed behind her, and then stabbed her in the side. She turned around, summoning Haineko to surround me. As I was about to cut her down with a diagonal stroke from left shoulder to right rib, Haineko sliced my chest, millions of blades stabbing in my lungs and my heart. I choked out blood again.
She stared at me as the blood flowed. Shock and pain took over her features as she realised what she had done. "G-Gin...!"
I forced my usual smile and felt my body fall to the ground. I had an odd feeling of being disengaged from my body, and it ached to speak. Nonetheless I pushed air out of my punctured lungs and rasped out painful words. "Been nice ta fight ya, Ran. Ya know, I never thought to die fighting ya, since I was the one who taught ya to fight in the first place. An' ya know, I never lie. I went wi' Aizen to save ya."
She sank to her knees, her hands to her mouth and then enveloping my body. I could feel myself feeling colder. "Gin...Gin!"
"See ya next time, Ran."
She let out a scream that pierced the heavens, and then I was gone. Floating into black dark nothing.
Been nice knowing ya, Ran.
"Hey, Gin, you ever been in love?"
"Nah, love'sa stupid emotion, makes ya do stupid things."
"Oh..."
"Why ya ask anyway?"
"Cause I think I may be in love."
Come to think of it, so was I.
Fin.