Bleach 1. Chapter 1

17-year-old Kyōraku Sakura had just stepped inside her homeroom when the bell rang. She sighed – she thought she would be late.

"Just made it Sakura-chan," her sensei called. He was very laid-back and would've let her in if she had been a minute late – especially since it was the first day of the school year. The principal outside the room, however, would not have – no one liked him or his pedophile laugh.

She sat down in her desk and smoothed out her short brown hair, it had gotten a little frizzy in her mad dash to class, but she tamed it rather quickly. Looking around she spotted her friend Renji by his bright red hair, after making sure her books wouldn't slide off of the desk, she went up and hugged him from behind, startling him.

"Hey! What the –?" he cried, and then he saw the brown hair and sighed, "Oh, it's only you, Sakura. How are you?" He was grinning.

She let go of him, smiling brightly – "I'm doing great, Renji! I get to see my friends again!"

"You mean awesome friends like me?"

"Renji~, you _know _you're my _best_ guy friend – who else can compare?"

He laughed and hugged her, lifting her off of the floor a couple of inches due to their height difference – he was _really_ tall, she was pretty short. She hugged him back, laughing. The red-head set the brunette back down.

"So…how's Ichigo?" she teased. "I haven't seen him since you two were at that café…"

Blushing, he replied, "He's fine. I think you two have fifth period math together."

"Good," she grinned, "You know how I suck at math."

"You do not _suck _at math, Sakura – it just isn't a strong point."

"Don't bullshit a bullshitter Renji – I _suck_ at math."

The argument went on even in the hallway as they headed to their first class which (unfortunately for the teacher) they shared.

Time flew by so fast. Sakura and Ichigo caught up during fifth period math, and then she, Ichigo, Renji, Toshirō, Rangiku, Rukia, Chad, Orihime, Ikkaku, and Yumichika sat together and were easily the loudest group at lunch. When Renji – whose mood was going south rapidly – snapped at Yumichika, telling him that he wasn't as half as beautiful as Ichigo (at which the strawberry blushed), Yumichika started insulting both him _and _Ichigo – effectively pissing the couple off and starting a fight. It took the combined power of Toshiro, Rangiku, Rukia, Chad, Orihime, and Sakura to pull Yumichika, Renji, Ikkaku, and Ichigo apart. Once they had all calmed down, Sakura loosened her grip on Renji and slid off of his back where she had been clinging like a spider monkey.

Sighing and fixing her hair again, she said, "Now _everyone _here is beautiful and I, for one, would like to finish eating my equally beautiful lunch. How about you guys?" Not waiting for a reply, she sat back down and resumed emptying her bento. The rest of lunch went by uneventfully.


	2. Chapter 2

Next was sixth period biochemistry – or BioChem for short – it was the study of chemical reactions in organisms, and if former students were telling her correctly, then half of the year is about poisons. She would've opted out, but the school refused for her to drop down a level and she had to take some sort of science for the next two years so she could get her honors diploma and since she couldn't get into the other class she wanted to and she refused to take anatomy (she didn't want to dissect a poor kitty).

Sakura was nervous – this wasn't her first upper level class, but she didn't see many open seats and the ones that were, were by people she didn't know (which consisted of most of the class). When the one by …oh what was his name – oh Kira! – was filled, she went and sat in the only open seat left. The boy – no, no, no, not _boy_…this was a young _man_ she was sitting beside – had silver hair with a purplish hue, and his eyes were closed but he was moving around so she knew he wasn't asleep. Nervously, she took her seat and fiddled with her notebook.

She heard a male whisper behind her, "Hey, isn't she that genius junior that whooped everyone's asses in physics last year?"

"Yeah, I think so," his buddy replied. "I heard she's gay."

"Yeah – she set up that freaky couple Abarai and Kurosaki."

Her eye twitching she turned around slowly, looking them with her best death glare.

"Would you please repeat that last sentence?" she said sweetly, menace flickering in her orange eyes.

"Aren't you the one that got that freaky couple together – that Kurosaki boy and Abarai?"

"Yes, I hooked up Renji and Ichigo – they have _names_, but it seems that you are just ignorant assholes who don't understand _shit_. Now, if you can possibly find it within the limited capacity of the tiny mass of grey matter between your ears, kindly _shut the fuck up and keep my friends out of your filthy mouth __because they are not freaks_!" her voice wasn't extremely loud, but it was loud enough to carry throughout the class.

Her luck ran the same way every year – she would say something in defense of her friends and she would start swearing…and her sensei would be standing right behind her. This time was no different. She turned around in her seat and came face-to-face with her teacher.

"May I ask what happened?" she asked gently.

She said bluntly, "He called my friends freaks." She laced her fingers together to hide her trembles of rage.

"Why?"

"They're gay," she said, "With each other. I hooked them up so apparently that makes me the 'bad guy' – or girl, unless they've failed anatomy…if they know what anatomy even _is_…" she seemed to be lost in thought.

Their sensei surprised her again by chuckling, "I take it that this isn't the first time that this has happened?"

"In general, no – definitely not, but with these two bakas, yes."

"Sensei," the young man beside her spoke quietly, in a Kyoto dialect, "Her friends were insulted an' that insulted her. She ain't lyin'. "

"Thank you Gin," the teacher nodded and turned back to Sakura. "Please do not let it happen again."

"Tell that to _them_," she jabbed her thumb to the two idiots behind her, "I will _not_ be quiet so long as they insult my friends."

"Very loyal – I admire that. But violence will _not_ be tolerated in this class."

"Hai, sensei – I understand." She nodded.

The older woman smiled at her and then went and had a serious talk with the two boys in the back.

"What's your name?" the young man – Gin – asked.

"Kyōraku Sakura," she replied. "What's yours?"

"Ichimaru Gin," he held out a hand, she shook it. "So, ya a junior then?"

"Hai," she blushed slightly.

"An' how did a junior like ya get inta BioChem with us seniors?" he seemed genuinely curious.

She took her hand back and scratched the back of her head, "I've been ahead a year in math and science since eighth grade, and they wouldn't let me drop down a level so…I had to take BioChem…" she shrugged.

He nodded, "Interestin'. Why not anatomy?"

"I'm a cat-lover."

After he made no notion to continue chatting, she pulled out her pencil, flipped open her sketchbook, stared at the blank page, and tapped the eraser end of her pencil against the side of her head, waiting for inspiration to strike.

"Grey matter failin' ya?" Gin teased.

She raised her eyebrow, "What? You have an idea?"

He thought for a moment. "Draw a persimmon tree."

She looked at him curiously, "You like persimmons?"

"They're my favorite thing," he shrugged, "Have been ever since I was a kid."

She smiled and was about to start drawing the scene that bounced around her brain when class started. She filed the image away for later.

"If you're not sitting by someone you don't know, then move now." Sakura glanced over at Gin and smiled – he smiled back, but she doubted he ever dropped it in the first place, but at least he seemed to be looking at her now.

"Do you ever open your eyes?" she asked. He shrugged.

She looked at him curiously, shrugged, and turned her attention back to Their sensei. She introduced an icebreaker project for the class.

The worksheets were passed out and the students quietly filled out their sheets, except for Gin and Sakura – who promptly snatched her partner's paper.

"Let's do this a little differently," she suggested. "I'll fill out a paper on you and you can fill this one out about me."

His grin widened, "Alright," he snatched his paper back and wrote her name down. She wrote his on her paper.

"What's your favorite color?" she asked him.

He thought for a moment, "Orange."

"Light orange, bright orange, dark orange?"

"Hmmm…y'know, I think I'd have ta go with bright orange." She wrote it down on her paper.

"Why orange – just because it's the color of persimmons or what?"

"Orange is a nice color," he shrugged. "What's _ya_ favorite color?"

She breathed in and exhaled, thinking, "I'd have to say a light sky blue, or a bright blue like cobalt…just _blue_ in general…"

"Why?"

"It's such a calming color – and I've always loved blue eyes…they're so pretty…"

"Why _blue_ eyes?"

"I guess it's because they're so bright, they stand out…they've always attracted me…they aren't that common in genetics…and some of the smartest people I know have blue eyes," she replied.

"I see…" he wrote this down on his paper. "What's ya favorite food?"

"Hmmm…now that's a little bit of a toughie…"

"What kind of food can ya eat every day?" he prompted.

"Well, there's shirataki stir-fry…for a snack I'd say taiyaki or mochi…" Sakura said after a moment's deliberation. "The green-tea mochi with red-bean paste, mind you, not that sickly sweet orange or melon stuff."

He chuckled, "Duly noted."

"Should I put down something other than persimmons?"

"Hoshigaki," he chuckled.

"_Dried_ persimmons…" she muttered, "How, am I _not_ surprised?"

At this point, she was seeing a hint of teeth from Gin.

"Favorite animal?" she prodded.

"Snake," his reply was instant, "Especially white snakes."

"Why?"

"They can smell with their tongues, shed their skin, and swallow their prey whole. If that ain't cool I don't know what is. How about ya – what's _ya_ favorite animal?"

"I like all sorts of animals…"

"Cats or dogs?"

"I'd have to say…cats…" she said slowly, "Even though mine act like two spoiled brats…" she muttered. "Well…then there's the demon kitty…"

"'Demon kitty'?" he echoed.

"Don't ask…" she chuckled nervously.

"Alrighty, then…" he seemed amused, "So, why cats?"

"Low maintenance," she shrugged. "And my fat one's the _perfect_ size for cuddling, though if he gets any fatter he won't fit through the cat door, he'll just take it with him as a plastic tutu."

They both laughed at this.

Sakura looked down at her sheet, "Hobbies?"

"Gardening," he said. "I have some persimmon trees tha' I take care of at one of th' community gardens. I dry th' fruits myself."

"That's cool," she said, legitimately impressed.

"What are your hobbies?"

"Drawing and reading, but mainly music, I play a couple instruments…" she said. He looked intrigued.

"Piano?"

"Piano, guitar, and flute," She chuckled, and Gin laughed with her.

Their teacher made her rounds and stopped at their table, looking over their shoulders.

"Interesting," she said loudly. "It seems that Gin and Sakura are the only ones doing this activity properly."

The class was taken aback at this and started muttering between each other.

At this, she smiled, "May I see your papers?" They handed her the worksheets and she walked up to the front of the room. She explained, "If you read up here on the board – this project is supposed to take two to three days. It is not simply filling out a worksheet on yourself and handing it to your partner. This activity is to help you _learn_ about your partner – and for them to _learn_ about you. Sakura, what are Gin's favorite foods?"

"Persimmons and Hoshigaki," she answered quickly.

"Gin, what's Sakura's favorite color and why?"

"Light sky-blue or bright cobalt, to her blue is a calmin' color an' she loves blue eyes."

"Cats or dogs, Sakura?"

"Gin likes snakes," she grinned. "They smell with their tongues, and can shed their skin and are able swallow their prey whole – and he's right, that is _pretty_ cool."

"Gin – cats or dogs?"

"She loves all sorts of animals, but likes cats over dogs. Apparently she has three of 'em, one of 'em is fat an' another is evil…an' I'm not supposed to ask about it…"

"You really don't want to know…" she grimaced.

Laughing lightly, the woman addressed the rest of the class, "Did you hear how fast and confident their answers were? I want your answers to be just as fast and confident. Are you sure you two haven't met before?"

"I'm good at remembering faces," then she turned to Gin, "yours is _definitely _one I'd have a hard time forgetting."

"Ya pretty memorable yaself," he grinned. "Nope, we ain't ever met before."

"Definitely not," she added, smiling.

She gave their papers back. "Now that you know how to do the activity – I don't want Sakura and Gin's voices to be the only ones I hear. Back to work – if you need a new sheet they're up here." She patted the stack on the front lab table. Almost everyone got up and grabbed a new sheet.

"Where were we…? Ah, yes! What's your favorite flower, Gin?"

"Hmmm…marigold," he said, "They're pretty. Let me guess…"

She looked at him smugly, crossing her arms – he'd _never_ guess, nobody did – but he was welcome to try.

"Rose?"

"No, but they're pretty too."

"Alright…tulip?"

"Gorgeous, but no."

"Lily?" She shook her head. "Sakura flowers?"

"Good guess but no."

She saw the frustration building in his eyes and couldn't help but smile.

"Iris?" She started laughing quietly and shook her head. "Petunia?"

"We're getting closer…at least to the shape…"

The smile he once wore was replaced with a frown and the sleek silver brows were knitted. She grinned – nobody ever guessed her flower, they normally gave up, but no – not Gin. _No one_ had gotten this close before, and _neither_ of them would let him give up.

He mulled it over for a little bit, and then said, "Moon flower?"

"That's my second favorite," she grinned. "It's a cousin."

The grin was back, "Mornin' Glory." It wasn't a question.

"You're the first person to actually figure it out," she told him, clapping lightly. "I've had to flat out _tell_ everyone else – but not many people know my favorite flower's morning glory, or remember it. You should be proud."

Gin was showing all of his teeth with the grin he was wearing now. She laughed and he laughed with her.

Sakura mulled over what she knew about Gin and his personality so far and she asked, "Were you born in late August or sometime in September?"

"September…why?"

She didn't reply, just kinda stared at him, thinking…normally she was good at figuring out birthdays. He acted like a Virgo and he told her that he was born in September, now she just had to figure out what day. She had a hunch and guessed, "September 10th?"

Now he looked surprised. "Hai…how'd ya guess?"

"Had a feeling, that's all," she shrugged.

"An' figuring out the month?"

"I know my sun signs. You act like a Virgo."

A smug smirk played across his lips, "Ya a Virgo too – ain't ya?"

"That was fast, and yes – I'm a September baby too. Wanna guess what day?" she teased.

"Seventh?"

"Nope, close though – fifth."

Grinning, she wrote this new information on her paper and he wrote it on his.

He turned to her and asked, "What's ya favorite genre of music?"

"Don't really have a _favorite_, but I guess I have a tendency to lean toward pop, rock, or alternative. Not big on rap, but there are a few rappers I like. Depends on my mood really…" Sakura shrugged. "What about you?"

"I don't have one either, and I ain't got a tendency either. I don't listen ta music that much…" It was his turn to shrug. Before Sakura could comment, the bell rang.

Sighing, she put her pencil in her bag, packed up her books and put the paper in her folder when they were told to keep them for tomorrow.

As they walked out of the classroom, Sakura turned to Gin and said, "It was nice meeting you Gin. I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow."

"Hai, it was nice meeting you too Sakura, I'll see you tomorrow," he said and waved as he walked away. "Bye-bye!"

She waved back, even though he couldn't see her. Grinning, she left for her next class with a bounce in her step. There was something about Ichimaru Gin that amused her, and he put her in a good mood. Kyōraku Sakura had a feeling that she was going to enjoy BioChem this year…


	3. Chapter 3

Sakura caught up with her friends in the parking lot and walked with them to their respective houses. They agreed to head out that night and tear up some dance floors – but _no_ _drinks_, none of them were legally old enough (not that they needed _alcohol_ on top of the standard sugar fest they always have _right_ before heading out). Sakura, Ichigo, and Renji all lived next to each other. Renji lived in apartment 4A, Ichigo 4B, and Sakura 4C. The apartments were _not_ your stereotypical cramped, barely-enough-room-for-a-closet-and-a-bed apartments. _These_ bad boys had breathing room – and _lots_ of it. The only other apartment on their large floor, Apartment 4D, had been empty for months – until today.

The trio clambered out of the elevator, laughing at a joke Renji had told, only to find their way blocked by moving people.

"What's going on here?" Sakura asked.

"What's it look like, kid? We're moving this guy in!" the worker snapped back.

"I was just wondering…is there a way we can get to our apartments please?"

Before he could snap at her again, the supervisor came over. "I'm sorry miss, is there a problem?" he said kindly.

"I was wondering if there was a way we could get to our apartments – you see we all live in 4's A, B, and C, and your equipment is blocking our doors…" she said quickly before the boys could jump down his throat. "We've had a long day and need some rest before heading out tonight."

Nodding in understanding, the man had his workers help him move the equipment to the other side of the hall.

"There you go miss, we're sorry – we were told not to worry about that, I guess we were misinformed."

"Let's just say the land lady doesn't like us," Renji said and disappeared into his apartment as Ichigo unlocked his door as well.

Sakura sighed, "Well, thank you anyway. That was very kind of you."

She quickly unlocked her door and quickly slipped inside her apartment as she spotted the aforementioned land lady coming down the hall.

She set her bag down and stripped off her uniform. She washed her face and turned on the bath. She sat on the edge of the tub, poured water over a leg and spread the shaving cream on. Slowly and carefully, Sakura started shaving. Once she finished her right leg, she repeated the process with her left leg. Her razor was gently making its way up the back of her ankle when Ichigo barged into her apartment, saying something about wanting to borrow a shirt, startling the poor girl and causing her to cut the back of her ankle. It hurt like _hell_…

"What the fuck, Ichigo?! Didn't anyone ever teach you to knock! That hurts!"

"Oh my god – I'm sorry – I didn't know!" he was instantly remorseful and set off to get the band-aids and anti-bacterial cream.

Sakura turned off the water, thankful that the rest of her leg was done, but pissed because it hurt – and it was _right_ where the shoes she was planning to wear for that night rubbed. "Shit," she cursed loudly.

Renji had the decency to knock as he rushed through the door, "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay! Your _boyfriend_ just barged into my apartment like a _madman_ while I was shaving, and now my brand new rugs are getting bloody because he scared the shit out of me and now I have a cut on the back of my ankle! I'm just fucking _peachy_, Renji – just fucking _peachy_!"

He grabbed a bath towel and wrapped her in it, and grabbed a small, clean but older and perfectly bloodiable towel to wrap around her ankle.

"I was going to wear those cute shoes you guys got me too…" she pouted.

"They hit right there, don't they?"

"Mm-hm," she whined. "Oh well, I'll find something else…"

Ichigo came back with the medicine and bandages and they got her cleaned up.

"I'm sorry," Ichigo apologized for the thirtieth time within the last ten minutes. It was starting to aggravate her.

"I get it Ichi, you're sorry – now will you _shut_ _up_! You've already apologized thirty fucking times – once was enough!" she groaned as she picked out what clothes she should wear.

She rooted through her underwear drawer, looking for something cute to wear – not that anyone would be seeing it – and held up a cute sparkly, light-blue thong.

"What'cha think?" she asked the boys. She could always count on them for advice, for two reasons: a. they were sharp dressers and had an awesome sense of style, and b. they were her gay best friends who wouldn't tease her about what she wore, _especially_ her underwear (they'd seen her get into blackmail fights with Rangiku _more_ than enough to learn that she was sensitive about her panties). Ichigo took them from her and looked at them closely, then compared it with the skin on her hip – determining whether it was a good shade or not.

Renji piped up, "What's the rest of your outfit? And _give_ me those – _I'm_ the stripper after all."

It was true, Renji stripped at a local gay club – not for the money but because he loved showing off his body. Ichigo was exactly happy about it until Sakura told him, "Think about it this way, all the other men can do is run to the end of their chains and bark." He was okay with it after that.

Sakura trotted over to her closet and pulled out a slim, metallic black, very low-cut, not-much-more-than-a-bra, cropped-top; a short, sparingly rhinestone-studded, dark denim jacket; shimmery, navy-blue, skin-tight, short-shorts; and tall, black, easy-to-dance-in, high-heeled, combat-esque boots.

"Since I can't wear the outfit I was going to wear originally," she said, glaring at the strawberry. "I'll improvise."

Renji inspected the outfit she had picked out, thinking. Throwing the clothing in his hand on the bed, he said, "Gimme a sec – I have an idea."

He left the apartment, not bothering to shut the door.

"Ichigo," she sighed, "Will you shut the door please?"

"Why?"

"We have a new neighbor, remember? If it were still the three of us, I wouldn't care – but since we have someone else on the floor, I'm not exactly comfortable being in nothing but a towel with the door open."

Laughing, Ichigo went to shut the door but Renji stormed back in, bag in hand. The carrot-top shut the door seeing as the red-head didn't. Renji started pulling hair products out of his bag and then a few accessories.

"Renji…should I be excited or scared?" she chuckled nervously.

He rolled his eyes, "Do you want me to do your hair or not?"

She grimaced, "Well…um, you see…Grimm's coming over in a bit and –" she started.

"Don't tell me that asshole's coming with us!"

"Renji – he's my friend, just like you – I don't care if you guys don't like him, he's coming with us whether you like it or not! So suck it up – if you look past your stupid rivalry, you'll see he's a cool guy. Besides, I promised him that he could do my hair…" She bit her lip as Renji threw a fit.

None of her "good" friends approved of her being friends with Grimmjow, Harribel, and Nel Tu – and she doubted them liking her being around Gin either…but then again, her "bad" friends didn't approve of her friendship with her "good" friends. She ran in two circles – a light and a dark – she was gray, a light gray, but gray all the same. That might be why she was drawn to Gin…she could always sense another gray – and he seemed to be a dark gray, but not close enough to black for her to care. Her other friends weren't all dark, but they were really close to the "black" or "white", so she just kinda grouped them there – that's what they considered themselves to be anyway.

As Ichigo calmed his boyfriend, Sakura pulled on her clothes and answered the door when there was a knock. "Yes? Oh, hi Gin. Are you our new neighbor then?"

"Yeah, y'know, those two are awfully loud…"

She smiled bashfully, "Yeah…gimme a minute…it was kind of my fault anyway…" she turned around, leaving the door open and jumped on Renji's back, clamping her hands over his mouth.

"Wha' th' fuck?" another male voice said loudly.

"Gimme a minute Grimm!" she hollered back, "C'mon in, make yourself at home." Renji tried biting her hand, her other hand twisted in his hair painfully grinding into his scalp. "Stop that! Now you are going to shut up and calm down – you're bothering our neighbor. We don't want to scare him away on the first day now do we?" she growled. "And Grimmjow is coming with us _and _he's doing my hair! Now grow up and start acting your age! Got it?"

He nodded, rolling his eyes.

"Are you going to behave?" He nodded again, "And are you going to be nice to Grimmjow and Gin?"

At this he looked confused, he yanked off her hands and said, "What?"

"Are you going to be nice to Grimmjow and Gin? Gin's our new neighbor." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Say yes or I'm getting the cat." She growled in his ear.

"Yes, I'll be nice." He groaned, shivering at the mention of the cat.

"I didn't say you had to like it," she rolled her eyes and jumped off.

"I know," he growled, he grabbed his stuff but left the accessories.

She sighed, "Renji?" she asked timidly.

"What?!" he snapped.

"I love you."

His glare softened, "I love you too Sakura," he walked back to her and kissed her forehead. "I just don't like some of your friends."

"Don't worry," she grinned at Grimmjow, "They ain't exactly fond of you either; right Grimm?"

The bluenette laughed, "Damn straight."

"He isn't..." she giggled. Renji ruffled her hair and left with Ichigo, glaring at Gin on their way out.

Sakura turned back to Grimmjow, "So…you're doing my hair, right?"

He patted the messenger bag at his side, "Got everythin' in 'ere. Ya ready?"

"Gimme a minute – you can get set up," she kissed his cheek and walked over to Gin, who was still standing in the doorway. "Wanna come in?"

He thought for a moment, "Sure..." he shrugged.

She let him in as Grimmjow called, "Might as well keep th' door open fer now, Harribel an' Nel are gonna be 'ere soon."

"Kay," she said and bounced over to him. "Where do you want me to sit?"

"Th' bed's fine," he grinned. "Seein' as tha's th' closest I'll eva' get ta gettin' ya in one."

They both laughed, and she said, "You know it. I may act, dance, and talk like a slut – but I'm not."

"'Ard ta believe ya still a virgin – wit' th' way those guys drool all ova' ya," he teased as he combed her hair. "One of these days ya gonna get jumped – ya know tha' right?"

"Well, it ain't gonna happen if I don't want it to – I may dance like a slut but you _know_ how hard I can punch."

"Don't remind me," he shuddered.

"Can I at least explain it to Gin?" she batted her eyes. He sighed and nodded before grabbing the hair straightener.

"So what happened?" Gin asked.

"Well, we were at this party a few months, actually…almost a year ago now – and Grimmjow made the mistake of biting my neck while I was in a bit of a bad mood, so – not realizing it was Grimmjow – I really _should_ have though, he's the only one that bites that hard – I punched him…in the balls…"

Grimmjow decided to join the conversation and said, through the comb clamped between his teeth, "An' ah was limpin' fer a week an' a 'alf after from th' bruises, an' ah still couldn't piss righ' fer a month afta tha'."

"And what did you learn from that?" she retorted.

"Don't bite ya on th' neck," he muttered, "'Specially when yer pissy…"

She looked back to Gin, "Ruined a perfectly good shirt too, he bit so hard I bled – and it wasn't a little bit of blood either. I had one _hell_ of a time explaining why the fuck I had a set of scabby teeth marks in my neck. I think the idiots were starting to believe that I got attacked by a vampire…"

At this, the silver-haired man laughed.

"So Gin," Grimmjow asked while combing Sakura's hair into the shape he wanted, "'Ow old are ya?"

"I'm nineteen, why?"

"Just curious," he hummed, poking Sakura in the back suggestively. She glared at him as best she could.

"Stop it, Ichigo's already pissed me off today."

"'Ow'd 'e do tha'?"

"I was shaving, he barged in here like a madman and made me cut myself – I had to grab different shoes 'cause I cut the back of my ankle, and the shoes I _was_ going to wear rub right where the cut is."

That got a little sympathy from both men. "Sounds like it 'urts," Grimmjow muttered. "Ah've 'eard 'orror stories from Lilynette an' Harribel 'bout cuts on th' backs of their ankles."

"I've heard complaints 'bout them ta," Gin added, "Sounds like a bitch."

"Wanna try it out?" she grinned wickedly, "It'll only take me thirty seconds to grab my razor…"

"Ah'll pass thank ya very much," Grimmjow muttered while working gel through Sakura's hair.

"Oh, don't worry – it won't hurt as much for you guys – your skin is thicker," she said. "If you change your mind let me know…"

It was silent for a moment as the two stared at each other.

And then the insult, aimed at Grimmjow of course: "Wimp."

"Bitch."

"Slut."

"Whore."

"Can't be, I'm a virgin. Asshole."

"Cunt."

"You just want mine, douche bag."

"At least ah don't cream mahself when someone goes near mah neck."

"At least I don't have to worry about limping for a week and a half 'cause I got punched in the balls."

"Ya don't 'ave any balls."

"I have a very nice pair of lady balls, thank you very much."

"Not as nice as mine."

"You're admitting you have lady balls, numb nuts?"

"Mah nuts aren't numb."

"I'm sure I could arrange that."

"Ya just want mah dick."

"What dick? We all know you're a pussy on the inside."

"Ya didn't…"

She laughed, "You almost done up there tall stuff?"

"Ya know what they say about tall guys…"

"Tall and _slim_ guys, asshole, and Gin's _much_ slimmer than you," she grinned. "Sorry Gin – I _love_ to insult him."

"No problem," he chuckled, "I'm probably bigger anyway."

Knowing what was going to happen next, Sakura dug out her iPod in record time and had the music blaring as the boys did what they always do.

She had gotten through two long songs and one and half short ones when Grimmjow tugged a headphone out of her ear and said, "We're done. Go check yerself out, sexy."

Sighing, she pushed herself off of the bed, glared at Grimmjow when he gently slapped her ass, and trotted over to the bathroom mirror. Her bangs were straightened and fell over one orange eye, the back was spiked and the sides and top had gone through some major teasing. She grinned and peeked out of the room, noticed the boys staring at her, blushed, closed the door and started dancing a little bit. If she felt sexy with this hair when she was dancing like a stripper, she approved – and this hairstyle was _golden_.

She approved and trotted back over to the guys, grinning. "Love it."

"Good," Grimmjow grinned and slipped into the bathroom and washed the hair gel off of his hands. Sakura unplugged the hair straightener as the bluenette threw his stuff into his bag. "So Renji was throwin' a fit again?"

She chuckled nervously, "Yeah…meh – we all know Renji has a temper…"

Grimmjow was about to comment when Harribel and Lilynette arrived, the latter tackling Sakura in a forceful hug. The brunette laughed and hugged the greenette tight in return.

"Hiya Lilynette," she grinned, "How ya been?"

"I've been good! What about you – have you got a boyfriend yet?" she pestered.

Sakura rolled her eyes, "No, Lil's, I don't have a boyfriend – why do you always ask?"

"You should have a boyfriend – you're too pretty to be single!"

Harribel laughed quietly, "I have to agree with her on that one…"

"I don't know whether to be complimented or insulted…"

"Take it as the compliment it was supposed to be and get over here so I can do your makeup," the blonde called, setting her make-up supplies on the sink counter.

"Crack my back first?"

Harribel nodded and motioned for Sakura to lie down on the ground.

"Ah could've done tha' fer ya," Grimmjow said.

"Last time you went to crack my back, you nearly broke it," Sakura snapped, pointed to herself, "Me, small, fragile, weak compared to you. You," she pointed at him, "Forget your own strength."

Once Sakura was flat on the ground, Harribel placed her hands on either side of the girl's spine, and pushed up. Gin was surprised at the very loud "_crack!"_ that emanated from the girl's back.

She groaned, smile on her face, "Man that felt good – thanks Harribel…" She got up and stretched.

"Are we doing warm-ups then makeup, or the other way around?" Lilynette asked.

"Warm-ups," Harribel agreed.

Grimmjow trotted over to a door and opened it, "What's in here?"

Sakura tackled him and promptly slammed the door shut. "The evil cat is in there…" she breathed.

"Oh…" he visibly paled and quickly backed away from the door, looking at it as if it might explode at any moment.

"Lil's, toss me those keys on the dresser will you?"

Lilynette handed the keys to Grimmjow who in turn handed them to Sakura, who quickly locked the door. She sighed in relief and tossed the keys back to Lilynette.

"That is the cat domain, we _don't_ go in there…" she sighed as she quietly walked away from the door. A nasty yowling came from the other side. "Great job Grimmjow, you woke him up."

She knelt next to the door and rapped on it softly, "Ryu…hey baby, go back to sleep – mama has some friends over…"

An annoyed yowl escaped the furball on the other side of the door.

"Go back to sleep baby, you can't play with them right now. We'll be leaving soon, go back to sleep baby…" After a long moment of silence, Sakura stepped away from the door. She sighed and smiled. "Alright – warm-ups, make-up and sugar. Who brought the goods?"

Grimmjow reached into his bag and pulled out a rather large bag full of candy. Grinning, he tossed it onto the bed. "Have at it."

Lilynette tore into the candy, Sakura snatched up a few pieces too, tossing some to Harribel and Grimmjow. As she sucked on a sugar-filled, hard candy, she stretched, preparing her muscles for the hard dancing she was going to do tonight. As she stretched out her legs, she asked Grimmjow, "Remember that move we were going over last time you were over?"

"Oh yeah, hard ta forget tha' one." He had a lusty glint in his eye.

"Wanna try it out tonight?"

"If they ain't jumped ya before, they sure as hell will tonight."

"You mean they'll _try _to jump her," Harribel corrected her. "Remember, she was _gentle_ when she nearly inverted your dick."

"Yes, ma'am!" he gave a mock salute as he joined the girls with stretching. "So Gin…" he asked, "Ya comin' out ta th' club tonight or are ya stayin' 'ere where it's quiet, well, 'sides th' vampire cat." He motioned toward the door.

"I was planning ta stay here, but I don't why I couldn't go out tonight…I'll have ta think about it."

"If ya go, ya should totally dance wit' Sakura…if ya know wha' ah mean," he grinned and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Grimm – you're as bad as Rangiku."

"'Ow's tha'?" he looked a little confused.

"I know what you're playing at. Stop trying to get me laid – I don't want it."

"Tha' ain't wha' yer dancin' says."

Harribel and Lilynette agreed with him. "He's right. You really should get laid…"

"This is why you need a boyfriend!" Lily chimed.

"Well I'm sure as hell not sleeping with you," she spat at Grimmjow. "Not for my first time at least."

"Oh yeah, ah forgot – ya believe in tha' 'first time should be special' shit. Ya right, ah ain't gonna be gentle."

"Exactly," she muttered.

"_I'll_ be gentle," Harribel's voice had a sultry coo to it.

She finished her stretches, popped another piece of candy in her mouth, and trotted over to the bathroom, red-faced, and sat down on the counter for the blonde to do her makeup.

"Molest me and I'll punch you," she threatened as Harribel pulled out the colors she wanted.

"I know…but if you ever change your mind…I'll be right here," Harribel. "Even if you just need to talk about shit – you know that."

"I know. Can you just work your magic now please?"

She nodded and started applying the creams and powders. "Can I dance with you tonight?"

"Sure," the brunette replied. "I may even let you kiss me…"

"Don't tempt me."


	4. Chapter 4

Within the next hour, the sugar was starting to kick in, make-up was on, warm-ups were completed and everybody was ready to go. The rowdy bunch met up with all their friends at the club, Gin trailing behind them. Sakura was dancing as soon as she was through the door and disappeared in the middle of the crowd on the dance floor. Grimmjow soon disappeared after her and the others were in the crowd in under a minute. Soon the crowd has danced themselves into a ring surrounding the crazy friends, dancing with each other's hands all over each other. Grimmjow and Sakura were grinding as Renji was pulling some stripper moves with Ichigo; Harribel had her tongue down some random guy's throat and Orihime and Chad were getting a little steamy over in a dark corner; everyone else was dancing dirty.

After half an hour of _heavy_ dirty dancing, Sakura came over to Gin and hopped up on the bar stool next to him and told the bartender "The usual Boss, just with a 'simmon twist?" The man nodded, grinning and prepared her drink.

Gin couldn't help but notice her flushed cheeks and the sheen of sweat glistening on her skin. She had a lusty glint in her eyes and her breathing was a little on the heavy side.

"Havin' fun?" he asked her, grinning.

"Hell yeah – I think I've made the usual rounds. Grimm's been begging to try a few new moves with me so I think I'll indulge him. First things first, need a little go-go juice, thanks Boss," she grinned as the black haired man handed her the drink. "Sugar-spiked lemon juice with strawberries and persimmon, yum…" She downed the tall drink like a pro, gently slammed the glass back down on the bar. "All set. I'm going to dance with Grimm…"

"Need me to put a few more security on?" the man asked.

"You haven't already Shūhei?" she teased. "I'm ashamed – I told you I'd be here."

He grinned, "I have added more security but it wouldn't hurt to add another guard or four, especially if this is the move Grimm was bragging about…"

"Going up?" she wiggled her eyebrows playfully.

"Let me go get those guards before you consult the DJ – I think we're gonna need them," he said quickly and went to the back room.

Sakura laughed, "Smart man. I'm too sexy for my own good sometimes…" she sighed.

"'Goin' up'?"

"You'll see," she grinned mischievously. "This is gonna be great, Harribel better be taping this tonight."

Gin was very intrigued by this girl: in school she was relatively conservative but outside of school and now here in the club…she was a force to be reckoned with. Gin liked it.

She patted his arm, "I'm going to go warn Grimmjow and chat up the DJ. If we don't have to leave after this, maybe you and I can dance. I'd dance with you now, but Grimm's been riding my ass all night – no pun intended – about it so…"

"It's okay. I'd like tha'," he smiled. "Go dance."

He watched her as she bounced over to Grimmjow and then over to the DJ. She flirted for a little bit and then made her request. A steady beat started – _Flesh_ by Simon Curtis – and Sakura pulled Grimmjow onto the dance floor. The lights dimmed except for a mini light show in the middle of the room, focused on the pair, and the show started. She swung her hips against his and ground her ass into his hips. He gently lifted her arms into the air and held her wrists in one hand, the other placed firmly against her stomach, teeth grazing across her neck. A look of pure, unadulterated pleasure crossed her face. They were very handsy until Sakura spun out from him, his hand still wrapped around a wrist and she spun back into him, back to chest. Sakura gave him a suggestive smirk and dropped down and turned around as if she were about to give him a blowjob (despite the fact that he still had pants on) and drug her tongue from the top of his low-slung jeans all the way up his revealed chest (the buttons had been undone earlier) and his neck before their lips met in a fevered kiss. His hand cupped her ass and pulled her almost violently against him just before the song ended. As the song faded out, they separated grinning.

Grimmjow was still checking her out – at least her ass – as she made her way back to the bar.

The first words out of Shūhei's mouth were, "Holy fucking hot _damn_ girl – you look up _sexy_ in the dictionary and the page burns up 'cause it can't handle you…"

Sakura sat down, "Thanks Boss."

"Water?" he asked.

"_Please_," she groaned.

Gin was silently checking her out. Her hair was a mess, the sweat was more obvious and her cheeks were as red as her smeared lipstick.

Shūhei set a glass of ice water in front of the dancer and smiled, "Drink up, then hand over the red."

"You're a teddy," she winked.

Shūhei looked over at Gin, "Do you two know each other?"

"Gin's our new neighbor," Sakura added.

"Really – for?"

"Moved in this afternoon, right?" Sakura looked over at Gin too. He nodded.

"I give him one week. $50 in the pool," Shūhei held out a hand to shake.

Sakura snorted into her ice water, "He's a toughie. I say a month at the least. Bump it up to $70."

At Gin's cough they looked back to him.

"We're betting how long it'll take before you decide to move out," Sakura explained. "People in 4D normally say they were just passing through or found another place that was more suited for them after a few days. We're loud and rude and obnoxious. It's going to be strange having you next door." She handed her lipstick over to Shūhei who wiped off the old "red" and applied fresh.

"Pucker up. There ya go; one adorable cherry pout. Yeah, you're going to have to learn to put your clothes on before pestering Ichigo for a shirt to borrow," Shūhei chuckled.

"How the hell do _you_ know about that?" she snapped taking the lipstick back.

He grinned, "I have my sources."

"It was Rangiku wasn't it? She's always trying to blackmail me into something…"

"Like those red garters and the lacy–"

She cut him off, "We don't talk about that shit." She glared at him with steely orange eyes.

"As you command, Your Sexiness," he gave a mock bow.

Sakura smiled, shook her head lightly and turned to Gin. "Wanna dance?" She held out her hand. "It's okay; I take it easy the first time around the floor. No worries, even if you have two left feet."

"I have a left foot an' a right foot, we're good," he smiled and took her hand in his.

She sent a signal over to the DJ, who nodded and started the next song after the current one ended. It was a slower song, but still sensual.

"This sounds familiar…" he murmured.

"_Teddybear _by Toy-Box," Sakura told him quietly. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he placed his large hands on her small waist. His hands on her bare skin felt so right, so natural.

_I've been touched like this before…but somehow...it's different with Gin - and I don't think it's because we haven't known each other for a whole day yet…_ she thought. _I don't know what it is…but I kinda like it._

She smiled gently at this thought. He led her around the dance floor, twirling her around and bringing her close to him. When she looked at his face she saw a genuine smile and her breath was snatched away from her chest when she saw the tiniest sliver of light sky blue from those barely open eyes.

It took her a moment to realize the song had ended and started to let go when Gin grabbed her wrist gently.

He whispered in her ear, "Goin' so soon? I was just gettin' started…"

Sakura involuntarily shivered at his tone but smiled at him, "You sure you can handle me?"

"Who's worried 'bout handlin' who?" he grinned as he pulled her back into him.

They danced for a good hour and a half, much cleaner than she did with Grimmjow, but it still wasn't rated G. Lilynette had approached them and asked Sakura if she would accompany her to the "Little Sluts' Room". The brunette nodded before turning back to Gin.

"Safety in numbers," she explained. "We'll be back in a bit." She placed a hand on his cheek and then took Lilynette's hand and went off to the bathroom.

When they got there Sakura took care of business as did Lilynette and then patted her face with a damp paper towel.

"That feels nice," she groaned, happy smile on her face.

"So, how's the new guy?" the green-haired girl pried.

Sakura giggled, "He's _fine_ – _and_ he has a name."

"Gin, yeah I know," the younger girl rolled her eyes. "Normally you drop 'em after one dance."

"He asked why I was leaving so soon when he was, and I quote, 'just gettin' started'."

"Kinky."

Sakura snorted, "Funny. I'm not that kinda girl Lil's, you know that."

"I know, but it's a lot of fun to tease you about it," she wiggled her eyebrows. "We'd better get back out there; the boys will be missing you."

"And _you_ – you're as good as I am, you just don't show off." They exited the restroom laughing.

When they got back out they realized that it was three in the morning – the club was closing up. The group met at the bar. Sakura paid her tab and asked where Renji and Ichigo were.

"They went home about two hours ago – it should be quiet by the time you get back," Orihime said, giggling and hanging on Chad's arm.

"Well, at least I missed the fuck fest…" she muttered. The others laughed. "You try sleeping when they're just a room or two over, screwing each other's brains out. You think they're loud normally, they're even _louder_ when they're fucking."

"Wasn't there something about olive oil?" Harribel asked innocently.

"I will never look at olive oil the same way again…" Sakura groaned trying to wipe away the memory.

"Olive oil?" Grimmjow asked.

Sakura chuckled nervously, "I needed some sugar and seeing as I'm normally allowed to knock and waltz in…well, Ichi's apartment was locked so I figured that if they were up to something they'd be in there, right?" she shook her head and snorted. "I walked into Renji's apartment, I knocked lightly just in case. Well, they didn't hear me and I didn't even have to walk into the kitchen to see Renji bending Ichigo over the counter, open bottle of olive oil beside him. I never want to see those two in action ever again."

"Did they ever find out?" Gin asked.

"Renji noticed I wasn't going within five feet of the kitchen so he asked what was wrong. I told him. They've started locking the door and leaving a blank sticky note on the outside as a warning. It's a good little system we've got going – hasn't failed us yet."

Laughing, Grimm pulled on his coat, "Need a ride 'ome babe?"

Sakura was putting her jacket on too, "Nah, I'll just call a cab. Thanks though," she smiled at him. "You need to get back to your town anyway, I'm sure."

"Yeah, boss won't be 'appy if ah'm away fer too long." Grimmjow sighed, annoyed. "Oh," he dug in a pocket, "This is fer ya. Early birthday gift," he held out a heavy silver chain.

She took him from him and smiled at the gothic seven on the thick chain, "You sure Zommari doesn't want this?"

"Ask 'im yerself, 'e don't want it. Ah asked if ah could 'ave it an' 'e gave it ta meh. Thought ya'd like it," he shrugged.

She grinned and hugged him. "Thanks Grimm."

"It's nothin'," he grinned and patted her back. "Lemme put tha' on fer ya," he convinced her to let go. She stepped back and he took the bracelet and clasped it around her wrist. "There, lookin' hot babe. Then again, ya always do." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Thanks Grimmjow," she grinned, "But I'm not for sale."

"Wouldn't expect anythin' less from mah fave girl," he smirked. "Well, ah'm outta 'ere – see ya round bitches." He looked at the locals. "Keep an eye on mah girl, ne? She gets in any trouble lemme know."

"We know," Orihime told her ex, "Get out of here."

"Keep it up an' ah might think ya don't like meh," he muttered. "Bye kitten."

Sakura sighed and waved back before turning on her friends, "Don't start this shit now. We're all going home."

Gin put a hand on her shoulder, "I'll take ya home Sakura, and I ain't takin' no for an answer."

"I'm too tired to fight, just keep your hands to yourself and we'll be good."

"Wouldn't dream of anythin' else," he smiled. "Let's go."

The drive home was quiet, but Gin put the radio on something fast paced so they didn't fall asleep. He parked the car and walked Sakura to her apartment. He made sure she made it inside safely before he went to his apartment. She told him goodnight and gave him a quick hug before disappearing into the darkness to calm the vampire cat and go to sleep.

_And this only the first day of knowing him_…Sakura thought as she drifted off to sleep, vampire kitty sleeping on her stomach and keeping her plenty warm. _It's only going to get more interesting from here on out_…


	5. Chapter 5

The next day started a little too early for Sakura. Her evil cat had started yowling in her ear because he didn't like her alarm clock and bit her when she tried to hit the snooze button. She grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and threw him across the room.

"Shut the fuck up Ryu, I'm trying to sleep here," she growled into her pillow. To her dismay he only yowled louder, which woke Ichigo – who was the furthest thing from a morning person to begin with – used the beloved vents to rudely (and loudly) demand that Sakura "shut that fucking Kami-damned furball up". She flipped him off through the vent, whether he saw it or not she didn't know or care, but she grabbed Ryu and glared at him before lecturing him on how to wake someone up – and how his tactics were not acceptable in today's society. It was a normal morning on the fourth floor.

"And just for this I am going to give you a bath!" she shouted at the cat and locked him in his cage. She stormed into the bathroom, used the toilet, washed her hands and face, and combed her hair into a relatively normal style instead of the cockatoo style that it insisted on every morning. She put on some old clothes that she didn't care about and told Ichigo what she was planning to do.

"I'll supervise and call 119 if you get scratched to death," he groaned but came over to her apartment anyway, cell phone in hand.

Sakura grabbed the evil black cat from his cage and dumped him in the sink of warm, soapy water. She scrubbed him clean – and a "bit" roughly – and used her hair dryer just to piss him off a little more and to keep him from making a complete mess of her apartment. Once the shorthair cat was as fluffy as a Maine Coon and as pissed as a raging bull, Sakura grabbed him by the scruff of his fluffy neck and sat down with a pair of nail clippers to trim his claws.

"Help me hold this bastard still, will ya Ichi?" she snapped and the strawberry complied. She was not quick about trimming the squirming feline's claws but once she was done Sakura stuffed him back in his cage for a time out.

"He looks like he stuck his tail in an electrical socket," Renji commented when he came over to investigate the strange sounds he had heard. "Bad kitty got a bath huh?"

"Damn straight," Sakura growled and changed into dry clothes that she liked. "Sorry about that – he pissed me off as much as you. He's being punished – no tuna for you, asshole." She flipped off the cat.

Renji and Ichigo sniggered and went back to their apartments to change into their normal clothes. By the time they sat down for a "family meal" in Renji's quarters it was eight in the morning.

"Damn, it takes an _hour_ to wash a cat…" Renji laughed.

Ichigo just glared at his boyfriend, "You should've seen it – it was World War 3."

"Next time – _you _can help me," Sakura also glared at Renji. "Trust me – there _will_ be a next time."

The red-head gulped nervously at this and turned back to his food, "Thanks…" he muttered.

"Welcome," Sakura chirped happily and continued eating her breakfast too. "So," she said in between bites, "Any plans this weekend?"

"Not really," Ichigo said. "Just have to visit my dad and sisters tomorrow for dinner."

"That reminds me," Renji interrupted, "I ran into your dad at work day before yesterday, he wants you to call him from time to time. He misses 'his little cherry blossom'."

Sakura sighed, "Yeah. He's been nagging me about visiting him lately, I guess I should. First things first I need to get this drawing done."

"Drawun'?" Ichigo said through a mouthful of rice.

"Don't talk with rice in your mouth, you'll choke," Renji scolded him.

Ichigo swallowed his rice and glared at Renji, "That's rich coming from you."

"Boys…" Sakura said nervously. "C'mon guys…"

"What do you mean 'that's rich'? I chew and swallow before I talk."

"Oh you definitely swallow," Ichigo shot back.

"Guys…" she tried again, but only rolled her eyes as the insults continued and fists were about to fly. "HEY LADIES! STOP IT – I'M TRYING TO EAT HERE!" she shouted.

The boys let go of each other and unclenched their fists. Thankfully she had stopped the fist fight which would've ended up in apology sex an hour later.

"Thank you," she growled and finished her breakfast. "Breakfast was delicious Renji, thank you. Want me to do dishes?"

He shook his head, "Nah, Ichi and I got this – right?"

The carrot-top nodded, "Hai – you go call your dad. We got this."

"You can tell us about your drawing later," Renji ruffled Sakura's hair and ushered her out the door. "Your dad's been nagging me – so go call him. Love you."

"Love you guys too," she smiled as she slipped back into her apartment. She settled herself at her worktable at the window and opened her sketchbook to the drawing she had started the day before. She dialed her dad's number on her cell and put the phone on speaker mode as she sketched.

"Gotei 13 Industries, 1st Division lieutenant speaking."

"Hiya Nanao, it's Sakura. Is my dad in?"

The woman on the other end replied, "Let me check – he might be in the gardens. Can you hold?"

"Of course," Sakura said respectfully. "If he needs to, he can call me back when he's free."

Thankfully, Nanao knew better than to put the annoying hold music on. Sakura _hated_ hold music.

She made very little progress when her father's voice came from over the phone.

"Sakura-chan~! How's my little cherry blossom~? It's been forever since you've called!"

Sakura laughed at her boisterous father, "I'm fine Otou-san. I started school yesterday."

"Oh, and how is it?" he chimed. "Do I have any potential son-in-laws?"

"Dad~ I'm not getting married this soon. You know that! Besides, it's only the first day – I haven't had time to get to know anybody, not to mention to get a boyfriend!" I told him rather sharply. "You always ask that!"

"Well, then how is school?" he asked, his tone calmer.

"It's good," she told him. "BioChem will be interesting this year."

"Who's your partner?"Her father had always been nosy.

"His name's Gin," she told him. "He's a nice guy – a good dancer too."

"You and your friends went out last night, didn't you?"

"Of course Otou-san," she grinned. "You know we always head out on the weekends. It was a lot of fun – I got to see all my friends."

"Even the ones I don't approve of?"

"Dad, they're my friends and not even you can change that. I love my friends – and they love me in their own special way." She sighed, "And if this is going to turn into an argument I'm hanging up."

"I'm sorry, Sakura," he apologized, "I just don't want you to get hurt."

She sighed, "Otou-san, all we can be certain of in life is pain and death."

"You're seventeen, you're not supposed to know that yet," he groaned.

"I'm a big girl now daddy – I know a lot of things," she replied gently. "Like how I love you."

She could imagine her father's gentle smile as he said, "I love you too, Sakura."

Sakura smiled softly as she heard Nanao reminding Shunsui of his captains' meeting.

"I have to go," he told Sakura.

"I know," she said. _There's always something…_she thought. "I love you."

"I love you too Sakura."

"Now that I've called, will you stop nagging Renji about it?"

He sighed, "Yes, yes. Of course…and speaking of nagging I need to go."

"Of course," she told him. "Good luck daddy. I love you."

"Love you too Sakura-chan, I'll call you later my little cherry blossom. Bye-bye."

"Buh-bye daddy," Sakura told him and ended the call.

After that call, she didn't pick her pencil back up but just sat there, thinking.

_All we will ever be sure of in life is pain and death. I am one of the lucky ones who also know joy and love. If only it were a perfect world…_

She slowly came back to reality and when she did, she picked up her pencil and started drawing again. Before she knew it, she was hungry and the sun was setting. She went to her kitchen and rummaged around in the fridge for dinner. She warmed some macaroni and cheese and threw in some ham and chicken. She ate in silence, studying her schedule for school and writing down materials she needed to buy for class. She decided she would go shopping tomorrow. After she dealt with the dishes, she changed into her pajamas and fed her grounded cat and made sure the other two had food and water. She cleaned the litter boxes and then showered and went to bed.

"You wake me up like you did this morning and I'm shaving off all of your fur and getting you declawed," she growled at her cat.


	6. Chapter 6

It had been three weeks since the beginning of school and Sakura had a _huge_ BioChem test the next day. She had stayed up most of the night studying and went to bed at half past eleven. Unfortunately, sleep did not come to her easily that night. She tossed and turned and by one she was so fed up that she went and sat at her worktable and opened the window. She stared out at the sleeping city and the bright moon. She remembered a lullaby that her mother used to sing to her when she was a little girl.

Renji and Ichigo had been out in the hallway saying goodnight to each other after their date when they heard her start singing. Renji pressed his ear against the door and Ichigo did too.

"It's been _years_ since she sang…" the red-head whispered.

Ichigo nodded, "Not since her mother died…"

Gin peered out into the hallway, eyebrows raised. "What's that?"

Ichigo turned around and looked a little startled to see Gin there. Renji just raised a finger to his lips. "She's singing," he whispered.

Gin listened intently, standing near the door but maintaining a reasonable distance between him and the other men. He didn't know Sakura could sing – and if he didn't know it was her, he would've thought it was an angel in apartment 4C. When she finished her little song, Renji and Ichigo bid Gin and each other good night and went into their apartments. Gin stayed there for a moment, lingering. He walked down the hall and was about to enter his apartment when Sakura's door opened.

"I thought I heard footsteps," she teased. "You're up late."

He smiled, "So are ya."

"Couldn't sleep," she confessed. "You?"

"Same," he replied. "Would ya like some tea, I was just about ta make some."

"As long as it's herbal, I don't need caffeine right now," she smiled slightly as he nodded. "I'll be right out."

She went back inside, threw on a hoodie and slippers and padded back out to the hall, making sure she had her key in her pocket. Gin already had his door open and motioned for her to go inside. He slid the light dimmer up so that there was a little light but not so much as to hurt their eyes.

Sakura looked around his apartment. It was clean, with white carpeting and black furniture and mint green accents. There was a black couch, two plush black chairs and a thick fuzzy mint green carpet in front of the fireplace. His kitchen was white tiled with dark tan cupboards and a dark grey marble-topped island.

"Feel free ta look around," he said.

She noticed a tank in the corner of the living room. "What's in there?" she asked, pointing to it.

Gin set the tea to brew and took her hand. "It's okay, she won't bite ya," he told Sakura. "This is Shinsō – she's my pet snake."

Sakura looked through the glass at the pure white reptile. "She's _beautiful_, Gin. Is she poisonous?"

"Oh no, but I can change that quite easily if I feed her a poison capsule. She's perfectly safe right now," he told her and reached in the tank. "Shinsō, wakey, wakey girl – there's someone here tha' I want ya ta meet." Sakura took a few steps back – she had never been close to snakes before, not without glass between her and the reptiles at least.

Shinsō opened her eyes and lightly wrapped herself around Gin's hand, flicking her tongue out at him. He gently pulled her out of the tank.

"Shinsō this is Sakura, she's a friend. Say hello." He looked at Sakura as she inched towards him. "Be nice," he told the snake when she hissed lightly. "She's our neighbor an' she's very kind. She's a friend. Sakura this is Shinsō."

"Hello Shinsō-san," Sakura said softly and bowed slightly, "It is an honor to meet you. You are very beautiful, but I'm sure you've been told that before." The snake observed Sakura and then dropped out of Gin's hand.

"Shinsō," he gave a warning but made no move to catch the snake. "Stay very still Sakura."

Sakura went rigid and her face paled as she felt the four-foot-long serpent move across her feet and slowly wound itself around her pant leg, lightly as to not injure the human.

"It's okay, just don't move," Gin breathed out, and then grew a little worried as Shinsō wrapped herself around the girl's torso and then up to her shoulders. Shinsō loosely wrapped herself around Sakura's neck like a scaly necklace and rubbed her head against the girl's cheek. Sakura slowly raised her hand.

"May I, Shinsō-san?" she asked the snake. Shinsō placed her head under Sakura's fingers and hissed happily as the girl stroked her head. Sakura marveled at the feel of Shinsō's scales under her finger tips. The color was coming back to her face now.

Gin looked utterly stunned, "She's never done tha' before. Good girl Shinsō, good girl."

"She's beautiful, and her scales kinda tickle," Sakura giggled, staring at the white snake with pure adoration and fascination.

"She likes ya," Gin smiled. "She trusts ya."

The snake hissed at her owner when he tried to pick her up off of Sakura's shoulders, which startled Sakura, who paled and went rigid again.

"An' I think she wants ta stay with ya fer a bit…" he chuckled nervously, his hands raised in the universal sign of surrender. "Okay, sorry girl. I'll go check on th' tea." He patted the snake on the head and headed into the kitchen.

Sakura stared at the snake, "You're as scary as you are beautiful, you know that right? I'm caught between awestruck and terror-stricken…" Shinsō laughed in a snake-y manner – or at least, Sakura thought she was laughing. "Interesting sense of humor, no wonder you and Gin get along so well."

Gin had washed his hands and poured the tea. He watched "the girls" interact from the doorway of his kitchen, eyes wide open and a tea cup in each hand. Shinsō had never acted this way around _anyone_ – it took her a month to behave around Rangiku, and that was the closest she's ever gotten to anyone other than Gin. Shinsō and Sakura hadn't known each other for five minutes and the snake already trusted the girl. Hell, Shinsō didn't even trust _Gin_ that quickly. He quickly snapped his eyes shut as his phone went off and Sakura turned in his direction. He pulled out his phone after setting the tea cups on the coffee table in front of the sofa and answered it.

"Hai, Kira? What is it?" he snapped lightly.

Sakura sat down on the couch, Shinsō still around her neck, and picked up one of tea cups, and watched Gin walk over to the window and his smile turned into a frown.

"Then ya get him ta recall th' order – tha' batch wasn't ready ta go out yet. He has no right ta ship out unfinished and untested products…No, I never even _got_ a paper, not ta mention sign it– he musta forged it…Kira, I don't care _how_ ya do it but get tha' batch _recalled_…Yes, _every_ bottle…I'm filin' a formal complaint…Yes, I have th' forms with me…I'll take care of th' paperwork, ya take care of th' asshole…An' tell Yamamoto-sou-taichou I'll be in tomorrow night." Gin ended the call. "Idiots…I _told _them batch 294 wasn't ready an' th' asshole goes an' ships it out anyway as if it's _his_ division…" he grumbled.

"Gin?" Sakura looked at him worriedly, "Something wrong?"

He smiled, "Just some assholes at work screwed up, tha's all."

"You work at the Gotei," she said. It wasn't a question.

"Hai," he smiled, "How could you tell?"

"'Yamamoto-sou-taichou', only _Gotei_ members are allowed to address him as such," she echoed, "That," she pointed to the third division symbol on the wall, "And the familiarity of your name – _Ichimaru_-_taichou_."

This caught Gin off guard a little, "Th' familiarity of my name?"

Sakura grinned mischievously, "I'm _Kyōraku_ Sakura; my father is _Kyōraku_ Shunsui. Captain of the First Division – I've heard your name before, that's why you're so familiar. They call you a genius."

"Th' academy," he commented, "Hai, they consider me a genius." He shrugged.

"And for good reason," she smiled, "A _six_ _year_ course completed in _one_ _year_? That's _impressive_ Gin. Why the hell are you still in high school? You could've graduated by now."

"Too lazy ta file th' paperwork fer it," he chuckled. "I could've but I don't really wanna."

She laughed with him, "Paperwork's a bitch. I've helped my dad sort through his, well – the non-classified stuff at least, but enough to know how annoying it is."

"Pretty dry," Gin stated.

"Yep," Sakura nodded in agreement. "It's going to be _great_ when I get into the Gotei…" her words were drowning in the sarcasm. "I'm almost through my third year at the Shin'ō Academy. I'm almost ready to graduate from there. Dad won't shut up about it he's so excited…" she sighed.

"That's pretty impressive," Gin smirked.

"Not as impressive as your time there," Sakura smiled over at him. "Oh well, I'm doing well on my own." She petted Shinsō and smiled at the serpent. "You're such a good girl Shinsō; I wish my cat were as well-behaved and respectful as you…" Shinsō rubbed her head against Sakura's cheek and then slid off of the girl's shoulders, coiling up between the two humans.

"Ready fer th' BioChem test tomorrow, or should I say _today_?" Gin asked.

"I've been studying all night," Sakura groaned, "And I'm so worried about it that I can't sleep but I'm too tired to focus on studying."

"Tha's a bitch," he smiled gently. "What'cha confused 'bout?"

"I keep getting things backwards," she sighed, "Like ortho-arsenite and meta-arsenite – those are my worst ones…"

Gin held up a finger, "C'mon an' wash up – Shinsō's a pretty snake but she's still got salmonella. I gave her a bath today but it does a lot better ta be safe." He washed his hands in the kitchen and Sakura followed suit and watched as he disappeared into his room and came back out with his BioChem book, a notebook, and two pencils. He set these on the coffee table, told Shinsō to slither over a cushion and then sat between Sakura and Shinsō. He gave Sakura a pencil and the notebook and picked up the other pencil for himself.

"What's the molecular formula for ortho-arsenite," he told her.

Nervously she wrote down **AsO****2**. Gin shook his head. She tried again: AsO2-.

"Closer," he told her, "But not quite."

She thought about it. **AsO ****3****-**

"Closer…try again," he told her. Gin gave her a disapproving look when she made to grab the book, "Not until ya get it right." He held the book in his lap and motioned for her to get back to her notes.

She sat there, staring at the book and thought about it.

"If this is arsenite," she wrote **As****2****O****3**on her paper, "And I'm looking for ortho-arsenite…I know it only has one arsenic atom…hmmm…"

**AsO ****3** _but what else?_

Gin sighed, "Do people like goin' ta th' orthodontist? Do they have a positive reaction or a negative one, stereotypically?"

She gave him a confused look and he just gave her a "Well do they?" face.

"I actually _liked_ my orthodontist thank you very much, he was funny," she shot back. Then she realized what he was getting at. "Oh…" She scribbled: **AsO****3****-**

Sakura was starting to get a headache when Gin finally stepped in, "All ya need is this superscript." He pointed at the negative sign. "It _is _negative, tha's good."

"Because people have a negative reaction to the orthodontist," she repeated.

"Good, very good," he smiled genuinely. "Think about it, without going inta specifics what are th' steps tha' th' orthodontist takes ta fix someone's teeth?"

"Well, there's the expander," she looked at him.

"Good, and then?"

"Retainer," she said. He shook his head and made a "go-on" motion with his hand. "Braces?" she said hesitantly. Gin nodded in approval. "Then retainers."

"So, all together there are…?" he prompted.

"Expander, braces, retainers," she repeated.

"How many steps are there?" he sighed, slightly annoyed.

"Three," she told him, and then a look of sudden realization swept over her features. "Aha!" and she wrote: **AsO****3****3-**

"Very good," Gin smiled at her. "Now, can you tell me what _meta-_arsenite is?"

She thought for a moment: **AsO****2****-**

Gin grinned, "Perfect."

"I knew it wasn't the one with the three, it had to be the one with the two. Now to remember it…" she muttered the last part.

"How many vowels an' consonants are there in 'meta'?"

"Two of each," she grinned. "No wonder they call you a genius, I've spent hours trying to remember this and all I needed to do was spend fifteen minutes with you."

He wrapped an arm around her for a hug but quickly retracted his arm and opened his book. "What else do ya need help with?"

They studied for another half hour when Sakura started dozing off. Gin gently shook her awake.

"C'mon Sakura," he said and helped her stand up, "It's _way_ past ya bedtime."

The sleepy girl nodded and rubbed her eyes, "Sorry. Thanks for the help Gin."

He walked her over to her apartment and made sure she made it into bed safely before shutting her door and making sure it was locked. He made sure his door was locked and put Shinsō back in her tank, and cleaned the surfaces she had touched to help kill the salmonella in her scales that had possibly spread. After checking that Shinsō's tank was secure and the snake was fed and happy, Gin went to his bedroom and crawled into bed to catch an hour or two of sleep before he had to get up for school.


	7. Chapter 7

Gin and Sakura sat together at lunch that day, studying one last time before the test next period. Renji and Ichigo were pretty vocal about their disapproval, but shut up when Rangiku threatened them – with what Sakura didn't know and she didn't want to know; it was Rangiku so it probably involved a hell of a lot of discomfort and humiliation. She sent a nod in the busty blonde's direction as silent thanks. When the bell rang, Sakura packed up her books and the remainders of her lunch.

"Well, it's now or never," she muttered as she opened the door to room 214.

Gin chuckled, "Ya gonna be fine, Sakura."

"Thanks," she smiled up at him, "Same to you, but you know that already, don't you?"

He just smirked and ruffled her hair, "Thanks anyway."

They sat at their lab tables, the dividers up to prevent cheating. Sakura took a deep breath as the tests were handed out. She scribbled her name on it and started answering the fifty questions that made up the chapter 1 test.

Sakura finished the test with twenty minutes to spare. She double checked her answers, was satisfied and set her completed packet on their sensei's desk. The kind woman smiled at her and took the test and began to grade it. Sakura gave a small bow and went back to her desk, pulling her sketch book from her bag and working on her drawing some more, covering it when Gin finished his test and got up to turn it in. She was sure that he either took his sweet time with it or just sat there, looking like he was still testing. _Maybe he's like me and likes to wait until someone else turns in their test first…_she wondered. Gin patted her shoulder when he came back to his seat and pulled out some paperwork from a manila folder with the Gotei 13 and Third Division stamps on the tab.

_Must be that formal complaint, it looks like the right form._ She had seen the formal complaint forms before, her father had taught her how to fill them out years ago, and her suspicions were confirmed when she caught a glimpse of the bright red band at the top of the paper. She uncovered her drawing and continued working, keeping the blank paper at hand in case Gin decided to be nosy. A week ago she had thought that it was almost done, but she had learned much about Gin since then – from the point that she met Shinsō and officially found out that he was a part of the Gotei, the picture was _far_ from complete.

Once their teacher had announced that all of the tests were in and that they could speak to each other quietly, Gin peered around Sakura's blinder. The blinders would be left up for the next class.

"Whatcha doin'?" he asked her, trying to get a glimpse of the picture as she slid it blank paper over her drawing.

"Working," she snapped. "Do you mind?"

"Touchy," he chuckled. "C'mon, ya can tell me."

She looked him dead in the eye and swatted his hand away when he tried to snatch the paper. "It's a pet peeve of mine to show off incomplete work. Nose out, Gin."

He just stared at the sketchbook, most likely trying to figure out a way to steal her paper – she was sure of it. Before he could make a move, she slammed the black book shut and locked it.

"Where th' hell did tha' come from?" he studied the padlock she had just pulled out of seemingly thin air.

She pulled back her sleeve, showing off the bracelet that Grimmjow gave her. "I hang it on the chain. Open of course – just in case someone _nosy_ wants to get into my book."

"Ya know, ya cute when ya glare like tha'," he ruffled her hair again.

"Will you stop that? It takes me half an hour to tame my hair in the morning; I don't need you messing it up."

"Touchy, touchy," he replied. "Fine."

They sat in silence for about two minutes before Sakura broke it, "So how's Shinsō?"

Gin smiled, "She's okay. I think she misses you – she's hard to read sometimes, even for me."

"I bet," she grinned. "Especially when she lives with _you_." She looked up at the clock, there was five minutes left in the period.

"Is tha' supposed ta be an insult?" he quirked an eyebrow.

"It's a fact," Sakura smirked. "Just a fact."

When the bell rang, they both left laughing lightly.

"I'll see you later Gin," she said as she turned to go to her next class.

"See ya," he waved, "Bye-bye!"

"Why do you always do that?" she called after him. He just grinned, shrugged and waved again.

Sakura walked down the hall to go to her locker, chuckling to herself. She out her biochemistry books away and grabbed her history books and went to class. When she got there however, the principal told her that her grandfather was down in the conference room and had requested her presence.

"And do you know where Ichimaru Gin is this period?" he asked.

"He's in AP calculus, room 325," she replied. "Why?"

"His presence is also requested," he told her. "Our computers have crashed so we couldn't access his schedule and your grandfather asked me not to use the PA system."

"Of course, that is not surprising from Yamamoto-jiisan," Sakura nodded. "Would you like me to retrieve Ichimaru-san?"

"Hai," the principal nodded and handed her an armband. It was a Gotei honorary armband. The Gotei diamond was stitched in white thread, making in stand out from the black band, and there was a purple chrysanthemum inside the square – the flower and color signifying the first division. She slid it on her arm; she was used to wearing it when meeting with her grandfather in a formal situation. This will also tell any teacher or student that she was on a mission and was all business. She gave a short bow to the principal, turned to their sensei and asked if there were any homework. He handed her the required papers and told her what pages to read. She thanked him, bowed, and put the papers in her folder. Before she left, the principal handed her a white piece of clothing. She immediately recognized it as Gin's haori. She thanked him, went to her locker and put her books and bag in it. Kyōraku Sakura strode quickly to room 325 and knocked urgently. The teacher opened the door, and Sakura bowed.

"I apologize for the intrusion, but Ichimaru-taichou needs to report to the office for a meeting with Yamamoto-sou-taichou, immediately," she said, all business. The teacher looked surprised as Gin stood up, collected his things, asked after the homework and approached Sakura.

She held out the haori with great reverence, "Ichimaru-taichou, this is yours."

"Thank you Kyōraku-san," he said, smiling and took the coat from her. At her insistence, he gave her his small stack of books and folders, and put on the haori. He took his books back. Sakura thought the haori looked funny over his school clothes, but didn't mention it. A haori was a haori – it mattered not the clothes underneath it.

"This way," she said and motioned for him to follow her. They strode down the hall, the air around them commanding and scared more than one poor freshman. They entered the conference room and bowed before Yamamoto Genryūsai.

"Ichimaru, sit. Sakura, come here." He told them gruffly. Gin sat across from Seventh Division Captain Nagakura Shin. The seventh division was in charge of shipping things out of the Gotei and receives packages – most of it dangerous, potentially illegal or in some places in Japan, downright contraband. As Sakura liked to say, "You look up 'idiot' or 'stupidity' or 'laziness incarnate' and you'll find Nagakura Shin at the top of the list of 'idiots supreme'."

Sakura knew that her presence was probably not required, more likely just a chance to learn about relations in the Gotei, and stood silently as Yamamoto asked each captain what was going on and why Ichimaru was issuing a recall of all containers of poison batch no. 294. Gin explained how the batch had been sent out prematurely and how he had received no paperwork to authorize the shipment. As the captain's began a heated discussion – Nagakura Shin wailing like a little kid and Gin frowning and telling him off while Yamamoto looked on, prepared to shut them up with force if need be – Sakura noticed a shady figure hanging around the conference room.

"Excuse me sir," she placed a hand on her adopted-grandfather's shoulder, "I must check on something." She strode over to the door, opened it rather harshly and glared at the man before her.

"Ah, Kyōraku-chan," he greeted, smiling. "How are you? I'm here to see your grandfather."

"He's in an important meeting, whatever it is Kurotsuchi – it can wait." She snapped.

"Oh, but this is important too," Mayuri told her. He wasn't wearing his usual makeup or headpiece so it had taken her a moment to recognize him.

"Wait here; I will consult Yamamoto-sama." She swept back into the room, and whispered the situation to her grandfather.

"Tell him to wait. Stand guard," he told her shortly and gave her the other orders. "Thank you Sakura." She bowed and stood outside the door at attention.

"He will see you when he is through, not a moment before. You are ordered to remain where you are and refrain from inducing panic or any of your other usual mischief," she barked. She'd be damned if anyone ever said that she couldn't take command of a situation.

He grinned evilly at her and took a few steps closer, a hand reached out towards her. She immediately went into a defensive stance, "You are ordered to remain where you are – insubordination will result in punishment."

"Citing regulations to a superior officer could also be taken as insubordination," he cooed, a hand gripping her chin.

"I am not officially a member of the Gotei and these orders come directly from the Captain Commander himself. You will let me go and you _will_ maintain your distance," she hissed loudly through clenched teeth, "Or I will have to resort to force."

He quickly tried pinning her to the wall with one arm and went for her armband with the other. She retaliated harshly, elbowing him in the face and stepping on his foot, followed by a hard punch to his groin.

The two captains and the captain commander all rushed to see what the commotion was, only to find a seething Sakura and an injured Mayuri. The captain of the 12th division was on the ground, in the fetal position and clutching his groin – pain etched on that normally-mocking face. Even Gin grimaced at this scene. Yamamoto put a hand on Sakura's shoulder.

"On your feet captain," Yamamoto barked, "What is so important that you must harass my granddaughter?"

Sakura looked over at her adopted grandfather, "Yamamoto-jiisan, may I go get some air?"

He nodded, "You're excused." He watched her go and turned to Gin, "Ichimaru go with her – keep her in check."

"Hai," Gin bowed and hurried after Sakura, who he found in an abandoned corridor, alternating between punching the walls and kicking the forgotten lockers. The only light there was came in from the windows of the empty classrooms.

She heard him before she saw him, "Go away Gin."

"Ya know I can't do tha' Sakura, an' stop playin' bloody knuckles – who knows what is on tha' wall. Ya can get an infection an' tha' ain't pretty," he told her firmly, catching her slightly bloody fist in his palm. "What happened?"

"I gave him his orders and he defied them," she snapped.

"An' then what?" his smile was nowhere in sight. He placed both hands on her shoulders, "What did he do ta ya?"

"He pinned me to the wall and tried to grab my armband," she muttered. It wasn't so much the armband that pissed her off – it was that he had tried dominating her. She would _never_ submit to such a horrible creature.

"Fuckin' asshole – now he's messin' with _ya_…" Gin growled. Now _he _wanted to punch the wall.

"He's been messing with me for years – I'm used to it." Sakura huffed, rolling her eyes.

"Tha' asshole's been in my division ruinin' my poisons and alterin' recipes. He needs ta learn where his place is – an' it ain't in my division _damn it_," He took his hands off of her shoulders and turned around in fury, pacing and running his hands through his hair. Gin was glaring in the general direction of the conference room.

Sakura looked up in sympathy, "I'm not the only one that he messes with then."

"Hell no."

"You're pissed."

"Fuck yes."

"Gin, look at me." She coaxed. "We need a plan if we're going to bring the curtain down on him. Harassing _me_ is just rude and annoying, but if he's interfering with your division he needs to be stopped. I can help you – if you let me."

"How?" Gin looked at her seriously, eyes still shut.

"I have an idea – but I need a little time to poke around. We can't talk here anyway, someone may overhear us if they come looking," she told him quietly, but fiercely. He nodded in agreement and watched as she walked down the crumbling hall.

"Why do they keep this place?" Gin asked. "It's nasty."

"Yeah and I'm sure a bunch of druggies like it – but it looks nice on the outside, so why let the world know that the old wing is falling apart? Besides, it's nice – a good place to get away and think. Well, at least when there isn't a horny couple around. I'd love to run a blacklight over this place and see what we'd find," she sniggered. Gin chuckled too.

"How did ya find it?" he asked. "I never knew it existed…"

"I got lost trying to find my class – no one was around, I figured it was because of class. Well, I found this," she stretched her arms out. "At the time I was too worried about being late to class to explore, so I came back after class ended and when the janitor found me wandering around I told him I got lost."

"It's a strange place…" Gin muttered.

"I like strange places – who knows what surprises you can find? There might even be buried treasure," she grinned.

"I highly doubt tha'," he snorted.

She smiled and walked up to him, "It's a place of secrets."

"What kind of secrets?" Gin asked.

"All secrets. Secrets made, secrets shared – secrets that would be better off left alone. I found a skeleton in here before." She raised a finger to her lips and gave him a wicked look. "Everyone that comes here has some sort of secret – whether they know it or not."

"What's ya secret?" he asked in a low whisper.

Sakura grinned such a little sadistic grin that it made Gin a little nervous, "I don't know – but that's what I'm trying to figure out." She giggled and ran off into the darkness.

He grew nervous as he lost sight of her, "Sakura – this ain't funny. Ya can get hurt in here. C'mon Sakura, we need ta get back."

She grinned at him in the darkness, knowing full well that he couldn't see her. "They'll find us when they're ready," she called out. Sakura stepped into the light and giggled. "So what's _your_ secret Gin?" she giggled again and ran off into the darkness – and this time he followed her.


	8. Chapter 8

Yamamoto Genryūsai was not a patient man. He was waiting for Gin and Sakura to get back, but he couldn't go and find them seeing as he had to keep a leash on Mayuri and Shin. After fifteen minutes of waiting he snapped. "Nagakura, go find them."

The captain sighed, grumbled something unintelligible but quickly moved out the door as the old man started yelling at him. Maybe he could find somewhere quiet to sleep…yeah – that sounded nice. There was a nice, comfy, out-of-the-way spot behind a set of stairs that wasn't obvious. He crawled in the remarkably clean spot and fell asleep. Gin and Sakura could wait – they'd show up later anyway, he was sure of it. The lazy man yawned and promptly fell asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

When Kyōraku Sakura had first met Ichimaru Gin, she would have never imagined that she'd end up in this situation. She had known him for barely a month – and they weren't that close, not really. They would work together in BioChem and chat a little bit afterward – that was it, last night was the only time they really hung out apart from the first night after school when he joined her and her friends at the club and danced with her. But if someone had told her that she'd end up spilling her deepest, darkest secret – one of those the shouldn't be bothered, but other the other hand should be, so the host of the evilness could heal – to a person she barely knew, she would've called them crazy, punched them several times and then shun them afterwards.

Gin just held her as she cried, a hand tangled in her hair and another on her lower back pulling her close to him.

"Sakura, ya would've been five when yer mother died – tha's a bit young ta start killin' people." He teased.

"I never said it was on _purpose_," she muttered into his chest.

Somewhere along the line of his shitty life, Gin had sworn to himself that he would never let someone get this close to him – not just physically but emotionally, _especially_ emotionally – that's why he pushed Rangiku away; he didn't want to hurt her like he knew he would. That line had been drawn in what he thought was concrete – but the thin layer of old concrete broke into tiny little fragments revealing nothing but quicksand underneath. He was sinking fast.

Giving into his emotions, which he had tried to kill for so many years, Ichimaru Gin found a study section of wall and sat down, pulling Sakura down with him. He tucked her head under his chin and pulled her into his lap with ease.

"Tell me what happened," he coaxed her.

She curled up into a tight little ball and told him everything. How she had been playing in the small front yard – they had been living in a small house at the time – and her ball had gone into the street. She told him how quiet the street normally was, it had been a good hour since a car had gone by – the little girl had looked left, right and left again before going into the road to fetch her ball like a good little girl should. Her mother had come out onto the front porch to call her in for dinner – her favorite: miso soup, salmon, crab and egg sushi, onigiri, and green tea for dinner and sweet melon mochi with ice cream for dessert. Sakura had looked left, right and left again before crossing the street again – there was nothing…but the second she stepped into the street a speeding car – running away from the cops she would soon learn – turned onto their little street. "Stupid little Sakura" thought she could make it, so she dropped the ball and ran the rest of the way. Her mother had run to the side of the road to pull her to safety. Sakura had made it over before the car got to them, but her mother had tripped on the sidewalk and right into the middle of the road – she had no time to move out of harm's way.

"I can still hear her screams at it hit her," Sakura sobbed, "I still see her blood on my hands. I still can't eat that meal I loved as a child – it all just reminds me of that night."

Gin's grip around her had progressively tightened throughout the story. He buried his nose in her hair and whispered a few minutes later, "Ya said it yerself; it ain't yer fault."

"If I hadn't of gone into the damn street…" she choked out. Gin's grip was a little painful, but Sakura didn't care right now – her emotional pain overrode any physical pain she could've been experiencing at that moment – a steam roller could've run her over and she wouldn't have noticed, hell – she would've welcomed a steam roller at that point.

"Ya couldn't have known Sakura," he consoled her. "It was an accident – _ya_ didn't do it on purpose an' ya ain't plannin' on killin' nobody either."

Sakura slowly looked up at him with red, teary eyes, her sobs quickly being replaced by hiccups. "Is that your secret?"

Gin didn't answer her but just looked at a tiny ray of light down at what seemed to be the end of the hall, his eyes were closed again. She cupped his face in her hand, drawing his attention back to her and the darkness that surrounded them. She had an almost…childlike…look on her face – she was curious. What was his story?

_What is your secret?_ The question echoed silently in the dark halls.

"If these walls could talk, Sakura – what would they say?" he asked, looking around in the darkness.

"Things that would give you nightmares, I'm sure," she looked around and shuddered in Gin's arms. "What's your secret Gin?"

He sighed and told her how he had grown up on the streets, finally taken in by a sweet old lady who taught him the basic things he would need in life. He was four, or at least, he thought so, when she took him in – he was six when she went to sleep and never woke up. He went back to the streets and found Rangiku there, starving. They lived together, starved together, and shared whatever they had: the food, a ratty old blanket that didn't do much but provide them with a small feeling of security, their body heat when it got cold, their sorrows, everything. When they were seven, they were caught stealing by the police and were sent to an orphanage and went to school. That's the story he and Rangiku shared. He had never told Rangiku how he had found her. He had turned into that alleyway near the forest after stealing a bag of hoshigaki, and quickly hid behind the bushes when he saw a younger version of Aizen rape her and then left her for dead in that alley.

"My true secret," he told Sakura, "Is that on that day, I vowed ta kill him an' anyone else that hurt Rangiku. I had us get caught by the police on purpose – that way we would go ta th' orphanage an' have a better life – so Rangiku wouldn't cry anymore. I was gonna go ta school an' get an education and get real strong an' tough so she wouldn't cry anymore."

"You love her," Sakura whispered, her hand returning to his face, "Don't you?"

He nodded, "In an odd sense. Not quite romantic love, but I'd still do anythin' ta protect her."

_She's one lucky girl then,_ Sakura thought. She pressed her nose against Gin's, "Promise me you'll keep my secret?" she asked.

"I'll keep yers if ya keep mine," he agreed. She smiled, pulled away and dug for something in her shirt, unbuttoning a few of the buttons to get better access.

The pervert in him screamed to take a closer look, but the respectful part override that for the first time in his life and he looked away.

"May I ask just what th' hell are ya doin' Sakura?" he asked.

"Give me a minute…" she shot back. "Oh, c'mon I thought Rangiku was the only one that could lose things in the permapocket!" she growled.

He looked back at her, eyebrows raised and eyes slightly open, "'Permapocket'?" he echoed.

She looked up at him with a childlike innocence on her features and pointed down her shirt, "Permapocket."

He opened his mouth to say something but decided against it.

"Sorry, I know this is a little awkward…" she said sheepishly. "Aha! I found it~!"

She pulled something out but clutched it in her hand and tucked in behind her back.

"Promise you'll keep my secret?" she asked again.

"Of course," he replied. "Ya gonna keep mine too."

"Of course," she smiled. "Give me your left hand."

"Why?"

"Because you're right-handed baka," she held out her hand and motioned for him to give her his hand. He obliged.

"What are ya – ow!" he exclaimed.

"It's okay," she smiled as she pulled the pocket knife from her back and cut a shallow line across his palm. "You don't have any diseases I should know about, like oh – hepatitis B or something?"

He shook his head, "Completely clean surprisingly."

She nodded once, "Good," and cut her own palm. She linked their fingers and pressed their bloody palms together. "It's a deal."

Gin smiled and replied, "It's a deal alright."


	10. Chapter 10

Sakura smiled back at him, and then wiped the blade on the inside of her skirt, folded the knife back up and dropped in back in her "permapocket".

"Isn't that uncomfortable?" he asked as she got up.

"Nah, I'm used to it," she replied with a cheery smile. "I have my makeup in here too," she confessed. "Rangiku gave me the idea."

He thought for a moment as he got up and dusted himself off. Then he smirked and couldn't resist asking, "Does Ran actually lose things in her pocket?"

Sakura blushed and nodded rapidly, giggling. "Oh you bet! It's _amazing_ what she loses in there."

"Try me."

Sakura grinned and said between laughs, "A baseball, a hat and an apple all within five minutes."

Gin had to laugh at this, "Ya jokin'."

"I'd tell you to ask her yourself, but then she'd start asking questions that I don't want to answer right now," she chuckled as she grabbed his hand and led him out of the darkness and into the lighted hallway where they started out at. She tugged his hand to bring him to a stop in the middle of a light beam. "Sorry about your shirt," she said, looking at the black make-up stains on it. Remarkably, his haori was relatively clean – Yamamoto would be happy about that. "Let me fix that real quick."

"What are ya…? Oh…" Gin didn't need to finish his question as she turned around and dug around in her shirt again. She had one of those pocket sized laundry detergents in there and she found it relatively quickly. Gin knew better than to protest her actions as she quickly removed the make-up from his shirt. He just sighed, put his hands in his pockets and let her do her thing.

"Don't mind me, I swear this is not an attempt to feel you up," she said quickly as she unbuttoned a few of the middle buttons and slid her hand inside his shirt to have support for the detergent pen.

He just chuckled and smirked at her, "Ya sure 'bout that?" he teased her, and grinned as her blush deepened.

She glared up at him, a scowl on her red face.

"Kiddin'," Gin said and ruffled her hair.

She turned back to her work, "What did I tell you about the hair ruffling Ichimaru?"

"I told ya not ta go further inta th' hallway an' ya didn't listen – consider us even," he shrugged.

"Don't do that, my pen will slip and that can get annoying," she snapped. He sighed but stayed silent and motionless.

After another minute or two, Sakura pulled away, capped her pen and stuck in down her shirt. She buttoned his shirt back up and grinned up at him, "All better."

He was about to offer to help her fix her shirt when she turned on her heel and went fishing in the pocket again. He just smiled and leaned against the wall behind him as she fixed her makeup.

"There, now it doesn't look like I've been crying my eyes out," she chirped and dropped the makeup in her "permapocket".

"Ya look good," Gin agreed and stepped forward and gently knocked her hands away from the buttons. He buttoned her shirt for her, "There – now we're even."

They smiled at each other and put their left hands together again, the blood had already scabbed over. Gin pulled some gauze out of his pocket.

"An' ya ain't th' only one with surprises," he grinned and wiped her palm with a disinfectant wipe and wrapped the gauze around the cut. She took the other wipe from him, cleaned his cut and wrapped gauze around his palm. He took the items from her and set them back in his pocket. They laughed as they left the crumbling wing without a backward glance.


	11. Chapter 11

"Where have you two been?"

Yamamoto Genryūsai was _far_ from being a happy man when Gin and Sakura made it back to the conference room.

"Gomen, Yamamoto-jiisan – we got lost…" Sakura bowed and chuckled nervously. "It's a big school – and one part looks much like another."

The old man scowled but accepted the explanation. "Did Nagakura find you?"

Gin and Sakura exchanged glances and shook their heads, "I have an idea where he might be." Gin offered, remembering what Sakura said about the first-floor stair alcove. When they checked, there was Nagakura Shin, snoring away. Gin and Sakura excused themselves to go get their books as Yamamoto proceeded to chew out the seventh division captain.

Sakura sniggered after the turned a corner, "Serves him right, the lazy bum."

Gin had his normal mocking grin back in place, but it was genuine at the moment. He chuckled, "True."

They reached his locker first. He pulled his books out and threw them in his bookbag. He took off his haori and folded it and placed in an outer pocket. They got to Sakura's locker and she pulled out her bag and books, setting her armband in her bag. As she threw her bag over her shoulder the strap caught her gauze and bit into her wound. She hissed in pain and got the strap unhooked from her gauze. Gin was at her side in a heartbeat, pressing the gauze to the freshly bleeding cut.

"Ya okay?" he asked.

"Just caught me off guard, that's all," she said. "Thanks though."

"Make sure ya clean that out extra well when ya get home," he told her. She nodded.

"I'll probably be seeing you around the Gotei this weekend," she commented as they walked down to the lobby to go home.

He looked at her curiously, "Really?"

"My dad invited me to visit this weekend," she grinned, "and besides, if you need some extra help with paperwork, just give me a call – I'll be in the First Division barracks."

"Or if I get a little free time, we can work on that curtain," he suggested. It took her a moment to realize he was talking about their plan to bust Mayuri.

"Sure," she nodded in agreement, a smirk on her lips.

"Sakura," Yamamoto called, "Come here child."

She nodded to Gin in respect and took her place beside her grandfather.

"What happened to you hand girl?" he snapped.

"I fell this morning and I accidentally ripped it open when I hit Mayuri," she told him, a completely innocent look on her face. Yet again, he took her lie – he probably knew what it really was, but decided not to ask around others.

"I'll take you home and let you get packed," he told her, "And you." He nodded to Gin. "I understand that you two live in the same building."

"Hai jiisan, Gin's our next door neighbor – he lives in 4D," Sakura smiled at her grandfather. "Grandfather," she asked. "Is it okay if I go ask one of my teachers a question? I was going to at the end of the day, but since I was pulled from class, I never got the chance."

"Yes, of course," he told her.

"You want to see if she's graded our tests?" Gin asked. Sakura nodded and he grinned. "May I go with her Yamamoto-sou-taichou?"

The old man sighed. "I'm coming with you two. I don't want you two getting lost again," he sent a knowing look in Sakura's direction, but she pretended not to notice.

"Of course grandfather," she bowed and nearly skipped up to room 214. She knocked lightly.

"Hello Sakura-chan! And yes, before you ask, I have graded them," their sensei smiled at them.

"Thank you Takahashi-sensei," she grinned sheepishly. "I'm that predictable, ne?"

"Old habits die hard," the young woman smiled. "Here it is," she handed Sakura her test. "Very well done, especially after all that homework trouble you were having."

"Gin helped me study," Sakura confessed as the aforementioned man peered over her shoulder and grinned at Sakura's perfect score.

"Very good," he smiled and pointed to the doodle on the side of her test. "Is that an orthodontist?"

Sakura giggled and bit her lip sheepishly, nodding slightly. "It helped me remember."

He was about to ruffle her hair again but her glare made him change course and take his test from their teacher. He looked at the note she had written on his test:

Thank you for helping her

He nodded to her, glanced at the perfect score and handed the test back as did Sakura.

"Let's go home," the orange-eyed brunette looked up at him, happy enough to squeal, but refraining. Gin nodded and guided her out of the room. Her grandfather quickly stepped between the two, sending a disapproving look in Gin's direction. Sakura sent an apologetic look in his direction also, and his smile changed just enough to let her know that he saw it.


	12. Chapter 12

He sent for her Saturday evening. She immediately excused herself after dinner with her father, telling him that she had some critical studying to do and Gin had promised to help her.

"I don't trust that boy Sakura – and neither should you," he warned. "But if you consider him to be your friend then there's nothing I can say to sway you. Go."

She knelt beside him, "I'm glad that you worry and care for me, but I'm a big girl now." She kissed his stubbly cheek, "I love you daddy."

"I love you too my cherry blossom," he whispered, "I just don't want you getting hurt."

"I think we had this discussion a few weeks ago daddy and that almost turned into a verbal fight," she told him. "Let's not do this again, please. It hurts that you don't approve, but I'm following my heart."

He nodded and sighed, "Go on. I'll see you in the morning."

She gave him another kiss and left, following the unseated Third Division member to the Third Division barracks. She thanked him and knocked on Gin's door.

"Gin? It's Sakura," she called softly.

"Just a moment," he called back. She heard the rustle of fabric and then, "Come in."

She slid the door open and peered in. "Hello Gin," she smiled and slid the door shut behind her.

"Is ya father mad?" he asked, buttoning up his shirt. His hair was wet; he must've just gotten out of the shower.

She sighed, "Unhappy is a better term, or even disappointed. But I wouldn't say _mad_."

"He ain't happy 'bout ya visitin' me," he stated.

Sakura nodded, "And if he knew we were in your room and not your office, he might think we have something going on, if you know what I mean…" she winked at him.

"Does he know how ya dance?" Gin chuckled.

"Yep," she grinned in a proud-yet-embarrassed-way, "And it was _not_ on purpose."

"Do I want ta know?" he teased. "Get ova here," he patted a chair at the desk as he sat on the end of his bed. She sat on the chair, backwards and looked at the detailing on the back.

"Pretty chair," she said, running her fingers over the swirling dragons carved into the back.

"Thanks," Gin said, "Any ideas on the curtain?"

Sakura looked over at him as he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt.

"Well," she said slowly, thinking. "First we have to figure out what kind of fabric we want." She got up and examined his real curtains, noting how terribly they clashed with the rest of the room. "The heavy fabric here is good," she rubbed the fabric between her fingers, "And the fact that it's dark is good, but the black is too dark for this room."

He only looked at her curiously, realizing that not only was she subtly talking about their "curtain" for Mayuri but his _actual_ curtains. He never really noticed how out of place they truly were.

Sakura hummed and observed the room: light brown carpet, comforter, lampshade, and ceiling; medium brown walls and fan; dark brown desk, end tables and doors. Then she turned to those offending, out-of-place curtains. She pulled them away from the window just enough for her to peer out.

"Do you ever open these?" she asked Gin over her shoulder.

"Only at night," he shrugged, "Nobody's out there at night."

"You consider the division gardens to be community gardens?"

"Well, in a way they are – right?" he grinned.

She nodded and looked around some more, "You know, if you had a sheer panel under this you could open the curtains and still have complete privacy…"

He looked at her and then out of his window, "Ya wanna help me pick some persimmons?" he asked suddenly.

She looked a little confused at first but agreed rather quickly. He led her down to the Third Division gardens. Shinsō had followed them, slithering silently through the garden, catching rodents to eat. Sakura couldn't help but appreciate the way the moonlight glinted off Gin's hair. He smiled as he caught her staring.

"Somethin' interestin'?" he teased.

She blushed but returned to picking the fruit off of one of the younger and shorter trees. She was about to place it in the basket Gin had given her, but he came up behind her and plucked it out of her hand before she could.

"Do ya like persimmons, Sakura?" he asked quietly, one arm snaking around her waist.

She nodded and shivered at his proximity to her neck, "Hai. Very much so."

"Good," he whispered, "Then consider yaself welcome ta my garden anytime. Here," he placed the fruit gently against her lips, "This one's especially for ya."

Tentatively, she took a small bite of the fruit, her eyes not leaving Gin's closed ones. Her eyes fluttered shut as the sweet fruit's flavor flooded her senses and she sighed contentedly, a tiny bit of juice leaking out of the side of her mouth. Before he could stop himself, Gin wiped it away with his thumb. Sakura blushed and gave him a surprised look. He took the basket from her and placed it on the ground beside him.

Sakura had never felt such an attraction towards someone before. But the attraction she had for Gin was something new and undeniable. She wanted to say _something_ to him but she seemingly lost her voice as he turned her to face him and pulled her into his arms, the persimmon in his hand gently falling into the basket at his feet. One of his hands went to cradle her face, the other wrapped around her middle. He leaned in, his eyes slightly open but still not open enough for her to see them.

"Do you ever open your eyes Gin?" she asked in a whisper.

"Rarely," he muttered. "Only if I'm really mad an' hell-bent on getting revenge or severely hurtin' someone. Or," he breathed, "If someone is very close ta me..."

"Has it ever happened?"

"Th' first one, yes, but th' second," Gin shook his head and opened his eyes, "Not before ya came inta my life...but I've had my eyes open a lot more since I met ya. I've been trying ta figure out what ya are."

She gaze into his eyes calmly, but there was a nervous tone in her voice, "And?"

"Th' closest thing I can think of is an angel."

Her heart pounded in her chest as he leaned in closer, taking her face in both of his hands, his long fingers tangling in her short hair.

"Gin…" she breathed.

"Shhhhh," he told her and gently pressed his lips against hers – effectively making her heart explode.

But before she could really kiss him back, a cough caught their attention. Gin looked up, his eyes closed again, and snapped lightly, "What is it?"

Sakura looked over her shoulder at Kira, whose blush was rivaling her own.

"Yamamoto-sou-taichou needs to see you Ichimaru-taichou," he bowed, "And your father wants you back in the First Division barracks Kyōraku-san."

"Go figure," Sakura muttered and stepped away from Gin. "Thank you Izuru-san," she bowed.

"Thank ya Kira," Gin nodded, "Yer dismissed."

Kira bowed again and left the couple alone in the garden.

Gin looked at Sakura and echoed, "'Go figure'?"

She rolled her eyes, "The impeccable timing of Kira's arrival."

He rubbed his forehead and then gave her a look that just screamed "I know right?" He had opened his eyes again and Sakura was enchanted by those light blue orbs. She walked over to him, their eyes constantly locked.

"Why do you close your eyes all the time? They're beautiful," she cupped his cheek in her small hand. "Is it just to scare people?"

"It's just somthin' I do – it ain't a bad thing that people are scared, just another plus," he shrugged.

Sakura smiled softly and then sighed, her hand falling back to her side. "I have to go," she told him with a sad smile, "And so do you – my grandfather is not a patient man as you well know." She took the nibbled persimmon from the basket, "Thank you Gin." She bit her lip in hesitation and then turned on her heel and left before she got in trouble. Gin was left alone in the garden, a little confused.

"I ain't ever gonna understand women," he muttered. "C'mon Shinsō, I have a meetin' – time for bed." The serpent slithered to his side immediately, half of a dead rat hanging from her mouth. "Ya know better than ta bring that disease inta th' buildin'," he scolded her. She tried hissing at him but it got lost in the rat in her mouth. "Swallow before ya talk Shinsō – or have ya forgotten th' last time ya did that an' nearly choked?" This time she swallowed the rat before hissing unhappily at him and slithered ahead of him and into his room. The captain rolled his eyes behind closed lids and started his trek to the First Division barracks to meet with Yamamoto – and for some odd reason, he wouldn't be surprised if it had to deal with Gin staying away from Sakura.


	13. Chapter 13

Sakura had went to bed a lot miffed and woke up in a bad mood the next morning. One reason was because she hadn't slept well the night before, which was odd because she normally slept best at the Gotei. Another was that her father took it upon himself to wake her – his cheery face was _not _what she wanted to see first thing in the morning, and then on top of that, Ryu got pissed and attacked her father. As much as she had wanted to stuff her head under her pillow and go back to sleep, she had a duty to reign in her demon kitty and keep him from scratching Kyōraku Shunsui to death. Once she had the beast under control, she threw him in his cage and turned to her father, a twitch in her eye.

"Good morning my little cherry blossom~! Breakfast is ready," he grinned.

"Daddy," she growled and his grin faltered a little. "Out. Now."

"But Sakura…"

She cut him off, "Out." She pointed to the door and grumbled to herself, "This is why I live alone – _I_ wake everyone else up." She trudged over to the bathroom and grabbed clothes to change into.

"You'd better be gone when I get back out there," she shouted through the door at her father.

"Kyōraku Sakura! That is no way to address your father or grandfather!"

_Oh shit…gramps is here…_ She thought as she sat down on the toilet. "Sorry jiisan! I didn't know you were out there!"

"That's still no way to address your father!" he snapped back. "And I like to be able to see you when I talk to you!"

She was washing her hands and face. Between splashes she told him, "I'm not exactly decent right now jiisan – can't you wait a few minutes so I can finish waking up?" She dried her face on the nearest towel and threw on her clothes: a pair of dark skinny jeans, an orange top, one purple sock, one yellow sock and her mint green slip-ons. She put on her foundation in record time and added a little eyeliner and mascara. Satisfied with her appearance she combed her hair and dumped her dirty clothes in the hamper. She hadn't even bothered to change into pajamas the night before and had slept in her school uniform, just without the socks and tie.

She opened the bathroom door  
sheepishly, "Hi grandpa. Sorry about earlier…"

He glared at her for a moment and then softened, "Apology accepted. You never were a morning person – it's something you get from both parents."

Sakura smiled up at her adopted grandfather, "May I have a hug?"

He gave her what he considered to be an appropriate hug: she actually hugged him and he patted her back lightly. It wasn't a true hug in her opinion, but ever that much meant a lot from Yamamoto.

"I think someone mentioned breakfast?" she chirped after she let go, looking much more awake than ten minutes ago. Her father laughed and Yamamoto smiled just a _teensy_ bit.

Shunsui practically dragged her out of the room and to the dining hall. Sakura was quite unsurprised when she found most of the captains there, along with some of the lieutenants and the unseated Ichigo. She properly greeted all of the captains, and was a little disappointed when Kira was there but Gin wasn't.

"Where's the party?" she joked, a goofy grin on her face. Once she was awake, she loved morning at the Gotei.

"Well, now that you're here…you look so _cute_~!" Rangiku hugged the smaller girl, who was nearly suffocated by the woman's massive chest.

"Ran…" Ichigo sweatdropped, "I think she'd like to breathe."

"Huh? Oh!" she let go and held Sakura up as the brunette gasped for air.

"Hi Ran…" she choked out. "Thank you, but I'm very awake."

"Sorry~," the blonde laughed nervously. "You okay?"

"Just keep those things out of my face," Sakura motioned to the general area of Rangiku's chest. "I'm too young to die."

Renji just laughed and ruffled her hair before hugging her tight. "Hi neighbor," he joked.

"I doubt you cooked all this," Sakura scoffed playfully before hugging her oldest friend. "Gotta love Gotei breakfasts."

"You don't hear me complaining about good food," Renji commented and sat down. Rangiku, Sakura and Ichigo weren't far behind him.

Renji looked over at the doorway when a hissing sound cut through the air, "What the hell?"

"What is – oh…um…" Ichigo followed his gaze to the doorway.

Sakura looked up and smiled, "Hello Shinsō-san, how are you this morning?" she greeted the white snake, who slithered up to her and hissed happily.

"Who's snake is that?" Renji frowned.

"She's mine."

Ichigo and Renji both got annoyed looks as their eyes landed on the silver-haired captain standing in the doorway. Sakura glared at them before they could start exchanging insults. Shunsui didn't look too pleased at Gin's arrival but refrained from making any obvious motions of disapproval. It was Yamamoto that addressed him first.

"Ichimaru-taichou, good morning," he nodded to the captain. Gin gave a short bow.

"Mornin'," His mocking grin was firmly in place. "Mornin' guys," he nodded to the other men. "Hey Rangiku," he sat down beside Sakura, who was happily petting Shinsō. "She wanted ta see ya," he now addressed Sakura.

"Good morning taichou," she smiled at him.

"Be careful with Shinsō," he warned lightly, "She's quite th' beggar."

"I live next door to these two," she nodded in Renji and Ichigo's direction, "I'm sure I can deal with Shinsō for a few minutes. Has she eaten yet?"

"She decided that she'd rather see ya than catch more rats in th' garden," he shrugged.

A sudden thud and scream from out in the hall distracted all of them, and a very loud yowl pierced the air. Sakura's facial expression turned from one of worry and curiosity to one of annoyance.

"KYŌRAKU RYU! GET YOUR TAIL IN HERE _RIGHT_ NOW!" she hollered loud enough to make the table shake slightly. The black cat streaked into the dining room and Sakura caught him by the scruff of his neck.

"Are you sure you're not a ninja?" Rangiku laughed.

"I have cat-like reflexes," Sakura shrugged and proceeded to chew out the cat. "And _last of all_, I am giving you a hair-off, young man!"

"'Hair-off'?" Gin asked.

"I'm shaving this motherfucker."

"Watch your language young lady!" Yamamoto growled.

She was going to snap back but decided not to for the sake of peace. "Sorry." She sat the cat in her lap, dislodging Shinsō who hissed angrily at Ryu before curling up next to Gin.

Renji opened his mouth, probably to joke about if Zabimaru were here, but closed it when Sakura snapped, "Don't go there."

"Isn't it a beautiful morning~?" Shunsui tried changing the topic.

"It was," Sakura mumbled as she forced the furball to lay down. "You keep fighting and the chance that you'll get hurt when I shave you increases _exponentially_, you ingrate."

Gin placed a hand on top of hers, moved it and picked the cat up, gently ushering Shinsō in Sakura's direction. Ryu yowled at Gin and got flicked on the nose.

"I will flick ya until ya shut up," Gin told Ryu firmly as the cat swatted at him, claws extended. The strike was easily dodged and was rewarded with another flick on the nose. Sakura sat there, dumbfounded, but not making a move to retrieve the cat. The flicking went on for a good five minutes before the cat gave in and curled up in Gin's lap.

Yamamoto looked at Gin and Sakura. Sakura never trusted anyone else with her cat – but she let Gin discipline the ferocious feline. If he recalled correctly, Sakura _hated_ snakes unless they were behind glass – and here she was petting Shinsō like she had been doing in for forever. He looked closer, was Gin's smile a bit less mocking now? Sakura looked legitimately impressed with his actions and smiled at him when he turned to chat with her. The old man coughed to get their attention and told them to get rid of the animals and wash their hands – there were no pets at the dining table. Shinsō happily slithered beside Sakura and Ryu seemed content to let Gin carry him in the crook of his arm.

When Sakura and Gin got back to her room, she took the sleepy kitty from the silver-haired man and gently set him in his cage, making sure it was properly locked this time. Shinsō had already slithered off into the gardens to catch breakfast. Gin had washed his hands while Sakura put Ryu to bed but leaned against the doorway as Sakura washed up. Her orange eyes met his blue ones in the mirror.

"Thanks for taking care of Ryu," she said softly. "Normally I don't let anyone else deal with him. Hell, most people are scared of him. Thank you."

"It was nothin'," he smiled, "He wasn't listenin' ta ya – I decided ta help."

There was a slightly awkward silence as Sakura dried her hands. She turned to him, sighed and said, "Look, about last night. I don't know what it was apart from really nice…and something neither my father or grandfather would approve of. You know how Kira said my father wanted to talk to me?"

Gin nodded, "What'd he say?"

"He didn't send for me at all – my grandfather found out that I was meeting with you and he didn't approve. He just wanted us to be split up. Did he talk to you?"

"Sure did," he snorted. "He definitely ain't happy 'bout us meetin' at all."

"Too bad you're going to help me study biochemistry so I don't fail that class," Sakura grinned. "He may not like me hanging around you, but he'd let us study together – he cares about my grades, and if I have to ask you for help, he'll relent."

"Isn't that lyin'?"

Sakura shook her head, "Not if I don't fully understand the material. I like the way you explain things better than Takahashi-sensei. Your explanations follow my thought processes better than hers. The orthodontist trick with the ortho-arsenite? I would've never remembered it so easily without it."

They both grinned. "Sounds good ta me," Gin agreed.

"We need to get back before they think we've run off," she laughed, "We can talk more later."


	14. Chapter 14

Yamamoto saw to it that Sakura and Gin wouldn't see each other for the rest of the weekend, but once they returned to Karakura Sunday evening, Kira wasn't around with new assignments and more paperwork for Gin and Sakura got to attend her Shin'ō classes online. Renji and Ichigo had stayed to themselves from the moment they got back. Sakura was drawing and laying on her couch in her pajamas. Ryu was in the "cat room" and reached a new definition of "short-hair" cat. He wasn't a "bald" or "naked" kitty, but what he had left wasn't much more than long peach fuzz.

There was a knock on her door, "Who is it?" Sakura called – but she already knew who it was.

"It's Gin, can I come in?"

"The door's open."

Gin opened the door and stepped inside, a slim silver briefcase in hand.

"What's in there?" Sakura asked as she covered up the drawing and pointed to the case.

He smiled, "I want ta show ya something."

She rolled her eyes as she locked her sketchbook and set in on her nightstand. "That's not the answer I was looking for."

"Mind if I open a window?" he asked. She was about to ask why, but he already opened the window in the living room. Sakura grabbed her sweatshirt off of the coffee table and pulled it on.

"What are you doing Gin?"

He motioned for her to come over where he was. He set his briefcase on her desk in front of the window. "This," he opened the case, "Is how I remember th' biochemistry."

"You're head of the Third Division, Gin," she scoffed, "You deal with it all the time when making poisons."

"Exactly," he smiled as he pulled out a rectangular crystal, in it was an inch-long vial that wasn't as big as her pinkie. In the tiny vial was only a few drops worth of a dark purple liquid. "This is a very strong poison. Somethin' ya don't want ta have in the open air without a gas mask an' a hazmat uniform, which is why it's encased like it is. "

"How much do you need to kill something?" she asked, studying it.

"This is four drops of th' non-concentrated formula. This vial alone could kill an elephant."

Sakura gave him an "OMG you're kidding me" look, but he just smirked and nodded.

"An elephant, with _ease_." He set the crystal back in and pulled out another.

"Such a pretty green," Sakura admired, "Very bright."

"Just one drop in this town's drinking water will kill the population in less than 24 hours."

He showed her several other poisons, but she saw one crystal that looked different than all of the others.

"What's this one?" she pointed to the cube with the top corners seemingly sliced off.

"Ah, that one is special," Gin said slowly as he reached for it. "I've been carryin' it with me constantly – th' recipe isn't even written down. This is th' only version as of th' moment."

"Keeping it from Mayuri…" Sakura breathed and he nodded.

"Exactly," he showed her the crystal clear poison. "It's a very weak poison, and it settles in the blood vein walls. Blends in with water perfectly, has no taste or smell – ya can only find it if ya know what ya lookin' for."

"If it's so weak, why is it so special?" she asked. Everything else in his case was ridiculously strong, except for this one.

His grin widened, "I made it with our mutual 'friend' in mind. It causes paralysis, but only to prosthetic users. To ya or me, it's harmless."

Everyone at the Gotei knew that the 12th Division was in charge of prosthetic development and production and that their captain had altered his body. Not much of him was actually human, most of it was prosthetics.

"How does it work?" Sakura was particularly intrigued in this poison now.

"I've studied the particular prosthetics that the 12th Division creates, and the ones that Mayuri uses. When his prosthetics are activated, it sends an electromagnetic signal through the body. This poison reacts only to that special electromagnetic impulse and frequency." He continued on in more detail. When Sakura started yawning twice within a ten minute time frame, Gin told her it was time to go to bed. He packed up his poisons and secured them as Sakura brushed her teeth. Once she stepped away from the sink, Gin washed his hands thoroughly to wash away any potential poison traces. He gave Sakura a hug before watching her crawl into bed.

"Good night Gin," she mumbled as she pulled the blankets over herself.

"Good night Sakura," he replied softly. "Sleep well."

He turned off the living room lights before he left and checked that he had everything and that her apartment door was locked. Once he had locked the door he went back to his apartment, locked up the poisons, fed Shinsō and got ready for bed. This seemed to be the beginning of a very profitable friendship – one that would possibly benefit more than just Sakura and Gin.


	15. Chapter 15

"Go away…" Sakura groaned when someone started pounding on her door at six-thirty in the morning.

"Sakura?" it was Ichigo. "You okay?"

"Go away…" she whimpered again and just curled up tighter on the bathroom rug, crying from the pain. "Just leave me alone…"

"Sakura…what's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"I'm not getting up…" she muttered.

"Fine, I'm getting the keys," he hollered through the door.

"No need," Gin told him and tossed him a set of keys, "Th' gold one with th' blue cover."

Ichigo was confused, "Thanks. May I ask…?"

"She gave me a spare key," Gin shrugged. "Comes in handy from time ta time."

Ichigo just shrugged and opened the door, "Sakura?"

"Bathroom," she called softly. She looked up at him, teary eyed, "It hurts Ichi…"

He grimaced when he saw her curled up in a tight little ball on the bathroom floor. "Have you taken pain pills?"

"Woke up, had to puke – been laying here ever since."

"When was that?"

"Three-thirty, three-forty-five, somewhere in there," she shrugged as best she could.

"Alright, I'm going to make some hot tea and get you some Tylenol," Ichigo nodded firmly.

Gin caught his arm as he exited the bathroom, "She okay?"

Ichigo sighed, "Let's go to the kitchen." He set the tea on to brew and dug through Sakura's medicine cabinet. "She's on her period right now, the few days are the worst. Did you notice her being a little snippier last week?"

"Yeah, was it her PMS?" Gin asked.

The carrot-top nodded, "Yeah. She's extra bitchy on her PMS. When she's on her period she's an emotional mess." He poured some of the tea and handed Gin a few pills, "Make sure she takes that. I'm going to call her off school today."

"Are ya or Renji stayin' with her?"

"Normally we do but both of us have a huge test today that we can't miss…" Ichigo swore.

Gin patted him on the shoulder with his free hand. "I'm gonna call th' school, call myself off. After she's called off of course," he grinned and left to give Sakura her tea and pills. It took him awhile, but Gin managed to coax the girl into a sitting position and take her medicine and drink the tea.

Gin called the school while Renji tended to Sakura and made sure she kept the medicine down. Once Gin had finished his call he helped Renji move Sakura to the couch, then the red-haired teen ran back to his apartment to get his stuff and go to school.

"I'll grab her homework," he hollered as he walked past the apartment.

Sakura whimpered, clutching a pillow to her abdomen.

Gin brushed the hair out of her eyes, "Anythin' I can get for ya?"

She grimaced, "There's a hot pad in the lower left cabinet by the stove…"

"Microwavable?"

"Minute thirty," she smiled softly. He nodded and went to the kitchen. He came back out a few moments later with the hot pad in hand and handed it to her.

"Thank you," she smiled up at him. "Wanna watch a movie?"

He shrugged, "Sure. Whatcha wanna watch?"

She thought for a moment, "Something funny…hmmm…_Scooby-Doo_?"

He nodded, "Sounds good. Where's the stash?"

"Cupboard under the TV," she murmured as she cuddled back into the pillows, cringing in pain, "Just pick one."

He opened the cupboard and was amazed at the massive collection of DVDs there; one whole two foot shelf was devoted to _Scooby-Doo_ DVDs. He randomly picked one and put it in the player.

"_Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island_, that's a good one. Used to scare me when I was little, still does a little bit, I never watch it alone."

Gin smiled as he sat down beside her and tried to flip past the commercials but they turned out to be those really annoying ones that don't let you skip them. While they ran Sakura asked after Shinsō.

"She's been well; she's been wantin' ta see ya again," he smiled. "Want me ta go get her?"

"Just keep an eye on her; I'm probably going to end up sleeping off the pain like usual," she shrugged.

"Some other time then," he told her.

True to her word, Sakura fell asleep about close to the end of the second movie. Gin stayed up to catch the end of it and then turned off the TV and DVD player.

Renji let himself into apartment 4c after he got home from school and paused when he found the duo fast asleep on the couch. Sakura was curled up against Gin's side, one of his arms draped over her. Gin's head was resting on the back of the couch and Renji could tell the man was asleep only because of his snoring. The red-head set Sakura's schoolwork on the table near the door and locked the door on his way out. He may not approve of Sakura and Gin being such close friends, but she was happy and that was enough for him.


	16. Chapter 16

"Takahashi-sensei?" Sakura approached her biochemistry teacher's desk after school had let out.

"Ah, yes Sakura, something I can help you with?" the woman smiled brightly.

"I'm sorry, but I still don't understand this new material," the brunette said sheepishly.

"That's quite alright, have a seat, let's try this again."

After a half hour of tutoring Sakura went home more confused than ever and didn't even try to do the homework. Takahashi-sensei really had tried to help Sakura but to no avail.

"If only Mayuri wasn't such an ass…" she grumbled at she poured food into her cats' dishes and then went over to Gin's apartment to take care of Shinsō. "Then Gin wouldn't be stuck at the Gotei trying to fix his division…" Sighing she grabbed the case of rats Gin kept below Shinsō's tank and pulled one of the rodents out before tossing it into the reptile's abode to meet its certain doom. "Hey Shinsō, here's dinner."

The snake happily ate the rat and looked up at Sakura hopefully. Sighing, the girl reached into the tank and picked up the snake. She sat down on the couch and petted Shinsō.

"I miss him too Shinsō, I miss him too," she said sadly. As if on cue her phone went off in her pocket. She dug it out and smiled, "Lookie who's calling." She slid the phone open and set it on speaker, "Hi Gin."

"Hi Sakura, what'd I miss?"

Sakura could hear the tiredness in his voice, "Takahashi-sensei introduced some new material today."

"Ah; do ya understand it?"

"You don't even know what it is yet…" she deadpanned.

Gin chuckled, "I know that, but seeing as I probably know it already, I'm askin' ya – do ya understand it?"

"Want me to lie and say 'yes'? I even stayed afterschool so sensei could try to teach me another way…it didn't work – I'm even more confused now," the girl sighed.

"Chapter 12 ain't it?" he asked, and she could hear the rustle of paper from over the other end.

"Yeah," she said. Shinsō hissed at the phone, "And Shinsō's saying hello I think…"

"She hissin' at me?" he chuckled.

Sakura smiled, "Well, she's hissing at the phone, so yes – technically speaking."

Shinsō hissed again, this time a little closer to the phone.

Gin laughed, "Hi girl. How's my little goddess doin'?" She hissed again. "That's good, did you get fed?"

"Are you like a parselmouth or something?" Sakura laughed as Gin continued to talk to the hissing reptile.

"She has different tones when she hisses," he explained, "Ya pick up on 'em after a while."

"Makes sense," she shrugged. "So, how's the division?"

He sighed, "It's gettin' better; still have ta recall three different batches that were sent out prematurely, an' I've already had ta scrap two batches of poison already."

"He's still getting in?" she asked, concerned.

She could hear him nodding on the other end, "Hai. It's really pissin' me off too."

"You know what, I'm heading up there this weekend," she thought for a moment, "Could I maybe see the lab? I might be able to find a way to keep him out. Oh and how's the…well, you know 'gift'?"

"I'll get you the clearance. And it's been tested," he told her. "It'll be ready for delivery when ya get here."

That brightened Sakura's day – the poison for Mayuri was ready…victory was near.

"I just had a crazy idea…" she chuckled a tad dementedly, "Can't talk about it now…I'll tell you when I get there."

"Sakura!" a voice called from out in the hall, she recognized it as her father's.

"Shit…" she muttered. "Gin, I have to go – daddy just showed up for a surprise visit…"

"Go," Gin agreed, "Make sure to clean up after Shinsō."

"I will, don't worry," she reassured him. "I'll see you soon."

"Yep, see ya soon my little flower." She could hear the grin in his voice, "Sleep well tonight."

"You too," she smiled, a blush prominent on her cheeks, "Sweet dreams Gin. Bye-bye."

"Bye-bye," he agreed. She ended the call and hollered, "I'll be out in a few moments father! Just go in and make yourself at home!" She put Shinsō back in her tank, "I know you want to stay out but I don't want you scaring daddy just quite yet. Okay? I'll let you out soon, okay sweetie?" The snake seemed to reluctantly agree and coiled up to sleep. Sakura quickly cleaned up the apartment and then went back to her place.

"Where were you?" her dad asked as he lounged on the couch.

"Well, since Gin's stuck at the Gotei I'm taking care of his place until he gets back. Mainly it's just feeding Shinsō and cleaning her tank," she shrugged and set some tea to brew. "And let's not fight, please." She set the tea pot on the coffee table in front of the couch and sat beside her father.

He nodded, "I'm sorry but –"

"Don't start, we both know what the other will say," she looked at him firmly, "Let's not repeat it. Anyway, how is the First Division?"

"Running smoothly," he nodded. "How's school?"

She sighed, "Confusing. We got new material in BioChem today and I'm really confused. I even stayed after school to get help from Takahashi-sensei but it's just not clicking."

"And Gin can't help you since he's stuck at the Gotei?"

"I can't learn over the phone; we tried – it doesn't work," she muttered into her tea. They ended up straying from the topics of school and work and just talked about whatever came to mind.

"I'm thinking of planting some new flowers in the garden," Shunsui said, "Maybe you'd like to help place them?"

Sakura smiled, "You know how I love to play in the dirt. Gin's planning on changing up the division three gardens a little too – they're pretty much all persimmon trees, but he wants to put some flowers in. So I get to help with two gardens this year!"

"You two are pretty close aren't you?" the man sighed, looking at his daughter with fatherly concern.

She nodded, "Yes. He's a really nice guy daddy, he really is. He just likes to intimidate people, but when you get to see the side of Gin that I've gotten to know, the grin is less mocking and his smiles are genuine. He's a easy read after a while."

"You have always been good at reading people my little cherry blossom," he smiled. "I just don't want you getting hurt."

"I love you too daddy," she smiled at slid into his embrace. "I'll always be your little girl."

Shunsui just smiled down at his daughter and kissed her forehead, "I know sweetie, I know."


	17. Chapter 17

Gin had been able to get the evening off when Sakura got there and surprised her by stopping by her room after she had showed up.

"Hey," he greeted, "Can I come in?"

Sakura nodded and hugged him before she could help herself, "I've missed you."

He chuckled and hugged her back, shutting the door with his foot, "I've missed ya too. How've ya been?"

"Not as stressed as you probably are, but still stressed," she said still hugging him. "But I brought my homework, the work you've missed and some really cool gardening magazines."

"Good," he said and let go of her, she did the same. "I have the evenin' off," he smiled, "So, unless ya got plans, ya wanna go out ta dinner with me?"

She thought for a moment, "That sounds nice. I'd love to."

Gin nodded, "There's a nice place over near the bay that's good."

"I'm game," she shrugged. "What's the dress code?"

He thought for a moment, "Something nice but not overly formal, ya know?"

She nodded, "Give me a few minutes to get changed?"

"Sure; oh, did ya bring Shinsō with ya?"

"Uh-huh, she's in her somewhere," she said and glanced around the room. "Shinsō look who's here!" The snake quickly emerged from the bathroom and curled up around Gin's leg. Sakura quickly found the outfit she wanted, changed and applied makeup. "Think this is good?"

Gin looked up and even had his eyes open. He nodded and smiled before patting Shinsō on the head. "Now ya behave while we're gone – and ya stayin' in here so ya don't cause any trouble, unless ya got a problem with that Sakura?"

"No, no problem, she can keep company with Ryu – they seem to get along pretty well," she smiled. "I'm ready to go when you are."

"Not tellin' ya dad?" he asked and pulled his car keys from his pocket.

"Oh don't worry, I'll tell him once we've left – it'll take longer for gramps to find out," she laughed.

Gin chuckled and closed his eyes, "Well, let's go."

"Are things calming down in your division yet?" Sakura asked Gin as she picked up a piece of sushi.

"The newest fiasco's almost over, but there's always gonna be more trouble ta deal with," he sighed. "An' I got that clearance for ya; think ya can stop by tomorrow?"

She smiled, "I'll see what I can do."

He looked at her from over the edge of his tea cup, "Whatcha mean? Could've sworn ya told me ya were free this weekend."

She laughed, "Knowing my grandfather I'm probably going to have to sweet talk my way out of trouble. You know how he feels about…well – whatever _this_ is…" she motioned between them, "I would be very surprised is he raises no less than five kinds of hell for just this." She shrugged.

"Ah," he nodded, "I understand."

She smiled at him and selected another piece of sushi, "So, while we're here let's talk about other stuff ne?"

"How's Ryu?" Gin asked as he picked a piece too.

"He's good," she replied after chewing and swallowing her fish and rice. "He's been behaving much better – it's slightly scary. I'm surprised too – he and Shinsō just hit it off, they are getting along so well. I swear if it weren't the fact that she's a snake and he's a cat, I'd think they have something going on – if you catch my drift…"

He chuckled, "Really?"

She nodded, "Yep, they were curled up on the couch this morning – I think they were sleep cuddling. I was able to get a picture before they woke up." She dug in her purse, pulled out her phone and showed the picture to Gin.

"That's cute," he grinned. "She's never taken ta anyone the way she's taken ta ya; makes sense she falls in love with ya cat."

Sakura blushed at the compliment hidden in there and asked, "How long have you had her?"

He thought for a moment as he handed her phone back to her, "I got her the same year I entered Shin'ō academy, then I was lieutenant for two years under Aizen an' this is my second year as captain, so five years."

"Oh, speaking of Shin'ō," she grinned and dove back into her purse. "I haven't shown this to anyone else yet but it came in the mail this morning. So you're the first to know; well – I'm sure gramps knows about it but he doesn't really count so…" She handed Gin a piece of paper.

He looked it over and looked up at her, a genuine smile on his face. "A six-year course completed in less than three years; that's impressive, very impressive Sakura. When do ya start workin' with us?"

"I'm probably going to be assigned to the first division as soon as this becomes public…" she sighed and picked at her food.

He handed the paper back to her, "An' ya don't want ta work in that division?"

"Not really," she muttered as she moved her rice around her plate with her chopsticks. "I mean, it's a nice division and all but I just…the responsibility of the First Division is keeping the other twelve divisions in check and maintaining the security of Gotei 13 Industries…that's not me – it's not what I want to do with my life."

Gin wrapped a hand around one of hers, "Do ya even _want _ta work at the Gotei?"

"I don't know…I've never been given a chance to decide. I _guess_ I do…"

"But ya ain't sure?" he prompted.

"Like I said…" she sighed and looked him in the eye, well as best she could because his eyes were still slitted. "Have you ever wondered _why_ they call me the Gotei princess? It's not just because I'm Yamamoto's adopted granddaughter and my father's daughter– I mean yeah that's a _huge_ part of it but still. I've been raised by the Gotei, I've been groomed – even before I was born gramps was telling little fetus-rat me about life in the Gotei. It sucks – I'm lucky to be going to public school and I seriously thought I was going to be forbidden to get my own place…" She rubbed her forehead, "Oh Kami I'm rambling…I'm sorry…"

Gin chuckled, "That's quite alright; sounds like ya need ta."

"Yeah…it's just that no one's ever asked me what I thought or wanted before – and by no one I mean _no one_."

Gin tightened his grip slightly and picked up his last piece of sushi, "Well, I'm glad I asked."

"So am I," Sakura whispered and gave him a shy smile before returning to her food as well.

The couple got back to the Gotei buildings a little before midnight and Gin walked Sakura to her room.

"I had a lot of fun tonight," Sakura turned to her "date" and smiled.

Gin looked around before turning back to her and opening his eyes and smiling, "Me too. I'm glad ya enjoyed it. If ya don't get inta too much trouble, I'd like ta do this again."

"Me too, and don't worry," she giggled, "I may get in trouble, but since has that stopped me from going out?"

"Do I want ta know?" he mused.

"Not really, but I'm sure you'll hear about my adventures sooner or later," she laughed quietly. "Either way…" she sighed. "It was fun."

He nodded, "We should be going now – early day tomorrow an' all."

Sakura nodded in agreement before hesitantly tip-toeing and placing a kiss on his cheek.

He just smirked, "Ya don't think I'm lettin' ya go like that, now are ya?" She wasn't able to say anything as he wrapped a hand around the back of her neck and placed the other one on her lower back to pull her into him. His lips slanted over hers gently yet with a possessive fierceness she'd never experienced before. She blushed as she discovered how much she liked his kisses and how glad she was that no one was there to interrupt them this time. She returned his kiss with just as much passion and didn't hesitate when he ran his tongue across her lips. He was slow and deliberate in his quest to map out her mouth and she had trouble staying on her feet as she melted in his arms. He pulled away but not quite far enough to break that thin string of saliva still connecting them.

He chuckled and then whispered in her ear, "Good night my cherry blossom – I'll see you in the morning." He gave the shell of her ear a quick lick before turning around and disappearing into the darkness.

"Goodnight Gin," she said softly, "Sleep well." Sakura turned and went into her room to change into something that didn't feel so tight and constricting. She lay on her bed in a short nightgown, doubting she was going to get much, if any sleep that night.


	18. Chapter 18

Sakura didn't see Gin at breakfast the next morning, but she did see Kira, who told her – very discreetly – that she was welcome to stop by when she could but to let Gin know she was on her way. She nodded, thanked him and went back to eating her breakfast and bantering with her friends. After she was done eating she asked her grandfather if she could be excused and surprised when he did it without telling her to come see him later to talk. She made her way back to her room and fired off a text to Gin, asking him if he was busy. His reply text read: _meeting txt u ltr_

"No surprise," she sighed as she flopped back on her bed, scaring her fluffy anti-social scared-of-her-own-shadow cat and disgruntling her fat, lazy cat. "Come here you fatty," she giggled as she picked him up and cuddled him. "You're warm...and no, I don't care that you don't like this."

After a few minutes of cuddling her feline her phoned chirped and she checked it:

_Out of the meeting. Free?_

She replied: _Yeah. Meet you at the lab?_

_Sure. Need directions?_

_Nah. Ran errands to your division before – I know the way. Otherwise, I'll ask for directions. I'm a girl, I can do that lol_

_Whatever you say my blossom ;)_

_Haha – be right over_

She grabbed her lint roller to get rid of the cat fur and then pulled out a light sweatshirt and threw it on before leaving, pushing Ryu out of the way with her foot. "I'm going out on business – I don't need you to shed on _every_ article of clothing I have or blocking the door." He just meowed at her. "Shut up you fucking ingrate." She gave him another light shove before walking out of her and locking the door behind her before leaning against it. "Stupid furball, I feed him and clean his litter box and pay for his vet shots and all this other shit and this is what I get…there's no doubt in my mind – he's a cat." Then she remembered what _exactly _had happened here last night…she was almost standing on the same exact spot…

"No, no, no – you're on a mission – stop being silly," she hit herself on the side of her head repeatedly. "Baka, baka, baka, _baka_!" She shook her head and trudged over to the Third Division, trying to keep her mind off of…whatever that _encounter_ with Gin she had last night was called.

Gin met her at the labs which she had found easily after she got into the division barracks – apparently Gin had told them she was coming and to let her in.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Hey," he grinned and motioned for her to go in the elevator. She stepped in and he followed her. "How much trouble are ya in?"

"That's the scary thing," she explained as he hit the up button. "I haven't gotten yelled at or told to go see him later."

"Think he knows?" he asked as he stepped out the elevator.

"He _has_ to," she huffed, "I've never slid much of anything past him before. Now would be a very strange time to start. Hell, he probably knew where we were the whole time and had someone tail us to see what we were up to."

"He never called either of us," Gin shrugged.

"He doesn't work that way," Sakura shook her head. "So, anyway. What is this?"

"The control room," the third division taichou explained, "It's elevated so if there's a spill we can get ta it without havin' ta worry about the poison. See the ladders? They stretch from floor ta ceiling so the workers can jump on them, climb up, an' leave more room for everyone ta keep 'em safe. Ya can see everythin' from up here."

"That's clever," she nodded in understanding. "So – let's see…" She walked around the room before noticing something odd and asked Gin, "Only two exits?"

"We're plannin' ta get three more in by the end of the year," he nodded. "Ya see the cement? That's the grey stuff that doesn't blend in with the white walls. What they do is cut the hole, patch it, do all the wirin' an' then take out the patch ta put in the door. One of 'em is patched; the other two are just sketched out on the walls."

"I see," she looked around some more. "So what's the wiring for?"

"Security an' clock-in keypads," he shrugged. "The wirin' is simple but extensive."

"Okay, how often do you cycle PINs and do all of your workers use the same ones?"

"Once a month an' yeah, they do," he nodded.

"Same time of month?" She sighed when he nodded again. "Well, there's a problem. How many PINs do you have?"

"Five," he told her.

"Okay, I've got a few ideas," she said as she sat down on the floor, "And now I am hiding from potential lip-readers and spies. First, another question – have you ever suspected any leaks?"

"Yeah, always. An' the windows are actually one-way mirrors."

"I'm playing it safe, and it's kinda comfy down here. Alright, well first things first, I have to say this – you're pretty damn stupid for a genius."

"Which is why you're here," he chuckled.

She rolled her eyes and said, "First what you should do – and these are just suggestions – is cycle your passwords more often and change up when you schedule those changes. Be unpredictable. Second, come up with new PINs. Third – and this _really_ is a suggestion 'cause I know how much of a pain it would be to do – give each worker a different PIN."

"I have seventy workers workin' at a time," Gin said and leaned against the wall. "That would be really difficult, but a wonderful security measure."

"How many shifts do you have in a day and are they the same workers each day of the week?" she looked up at him.

"Four shifts a day, same workers every day."

"Alright," she sighed, "If you like the third option there's a few options. Want to hear them?"

Gin walked over and peered out of one of the one-way mirror-windows next to her, "I'm all ears."

"Come up with seventy PINs; assign each member a different PIN for each shift. Get them to keep those PINs a secret. Once you've done that – scrap the old PINs and set the security system to reject them and alert you. If one of those PINs is compromised, find those four people and change just their PINs – each of them has a different PIN now. One of those gets compromised and boom – you've got your leak."

"How would I get 'em ta keep it a secret?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, "Threaten to fire them if they tell? Do whatever works without compromising Gotei 13 rules and regulations."

He looked intrigued by this idea, "I like that. Think ya help me with those PINs?"

"Maybe," she smiled. "Maybe. How many numbers are in a PIN?"

"Six," he looked at her curiously.

She did the math in her head, "So there's…like over 5000 possibilities. Perfect – we only need 74."

"How did ya…?"

"It's a quirk," she laughed and stood up. "Perfect. Oh and another idea? Find something you _know_ you can trust to tell you whenever our 'friend' stops by."

"Consider it done," he nodded and smiled. "Ya know – ya gonna be a _great_ captain one day, Sakura."

"Thanks Gin," she blushed. "That's means a lot."

He pressed a kiss to her cheek before stepping back into the elevator and seeing her out of the lab. "I'll see ya later blossom," he told her and waved as she left.

She waved back, her cheek still tingling from his chaste kiss.


	19. Chapter 19

She sat down to dinner with her father and grandfather. As they ate a silence fell over the table until her grandfather asked.

"Did you have fun on your date last night, Sakura?"

She looked up at him, puzzled, "Yes – it was very nice."

Her father looked over at her, "Mind telling me who you went on a date with? I thought we agreed that I was to meet the boy before he took you out?"

"A) It was so short noticed that I didn't even think about that, and b) you already know him. I went out with Gin," she sighed before sipping her tea. "And I had a very nice time – it's refreshing to know some people genuinely care." She didn't mean for that last bit to slip out but had no time to delay the impending shit-storm.

"We care! You know we care." he dad sputtered.

Her grandfather gave her a stern look and chided, "That's no way to speak to your family. What makes you say this young lady?"

She looked at them with frustration, "Has anyone ever asked me what _I _want to do with my life? Has anyone asked me what _my_ dreams and ambitions are?"

"Don't you want to work at the Gotei?" her father looked a little confused.

"I don't _know_ because you've never given me a _choice_! All I've ever _known_ is the Gotei so I guess I'll work here too! And don't you _start_ on how to treat my family and how working at the Gotei is an honor! I've had enough of you _running_ my life – I want to make my _own_ decisions every now and then! And not just on what I'm wearing and whether or not to brush the cat! If I screw up then _I _screw up – not you! If you'll excuse me…" She stormed off from the table, her dinner barely eaten, and tears of frustration streaming down her face.

She slammed her door shut and flew onto her bed to grab and pillow and cry into it – except for the pillow turned out to be a cat. She grabbed an actual pillow and just sobbed. There was a knock on her door.

"Go away," she groaned loudly, barely lifting her head from her pillow. "Just go away."

"Sakura, can I come in?" It was her father.

"Leave me alone," she called back.

"Sakura, please?" he begged, "Can't we just talk?"

"I have nothing to say to you!" she snapped. "Go away!"

She heard a muffled but polite "excuse me" from the other side of the door. She looked up as the door opened and Gin walked in. He didn't bother to shut it as her father trailed in behind him – but the older man kept a fair distance and didn't stray too far from the door.

"I overheard some of the floaters talkin' bout ya an' a disturbance at dinner," Gin explained as he sat on the edge of the bed. "I don't have ta be a genius ta put two an' two together; thought I'd better check up on ya." He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into him. "What happened?"

She wearily and tearfully muttered what had happened with her father and grandfather at dinner. Her father just stood by the doorway, stunned. He wasn't the least bit comfortable about this creepy young man being allowed to just waltz into his daughter's bedroom whenever the boy pleased.

"It's okay," Gin told her. "Ya gonna be fine; everythin' is gonna be alright."

"Thanks Gin," she smiled weakly.

"No need ta thank me blossom," he chuckled. "I'm just keepin' ya feet on the ground."

She giggled, "Then consider me grounded."

"Good," he smiled and traced the scar on her left palm before twining their left hands together and making their scars "kiss". Sakura cuddled into his side and he just smiled before tucking her head under his chin.

"Speaking of grounded, you and I are going to have a talk about this – but it can wait 'til tomorrow," her father said sternly before leaving the room.

Sakura just sighed and then rudely mimicked her father before flipping up her middle finger in his generally estimated direction.

Gin laughed at this and said, "Are you always like this when you're upset?"

She giggled, "Pretty much. Either that or I'm biting heads off but I'm not royally pissed so heads aren't going to roll yet."

"Ya pretty scary," he grinned.

"Remember who I generally hang out with – I _have_ to be scary. I'm one of the scariest social butterflies you'll ever meet. I've got pretty wings of steel," she laughed.

"Must be hard ta fly then," he whispered.

She looked away from him for a moment, "Yeah. Luckily I have lots of friends to help me up when I fall…well, at least when they know I fall."

Gin kissed her forehead, "Add me ta the list love. I'll be here for ya."

She looked back at him, "Thanks Gin." She paused a moment before asking, "What time is it?"

"Just a little before six," he said after he checked his watch. "Why?" he asked as she got up and bounced over to her closet.

"I'm getting grounded tomorrow, right?" she looked over her shoulder at him.

"At least, that's what ya father seemed ta imply," he said confusedly.

"Well, he means it. So he said he'll talk to me _tomorrow_, I'm going to have these next few hours," she grinned mischievously. "I'm gonna call Ran – I'm pretty sure she's off tonight, and probably the boys too. You wanna come with?"

"Sounds like I'd better," he chuckled. "Where ya headed?"

"The local haunt _Starry's_. It's a dance club…I'll just say we're _pretty_ well known there by now." She giggled as she pulled out her phone and called up her friend. Gin just watched her as she chatted up her friend and sorted through the clothes in her closet. "Alright, now let me call…well, I'll text them first to make sure they're not screwing so…" She hummed as she typed in her message and fired them off.

"So Ran's free?" he asked.

She looked over at him, "Yeah – she's down for partying and…" she looked at her phone when it chirped. "…So are Renji and Ichigo. An' Ran wants to brings some friends…why the hell not?"

"Big crowd?" he peered over her shoulder.

"Probably will be, but whatever – I'm probably just gonna hang out with you and maybe some of the others." She shrugged, "Unless you wanna back out?"

"It's fine," he smiled. "I'll go see what's hidden in my closet."

"Button down and slacks are perfectly fine there. It's a casual classy establishment."

He laughed, "I'll see what I got." He stared at her for a moment before leaning in and giving her a quick kiss. "Pick you up at half past?"

"I'd say give or take but it'll probably be give," she giggled. "It takes me a while to get dressed and put my face on."

"Face?" he asked.

"My makeup, Ran calls it my 'face' so…it kinda stuck," she blushed. "So if I ever holler at you and tell you 'I'm putting my face on', I'm doing my makeup."

He laughed, "I'll make sure ta remember that."

"Well, Ran's coming over so – shoo, you need to get changed and so do I. Out," she ushered him out of the room. Before he left he gave her another kiss, but this one was more like the one from last night minus tongue.

"See ya soon love," he winked before leaving.

"See you Gin," she blushed and blew him a kiss before waving and retreating into her room to get changed. "Alright, time to get my game on." She smirked before going to the closet and pulling out one of her secret weapons. "Ran's gonna be proud as fuck," she grinned.

Gin picked Sakura up at about a quarter to seven and was surprised when she was wearing a bright red pea coat.

"I know it's late fall but it ain't _that_ cold out," he commented.

"I'd be freezing outside without it, and besides I'd rather not get arrested for suspected prostitution," she giggled. He raised an eyebrow but before he could ask, she winked and said: "You'll see."

She shed her coat as soon as she stepped in the door but sped off before Gin could get a glimpse of her outfit. Next time he saw her she was chatting with her guy friends, but Renji made a better door than a window. Once he lost track of her again he decided to get a drink at the bar.

"Boo," said whispered as she came up behind him. "Miss me?"

He raised an eyebrow, "If I didn't know better, I'd think ya were avoidin' me."

She giggled and hopped up on the stool next to him, "Sorry, I have a nasty habit of running off when I step in the club…" She blushed and rested her hand on top of his. "You order anything yet?"

He shook his head, "Was just about ta. Why?"

"Well…this _is_ a dance club – and I love this song…" she said coyly.

"Come on," he grinned and took her hand in his before going to the dance floor.

He was caught off guard when she immediately started dancing but quickly pulled her into him before she spun off into the middle of the crowd.

"Ya ain't getting' away from me that easily – haven't ya realized that by now Sakura?" he teased before twirling her around and pulling her flush against him.

"I guess I haven't learned that yet," she grinned mischievously as she hooked a hand around the back of his neck and trailed the other down his chest. "Teach me?"

He laughed before pulling her in for a deep kiss, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and his other hand pressing against her lower back. They broke rather quickly but there was no hesitation as Sakura quickly started swaying her hips and Gin moved with her with ease.

Renji found Ichigo at the bar and pointed the couple out. "Do you think there's something else going on there than 'study buddies'?"

Ichigo turned and sipped at his while he watched his best friend and the third division captain getting pretty steamy on the dance floor, "I know she likes to dance dirty with pretty much anyone she considers a friend…but that…it does seem a little different…"

Rangiku bounced over and Renji asked her opinion. "So what if there is something going on with them? Okay, yeah, Gin's a little shady but Sakura's always been a good judge of character."

"Yeah, that's why Aizen gives her the creeps; she hates him almost as much as she hates that underground kid…what was his name?" Renji scoffed.

"I think it was Luppi," Ichigo said, "The name sure fits him – he's crazier than Mayuri."

The trio laughed at this. Rangiku sighed and ordered a glass of fruit juice, "So, do you seriously think there's something going on with those two?"

Ichigo shrugged, "There's something different about her when he's around – she's…relaxed? I don't know, but she's definitely different around him."

"I don't like it," Renji sneered, "He's too shady."

"Gin's not a bad guy Renji," Rangiku glared at him. "He's been through some difficult shit and made a few bad decisions but that _doesn't_ make him a bad guy."

"I still don't like it," he muttered before draining his water. He turned to his boyfriend, "C'mon love, let's go dance."

"Sounds like fun," Ichigo agreed and finished his drink as well. "See you around Ran!"

Matsumoto Rangiku sat alone at her bar, debating what her friends had just said. It was obvious that there was something going on between Gin and Sakura – that much was clear. She sighed and ordered another drink. She had loved Gin ever since they were kids on the street, but she knew he loved her – it just wasn't the type of reciprocated love she desired. She still loved Gin even though she was with Toshiro – but some things just weren't meant to be, she and Gin weren't one of them. She put on a happy mask when she saw the couple walk over.

"Hey Ran," Sakura grinned, "I haven't see you all night! Having fun?"

Rangiku laughed, "Yeah. Accompany me to the ladies' room?"

"Of course," she hugged Ran and then turned to Gin. "I'll be back. Don't get lost."

"I'm more worried about ya two gettin' lost," he chuckled. "Go on. I'll be here."

She smiled and took Ran's hand and they went off to the ladies' room. Once the door shut and she was sure that they were the only two in there, Sakura confronted her best female friend, "Alright Rangiku, spill – why the mask?"

The older woman sighed and leaned against the wall, "What's going on between you and Gin? Renji's right – you _are _different around him."

It was Sakura's turn the sigh, "I honestly don't know…but whatever it is, it's pretty fucking amazing…" She looked over and recognized the pain on her friend's face. "Ran, I know you love him – and he loves you too, just…you know this already, that much is fucking obvious…just, please Ran – whatever ends up happening, let's not lose a friendship over a guy? Please?"

"We've already promised each other that before," the blonde laughed weakly. "It just hurts…"

"Aren't you happy with Toshiro? Are you two fighting again?"

The vice-captain looked up, "No…no, we're not fighting, it's just…I mean, yeah I'm happy with Toshiro – but you know you never truly stop loving the person you first gave your heart to. Gin still has a piece of me, and I think I have a little piece of him."

"I know, trust me – I know," Sakura smiled grimly. She reached for the door to leave but Ran grabbed her wrist.

"Sakura, tell me. Do you love him?" she pleaded.

The girl looked at the ground for a moment, "I…I think so, yes."

"You know if anything _does _happen – you can always tell me. Whether it's you need a morning after pill or a shoulder to cry on – I'll be there."

Sakura smiled, "I know. Thank you Ran – and you got the same deal here." They smiled at each other and then Sakura said right after leaving the bathroom, "Figures, _now_ I actually have to go…excuse me…" and then disappeared into the bathroom when she saw one of the last two people she wanted to see sitting at the bar.


	20. Chapter 20

His hands traveled to the back of her dress as he dipped her head lower only to pull away and ask, "Where the hell is the zipper for this thing?"

"It's on the side," she said and motioned. "It likes to catch so be careful."

His hand trailed up her side and found the zipper, "Got it." He was slow and deliberate about unzipping the dress but wasted no time in unhooking her bra as soon as it presented itself. He let the article of clothing fall to the floor and kicked it out of the way. He dipped his head down and trailed his tongue from the top of her breast to the bottom, making sure to _just_ miss her hardening nipple. At her whimpered urges and the tugging of her hand in his hair, he wrapped his mouth around the rosy bud and rolled its twin between two fingers, pinching and tweaking, biting and licking. He switched nipples, making sure each got the same attention. Once he was satisfied with his work he lifted his lips back to hers and kissed her hard. Her nimble fingers fiddled with the buttons on his shirt and, with a little help from Gin, managed to get rid of the material. She let it fall to floor nearby, but not so close to fall into one of the candles. Wait…candles?

She took a moment to look around her, "Nice room."

"Don't worry, ya can look around in the mornin'," he grinned. "Just don't catch anythin' on fire."

"Is my body on the list? If it is – the damage is already done," she said in a sultry voice.

He laughed softly, "Well, is now a good time ta tell ya that I'm just gettin' started?"

"Just don't stop," she whispered as he resumed exploring her body with his mouth and hands. The dress finally fell off of her body and to the floor. Gin picked her up bridal style and gently tossed her on the bed. She sat up and undid her heels just to throw them on the floor away from the bed. Gin took the edge of her panties between his teeth but not before licking her clit through them. He pulled them off slowly with only a little help on her part. He tossed them on the floor and went back to kissing her.

He sucked on her neck and bit her sweet spot before telling her huskily, "Ya skin tastes amazin' Sakura. I wonder how amazin' the rest of ya tastes like…" With that he slid a finger in between her slick folds, his thumb rubbing that sensitive little nub. She gasped loudly and spread her legs a little farther apart.

"Oh…oh Gin…" she panted, "That feels…so… so _good_…"

He chuckled and lowered his head, licking and sucking her clit, while adding another finger into her. He scissored her and moved his fingers faster when she pushed her hips against his hand. He used his other hand to keep her hips down as he removed his fingers and licked them clean. He groaned, "All of ya tastes amazin' love…wanna try?"

She looked up at him, nodded weakly and opened her mouth. He kissed her, their tongues dancing and she could taste herself on his tongue. He broke off and lowered his mouth to her nether regions and gave her a sly wink before licking her up and down and thrusting his tongue into her. One of his hand hands held down her hips and the other toyed with a breast. Her moans increased as felt the heat inside her coil up tighter and tighter. He felt her walls begin to flutter and wasn't surprised when she came sooner than most girls he'd slept with - none of them had been virgins. He swallowed her juices greedily and licked her thighs and core clean.

He rested beside her as she just lay there, slowly coming down from the high. He chuckled and kissed her neck, marking her some more. He drew lazy circles on her stomach - he would be patient. Yes, he wanted nothing more than to be inside of her and make the bed rock, but this was all new for her - he would take it at her pace. She looked over at him with still-glazed eyes and smiled softly, a blush strong on her features.

"Feel good?" he whispered and stroked her hair.

"Mmhm," she hummed and kissed him. "Please Gin...I need you..."

He smiled and nodded, "Don't worry love - I'll be gentle."

"I know," she smiled back. "I trust you."

Gin dipped his head down and played with her breasts and clit all over again, making no notion to take his pants off just quite yet. Once she was bucking her hips again he moved to undo his belt. Sakura sat up and kissed him as they both fought with the button and zipper. Gin stood up and pulled them and his boxers off. He sat on the edge of the bed and looked through the drawer of his nightstand. "I know I have one in here..." he muttered as he searched for a condom. Sakura sat on her knees behind him, straddling his back. She planted kisses on his neck and back as he continued his search. He groaned and leaned his head back when she kissed a particularly sensitive spot on his spine. He finally found the condom and tore the wrapper open with his teeth as Sakura continued kissing his body. Once he put it on, Gin reached back and poked her sides - she squeaked and fell back. He just laughed and crawled on top of her once she had rearranged herself.

"Are ya sure 'bout this?" he asked for the final time.

She nodded and blinked slowly, "Yes. Please Gin..."

He nodded and licked the tips of his first two fingers and rubbed her clit again. After he felt she was wet enough, he parted her lips with his fingers and placed the head at her entrance. He placed his hands above her shoulders to hold himself up. "Alright...do ya want me ta ease it or do ya want ta just get it over with? It's gonna hurt - ya know that. It's either bits of gradual pain over time or a hella lot in just one shot..."

She sighed and thought for a moment. She looked him in the eyes and he recognized the fear in them. "Just get it over with," she said with a fearful determination.

He nodded again and kissed her cheek, "Twist ya hands in the sheets - it'll be easier on 'em." He buried his nose into the little space beside her neck, lowering his body closer to hers. "Ya can bite my shoulder - I don't care if ya draw blood." She hesitated and he noticed. "Or we can stop - I understand if ya ain't ready for this yet." She caught him off guard when she took the space between his neck and shoulder between her teeth and thrust her hips against him. He responded likewise and was surprised at just how hard she could bite. Her choked and muffled scream quickly turned to whimpers and tears. He planted soft kisses all over her face and neck. He kissed the same place that she had bit him and asked, "What's this called?"

She looked over at him, brows furrowed, "Huh?"

"What's this called? We learned it in class," he told her. "I'm trying to distract you."

"Oh," she nodded as she gritted her teeth. "Shit...what is it called?" Lemme think..." She whimpered some more as he started moving, trying to help get her accustomed to and alleviate the pain.

"Think how gymnasts have nice shoulders," he panted. "Kami ya tight..."

She tossed her head to the side as a fresh wave of pain shot through her, "I know this...um...let's see," she grimaced. "Gymnast, um...balance...no...um...rings...no...poles?"

"Not exactly," he huffed as he slid almost all the way out and slowly slid back in.

"Um...oh - trapeze...um...trape..." she gripped the sheets tighter, but soon found the pain to be lessening.

"A lion and a hippopotamus had a baby..." he prompted as he propped himself up on his elbows.

"Lizbra? Oh! Trapezius!" she laughed lightly despite the pain.

He smiled and nodded, "Alright. How are ya feelin'?"

"It doesn't hurt as bad," she breathed. "Try moving some more."

He nodded and started with gently thrusts, "How about now?" Her moan quickly answered his question. He sped up when she asked but slowed down just before she would come. "Don't want ya cumming too soon love." He winked as she just rolled her eyes at him but they soon rolled to the back of her head when he started moving again. He took hours to please her and when he finally let her come (he was only a thrust or two behind) she saw galaxies and nearly passed out from the sensation. Once her breathing had become somewhat normal, he ushered her into the bathroom to clean up. He stretched and changed the sheets. When she got back from the bathroom, he noticed that she hadn't bothered putting her pajamas on.

"What?" he teased, "No clothes?"

She rolled her eyes and yawned, "I'm too tired to deal with clothes right now."

He laughed and crawled into bed, she joined him quickly for a sleepy person. He pulled the blanket over both of them and took her into his arms. "Good night Sakura," he whispered and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Good night Gin," she muttered and promptly fell asleep. Gin smiled and discovered that, yet again, he wasn't too far behind.


	21. Chapter 21

"Well, this will be interesting," Sakura said. "I hope Renji and Ichigo get home soon, it's almost four…"

"I don't really think it matters now, does it?" Gin laughed. "Though I really don't think that they will be home _quite_ yet..."

She laughed with him as she checked her phone, "They should have left already…" They cuddled on the couch, his arm around her shoulders. She had the remote one hand and was looking through the TV channels. "There isn't much on today…of course. Is there anything you want to watch?"

"Not really," he shrugged. "Unless ya wanna put in a movie?"

She shrugged too, "Up to you. I don't know what you have, but you've seen my collection so if you want to browse…"

"I might take you up on that offer," he smiled. "I don't have many movies and I don't watch TV much."

"Don't worry," she laughed. "I think I have _more_ than enough movies for the both of us."

He laughed too, "Very true. How 'bout we just head over ta ya apartment an' watch somethin' there? Ya got all the equipment."

"Sure," she chirped and gently tossed the remote on the coffee table before getting up and trotting over to her apartment. "Anything you want to watch?"

"What ya got?" he asked.

"Pull up a patch of carpet and we can look," she laughed as she sat down in front of the open cupboard. They browsed and settled on a one of her favorite Disney movies but when she went to grab it, Gin grabbed her instead.

"But I'd rather keep my eyes on ya than any movie," he whispered as he gently pushed her back onto the carpeted floor and held her wrists gently in one hand, putting them above her head. He kissed her a little roughly, but it still had that loving passion she had gotten to know the night before. His lips trailed down her jaw bone and he left light kisses on her neck. By the time he reached her collarbone she was breathless, and then the phone rang.

"Gin," she giggled as he kissed a ticklish spot. "I need to answer that…"

"Mm, no ya don't," he told her.

"Gin – that could be my dad," she said and turned her head as he tried to kiss her again. "Or Renji or Ichigo."

He grew visibly annoyed as she avoided him again and sighed, "Fine. But not without a kiss."

She smiled and gave him a quick kiss before he let her go and she snatched the phone, "Hello?"

"Sakura; it's Renji. We just got home," her friend yawned. "Come get your freaking furballs and tell Gin his snake's down here. And we were ordered to bring some others here too – they're on their way up."

"Who is it?" she asked nervously.

"Who do you think? He doesn't leave the Gotei often Sakura, whatever you did now – he's fucking _pissed_."

"Shit," she cursed loudly. "I'll be down in two. Thanks for the warning."

"What is it blossom?" Gin asked as he stood up, the movie in his hand.

"Dad and gramps are on their way up…" she groaned. "Renji and Ichi have my cats and Shinsō – let's go."

He nodded and followed her, "So Yamamoto's here, on a Sunday with work tomorrow?"

"He's pissed," she sighed. "I didn't realize that it would come to this…" She looked up at her lover, "Gin…whatever's happens…I'm sorry…I just wish they could see you like I can."

He cradled her face in his hand and pulled her into a hug, "It'll be okay. No matter what, they can't tear us apart – I won't let it happen; ya too amazin' ta let ya slip away from me. I can't lose ya Sakura…" He pulled back and his bright blue eyes bore into her orange ones, "I love ya – an' ain't nobody gonna change that."

She smiled, tears forming in her eyes, "I love you too Gin. I'm not letting you go either."

He smiled and took her hand in his and walked with her downstairs, past her father and grandfather and into the parking lot. Sakura hugged Renji and Ichigo and took Ryu's cage from the strawberry.

"Thanks guys," she smiled. Renji had the fat cat and Ichigo told Sakura that he'd carry the fluffy one for her. Gin smiled when he pulled Shinsō's cage out of the car and let her out. The white snake happily curled up around his shoulder's and hissed happily when he petted her. She stretched and rubbed her head against Sakura's cheek when Gin got close enough.

"Hello girlie," she giggled. "Miss us?"

Renji and Ichigo exchanged glances before turning and walking into the building. Gin and Sakura were on their heels. Sakura let the men into her apartment and sighed when she found her father and grandfather sitting on the couch. She let the cats out in their designated room and putting their carriers away. Timidly, she closed the door behind her and faced Shunsui and Yamamoto.

"Would you like some tea?" she offered.

Her grandfather stared at her coldly, "Not at the moment."

"Would you like some tea father?"

He shook his head, "No thank you Sakura."

I nodded and picked up the movie lying on the coffee table, right where Gin had left it, and went to put it away.

"Why are you putting that away Sakura?" her grandfather said shortly. "Put it in."

Not hiding her surprise she put _Mulan_ into the player and started the movie. She sat uncomfortably between her relatives, cuddling a pillow when she'd much rather be cuddling with Gin. She sighed and leaned her head against her father's shoulder at the end of the movie, when Mulan returns home and speaks to her father about honor.

_The greatest gift and honor is having you for a daughter._

He looked over at her and patted her hand. Once the movie went off Sakura set the DVD back in its case and offered her father and grandfather dinner. They accepted the offer and Sakura went into the kitchen to start cooking, her father soon joined her.

"It's been a long time since we've cooked together," he smiled weakly as he helped her cut the vegetables. "I'm sorry, about the other night."

"I'd say I'm sorry too, but I'm not." She said, perhaps a little harsher than she intended.

He looked hurt but continued chopping away, "We all just assumed that the Gotei is what you wanted to do."

"Well, you assumed – and you know what happens when you assume. It doesn't matter now…it's too late."

"No, Sakura," he cried softly. "It's not – if you don't want to –"

She cut him off, "It is. Even if I did find something else I would like to do, I haven't had the time to train for it or have the skill. All I've known is the Gotei and all I'll _ever_ know is the Gotei. It's as simple as that. Hand me the carrots please?" He sighed and handed her the chopped carrots and continued to help prepare the meal.

After dinner, Yamamoto finally spoke, "Do you wish to work in another division? My plan was to assign you to the first division, but I have requests from two other divisions."

She blinked, processing what he just said, "Requested…which divisions?"

"Third and fourth," he told her.

"You don't expect an answer right now…do you?" she asked hesitantly.

He smiled slightly and shook his head, "No."

She let out a nervous breath, "Good…because I don't have one."

"I understand," he nodded.

Before she could stop herself she snorted and said, "That's a first."

He gave her a disapproving glare, "Sakura."

"Well, it's true!" she snapped. "You've never pretended to understand and don't start now!"

"I'm paying the rent for this apartment young lady," he warned.

"No, you haven't! _I've_ been paying for it. The money you've been sending has been sent back." She stood up and paced around the room, hands in her pockets.

Shunsui looked between Yamamoto and Sakura, "What _I_ would like to know is what's going on between you and that Ichimaru boy."

Sakura sighed and sat on her desk, peering out of the window to avoid eye contact, "I'm not quite sure myself. But he's wonderful."

"Are you seeing him?" her grandfather asked.

"Not at the moment, he's next door," she said without sarcasm, but she had a sly little smile on her face. "But I know what you mean."

"So, what's the answer?"

She huffed and looked over at them, "I told you, I'm not sure of what it is. If _I_ don't know what it is, how can I tell _you_ what it is?"

Her father sighed and stood up. He looked her in the eye and asked her, very seriously, "Are you sleeping with him?"

"No," she replied. "I'm not."

"Let me rephrase that; did you and Ichimaru have sex last night?" he frowned.

She blushed, "What if we did?"

"Sakura," her grandfather growled. "Yes or no?"

She leaned her head back, "Yeah – so what? I mean, I know I sound like a whore and all, but seriously. There's not much you guys can do. I wanted to, and so did he. We used protection and he took good care of me. I don't even hurt that much."

"I blame myself for this…" Shunsui muttered. "You definitely take after me."

"Yes, yes I do," she laughed and then looked at her grandfather. "Look, so Gin and I spent the night together. It's not an absolutely earth-shattering huge deal."

Her father sighed, "Do you love him?"

She nodded, "Yes. I love him."

"How do you know?" Yamamoto frowned.

"You know how I can sense what kind a person someone is? How I see them in colors?" He nodded and she continued, "After all these years, I have never met another _true _gray. Gin is a true gray – but something I've been ignoring about when I saw his color. When I saw him as gray, I also saw just a bit of red – like a little string – right here." She tapped her chest, "Right at the heart."

"The red thread of fate?" her dad wondered aloud. She just shrugged.

"It's the only thing I can think of – and it makes a lot of sense. It has to be. Gin and I were made for each other; I love him and he loves me. That's all there is to it – and no one can change that. Not even you."


	22. Chapter 22

**Sorry it's been so friggin' long guys - between being away, writer's block and other things I'm forced to work on I haven't been able to get anywhere with this one for a while. This is a little short but I'll have more soon - I promise! **

**P.S.: I still own Sakura and Ryu - but that's still all I own...**

* * *

A week later, Sakura was ready to punch someone in the face – well, maybe one or two specific "someones". She'd been put under what anyone else would consider "house arrest". She'd been bogged down with school work and paperwork from the Gotei. During BioChem she was able to talk to Gin, but that was the only time they could talk – Yamamoto had their teachers keeping a _very_ close eye on them.

"Did they swamp you too?" she asked.

"Hai," he nodded and added some more sulfur to their mixture. "That should do it."

She slid the matches over to him. He opened the gas valve after hooking up the hose to the Bunsen burner and picked up their highly flammable and potentially explosive mixture.

"Ah, Sakura grab that, will ya?" he asked when the little bit of glue that was smeared on the bottom of the paper stuck to his finger.

"Sure," she said and tried to be gently about peeling the paper off of his finger, trying not to dump the mixture straight into the fire. She tugged a little too hard and the entire mixture ended up exploding in their faces – effectively setting off the smoke alarms and the sprinkler system. All hell broke loose. Gin and Sakura were the last two out of the room, everyone else was running for the exits. He grabbed her hand and, in the midst of the chaos, snuck into the abandoned part of the school to get a few minutes alone.

By the time they got there, Sakura was doubled over laughing, "That was _brilliant!_"

Gin laughed, "On a scale of one ta ten how pissed do ya think they're gonna be?"

"Well, depends on who '_they'_ are…" she smiled. "The principal, probably a ten, father an eleven, and gramps is fast approaching infinity as everyone else slowly approaches negative ten."

He pulled her into a hug, "That sounds 'bout right."

Her giggle fit slowly ceased and she soon sighed, "What now?"

He looked down at her and shrugged slightly, "Dunno. I'm just happy ta be with ya, if only for a few minutes."

She smiled, "Me too." He chuckled before kissing her softly and thoroughly. She tangled her fingers in his hair and curled one hand around the back of his neck. He pushed her up against the wall, her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist.

He pulled back for air and said, "As much as I'd love ta take ya right here an' now…they'll be lookin' for us soon."

"Who cares? They won't be here for ten minutes at the very least," she smirked.

He grinned, "Ya sure 'bout that?"

"Or we could go explore…" she shrugged. "That is probably _slightly_ more sanitary and safer than becoming one of those horny couples that can't get enough of each other."

He chuckled, "That's very true – an' it's easier ta explain our way out of."

She giggled and let go of him, "That too."

Gin took a step back and held out his hand, "Where to first?"

"I don't know," she smiled and took his hand. "Wanna go that way?"

He just shrugged and followed where she was pointing, "Sounds good to me."

They walked in silence for a few minutes, just looking around the abandoned hallways and classrooms.

She sighed, "So I'm officially starting work at the Gotei next week…"

"I was beginnin' ta wonder 'bout that," he confessed. "Which division?"

"I decided to join the Fourth," she said with a weak smile. "I think it'd be better to start there – and if I feel I can't perform well there, Unohana-sama told me I could request to be transferred to another division of my choice."

"That's very generous of her," he sounded surprised. "An' very kind."

The brunette nodded, "Yeah; it seems like our relationship is no secret among the captains – not with gramps making sure that we see each other as little as possible. So far, Renji and Ichigo seem pretty oblivious."

"That's a storm waitin' ta happen," the taichou chuckled. "Just warn me when the shit hits the fan, ne?"

Nodding she turned around a corner, dragging him with her, "Of course, Gin." After a moment she admitted, "Honestly, I'm kinda scared to tell them. They are _not _going to take it well…I just don't want to lose them…I've already lost gramps – but that's because I'm not a little girl anymore; and daddy just doesn't get it…he's still depressed over losing mom, even though it was so long ago…"

"It's hard ta see ya dad settlin' down with anyone," Gin admitted.

"Now it is," she agreed. "But he wasn't always like this…you should have seen him with mom – they were so in love. I never understood that until I grew up, those looks they gave each other. I think I understand it now…"

He slowed down to a stop and pulled her into a hug after seeing her start to tear up.

"I miss her too," she whispered. "I miss her every single day."

He didn't miss the waver in her voice, "I know ya do. But ya don't have ta cry; do ya think she'll be happy that ya cryin' over her?"

Sakura sniffed, "No. I guess not…but it's so hard not to."

He heard the voices calling for them before she did, "Looks like it's time ta go sweetheart."

She looked up at him a little confused, "Huh?"

"Listen," he told her.

She listened and then heard them too, "Oh…well then…we should go…"

Gin took Sakura's hand in his and walked toward the voices, already missing their time together. He'd come up with something to get them together again – he _was _a genius after all.


	23. Chapter 23

Rangiku…" Sakura sighed into her phone as she sorted through yet another stack of paperwork. "I've been telling you _all_ week, I can't go out right now – I have paperwork to do, and so do you!"

"Oh c'mon Sakura – we haven't hung out in _ages_! Paperwork schmaperwork! Let's go have fun!" the busty blonde chatted away happily at the other end of the phone.

The newest addition to the fourth division glared at the foot-tall stack of papers in front of her – most of them (about ten or eleven inches out of twelve) were from her grandfather. She pulled another file off of the top and went to work on it, not really paying attention to what her friend was going on about. She filled in her end of the conservation with methodically placed quotes like "uh-huh" and "Really?" and the occasional "Oh, I can't believe that!"

She heard a knock on the door and was about to get up to see who it was when Renji and Ichigo let themselves in. She waved at them and they sat down on the couch beside her.

"Hey Ran," she interrupted her friend. "I gotta go now – okay? Yeah, yeah, I love you too. Buh-bye." She signed the form she had been reading and set it down on the table in another stack of forms – the completed ones. She turned to her next door neighbors, "And what can I do for you boys?"

"You can let us help with your paperwork," Ichigo said and took a small stack of papers off of tall stack.

Renji leaned over and wrapped an arm around her, "Looks like you've been busy. Did Unohana-sama really give you all of this dead tree material?"

Sakura laughed lightly, "No; my grandpa's still a little upset with me."

"Oh?" the red-head raised a tattooed eyebrow. "And what did you do this time?"

"He doesn't like my choice of friends," she shrugged and pulled another file from her stack.

"What else is new?" Ichigo teased and forged Sakura's semi-tidy scrawl with ease. "Who doesn't he like this time?"

"Who do you think?" she snapped.

"He never did like Gin," Renji commented. "It makes me wonder why he hired the creep in the first place."

"Excuse you," she glared at him. "Gin in _not _a creep; he's very nice and understanding. He's a great guy."

"And we aren't?" Ichigo asked, offended.

"I never said that," she gave him a gentle look. "You know I love you guys – you're my best friends!"

Ichigo pulled another file off of the stack and went to work, Renji snatched a file for himself and Sakura grabbed one too.

The younger male sighed, "We know that Sakura – but we just don't like Gin. We've known him longer than you have – and I'm sorry to say that the guy is a freak."

"No, _Mayuri_ is the freak. Gin's a really nice guy, he just _acts_ creepy – it's just something he does," she shot back.

"The whole walking around with his eyes closed thing?" Renji asked a bit skeptically.

Sakura shrugged, "I asked him about that. He says he doesn't really know why he does it; it's just something he does."

"Well, that's interesting," Ichigo said dryly. "Does he know _why _he does what he does?"

"It's just something he does," she shrugged again, "He likes to intimidate people."

"But he doesn't creep _you_ out?" Renji marveled.

The brunette shook her head, "No. Oh c'mon, I'm friends with _Grimmjow_ _Jaeggerjaquez_ and have scared _Zaraki_ _Kenpachi_ to the point that he screamed like a little girl and was about to piss his pants! You think I would be intimidated by _Gin_? You're crazy."

The boys sniggered, remembering the incident with Kenpachi.

"Serves him right for picking on you like that," Ichigo laughed.

She grinned in satisfaction as she recalled the expression on Kenpachi's face when she chewed him out for calling her "a weak little girl who can't do _shit_" and saying how he believed she thought she was entitled to everything because of Yamamoto being her grandfather.

"You know what?" she asked the boys. "The scariest women I know are short – and I've heard the same from other people. Therefore, the tall ones may be intimidating – but it's the short women that you have to look for."

"Like snakes in the garden of life," Renji chuckled.

"Oh, that reminds me," Sakura hurriedly pulled her phone out. "I need to touch base with Gin and see if he'll be home tonight."

"Why?" Ichigo asked suspiciously.

"So I know if I need to feed Shinsō. Why – is that a crime?" she told him, a tad harsher than she had originally intended.

"No, it's not a crime…It's just that you see and talk to him a lot. A lot more than you come visit us now…" he sighed.

She opened her mouth to reply but just sighed in defeat. He was right – she _was_ spending a lot of time with Gin, more time than with her long-time friends. She hadn't noticed it until he pointed it out – she was normally hanging out with Gin, doing paperwork, studying with Gin or taking care of his apartment while he was away. She hadn't visited any of her other friends in over a _month_.

"You _really_ know how to make a girl feel good about herself," she said sarcastically but texted Gin anyway.

"So, how much of this is from the old man anyway?" Renji motioned to the stack of papers.

"Oh, probably eleven inches out of twelve. The paperwork from Unohana-sama has the dusty pinky on the tabs; the plain manila ones are from the grouch," she explained.

"And the ones with the mint green tabs?" Ichigo asked and pointed at the bottom of the pile.

"Ah, I didn't notice those! Thank you Ichigo, I was wondering how he'd get those to me," she beamed and picked up the pile to grab the green ones but Ichigo and Renji had snatched the formerly unnoticed files and were snooping. "Hey! Give those back – they're confidential!" She took them back from her friends using as much force as she needed, but was careful not to damage the files.

"Where are they from? And what are they?" Renji demanded.

"Mint green…" Ichigo wondered. "Isn't that the color of the Third Division?"

"Yeah – why? Oh…" Renji first looked curious but then glared at Sakura. "Why is Gin giving you files like that?"

"I'm helping him with a few kinks in the system," she defended herself and her lover – not that these two knew about that part yet.

"But he's a _genius_," Ichigo rivaled.

"Believe it or not, but the man is pretty stupid for a genius. He tends to over think things, so I help him think simple things," she huffed and placed the green files in her room, locking the door behind her, having already hidden the key. "Now will you drop it?"

She wasn't surprised when they shook their heads and started grilling her like she was barbecued chicken.

Ichigo got Renji to shut his mouth and then looked straight as Sakura. In his most serious voice the Kurosaki boy asked, "What _exactly_ is going on between you and Ichimaru?"

"That's none of your business," she snapped back with a stern look of her own. "And I don't think I'd tell you even if it _were_."

"Don't tell me…" Renji growled. "You're _with_ him, aren't you? Aren't you?!"

She didn't even bother to bite her tongue and just let them have it – she was tired, she was cranky, she hadn't slept well for the past two weeks, she had a foot of paperwork to do and she was on her PMS; she wasn't about to let them do this to her.

"I don't need you two to tell me who to be with! I have my father and grandfather to deal with – don't force me to add you two to the list of people trying to control my life! I want to make my _own_ fucking choices without anybody trying to tell me what to do with _my_ life, heart and body! If I screw up it's because _I_ fucked up! Gin _understands_ me – and he _cares_ about me and what I want out of life! He actually asks me if this is what I want! And you know what I had the chance to tell him? I got to tell him about how all I've ever known is the fucking _Gotei_ and that all I would _ever _know is the _Gotei_! Even if I _wanted_ to do something else, I _couldn't_ because I don't _know _anything else! He's the _only_ one that's _ever_ asked me what _I wanted_ to do with my life – _you've_ never asked, and neither has my dad or my 'grandfather'! You all just _assumed_ that the Gotei is what I've wanted! The only choice I've got to make is what division to join and that's _only_ because I've told my dad and grandpa the same fucking thing I'm telling you two now! Now, I don't need you two to tell me _what_ to do and _who_ to be friends with! And if all we're going to do is fight then get the hell out of my apartment!" she yelled and pointed to the door, tears falling onto the tan carpet.

Renji was about to retort but Ichigo elbowed him harshly, biting his own tongue. "If that's how you feel, then I guess we'd better show ourselves out…c'mon Renji." Ichigo shot Sakura a worried glance as he dragged his boyfriend out of apartment 4C and down the hall to their apartments.

Sakura got up and locked the door just in case Renji didn't calm down and tried to burst into her apartment like a madman. She found the tissue box in the kitchen and was able to dry her eyes so she could find the teapot and put some herbal tea on to brew. In the living room, her phone started ringing. She put the lid on the teapot and went to answer it, unless it was Renji or Ichigo – they could leave a fucking message for her to delete without listening to for all she cared at the moment. It wasn't them, it was the only person she wanted to talk to right now – so she answered it.

"Hey you," she said with a false brightness, trying not to cry or hiccup.

"Hey blossom," Gin's familiar voice was a comfort to her. "I'm on my way home now, but I'll be late gettin' in. Will ya feed Shinsō for me?"

She nodded, "Hai, of course. When will you be in?"

"Probably near midnight," he sighed. "Are ya okay? Ya sound a little funny…"

She sniffed, "Yeah, I'm alright. Renji and Ichigo were over…and we exchanged a few choice words…"

"'Bout what?" he asked; his words were drowning in worry.

She breathed out, still unsteady and trying hard not to cry, "They were helping me with paperwork and noticed the files you sent me…they got a little suspicious and then Renji got upset when he tried confronting me, asking if we were together and then I flipped…you know – the whole spiel I gave my dad and gramps about trying to control my life? And then I told them that if all that we were going to do is fight then they could get the fuck out. They just left…"

He sighed, "I'll be there as soon as I can love. Want ta stay with me tonight? Just you, me, Shinsō with some tea and a good movie, or we can just sleep everything off."

"Sleep sounds really good right now, but the paperwork the grouch dumped on me will take me until midnight at the earliest. I'll go feed Shinsō; let me know when you get home and I'll come over. Sound like a plan?" she smiled weakly and then glared at the paperwork she still had to do, pulling another file out and opening it.

"Sounds like a plan," he agreed. "I'll knock on ya door when I get home. Okay?"

"Okay," she tried smiling again, feeling a little better. "I'll see you in a few hours."

"Alright," he replied, she could tell he was smiling. "I'll see ya soon Sakura; bye-bye~."

"Bye-bye, Gin," she chuckled. "Love you."

"Love ya too blossom," he laughed. "I'll be home soon." With that he ended the call.

She hit the end button on her phone and tossed it on the coffee table. She got up, poured a cup of tea and then went over to apartment 4D to feed Shinsō. She grabbed a pair of thick gloves, put them on and opened the box of mice and made a mental note to tell Gin he needed to order more – the supply was getting low. She pulled one out and dropped it into the tank for Shinsō to eat – but the snake wasn't quick to kill it like she normally was. Sakura stared at Shinsō for a moment and then ran over to her apartment and grabbed her phone, pulling up Gin's number and dashing back to his apartment.

"Sakura? What's wrong?" he asked, worried again.

"Gin, it's Shinsō. She's acting really strange – she hasn't eaten for hours and she's really sluggish," she explained. "She's not even going after the mouse I dropped in."

He groaned on the other end, "That's just great…" he muttered. "She must be gettin' sick. Does she respond ta ya when ya talk ta her?"

"Um…give me a minute," she told him.

"Okay, but leave her in the tank – if she _is _sick I don't want ya handlin' her."

"I understand," she nodded. "I'm setting the phone down for a moment, okay?"

"Go ahead, I'll be here."

She tapped the glass on the tank, "Hey Shinsō. Can you hear me darling?" No movement except for a slow blink. "Blink twice if you can hear me." The snake blinked twice, but very slowly. "Do you feel alright? One blink for no, two for yes…" She got one slow blink.

Sakura picked the phone back up, "All she does is blink at me. And she says she can hear me but she's not feeling alright. She keeps rubbing her mouth up against the log and the glass – it doesn't look right…"

"Shit," he cursed. "Alright, I think I know what it is – let me call the local vet, he'll know what ta do. She hasn't gotten mouth rot before so I can't coach ya through this. I'll call ya right back." The line went dead.

"It's alright darling," she pressed her hand against the glass where the snake was rubbing her mouth. "Gin's getting you some professional help – the doctor will make you feel better soon."

Gin called her back quickly, "Alright, he'll be over in ten minutes – I told him that ya there, so sit tight. An' I told him 'bout the rat in there, he said to take it out – and make _sure_ ya wear the gloves. Kill it an' put it in a box away from the other rats."

"They're rats? I thought they were mice…" she asked.

"It ain't of importance what they are Sakura, just get it out of the tank," he chided.

"Yeah, yeah," she said. "I'll go find a box."

"There's a box in my room, beside the dresser – the one I usually put Shinsō in when I clean her cage. Put it in there."

"And you want me to…_kill_ it…?" She wasn't too keen about the killing of an innocent animal – when Shinsō did it, it was one thing (that thing called _food_) but when she would kill it and do nothing with it…that was waste…and cruel.

"It may spread the mouth rot germs ta the others an' make her sick again," he explained. "An' if ya ain't gonna kill then I will when I get home. Just get it out of the tank an' inta the box." He was _not _happy with her.

"Okay, okay – I'm getting the box," she said defensively and ran to get the box he mentioned. She found it, picked it up and put it in front of the tank. "I'm putting the phone on speaker."

"That's fine," he said quickly. "Do what ya have ta."

She hit the speaker button and pulled on the gloves to pull the rat out. "Okay Shinsō, you just stay where you are baby – I'm taking the rat out, just like the doctor ordered. You stay right there sweetie…So Gin, what does the vet look like?" She asked as she backed the rat up into a corner and grabbed it. He described the doctor to her quickly as Sakura threw the rat into the box as hard as she could; she was hoping that the action would break its neck. The stupid rodent just got right back up and tried climbing out of its new prison.

"I don't think so buddy boy," she snapped at it. "Sorry Gin, not you – the rat."

There was a knock on the door and Sakura pulled off the gloves and covered the box with the rat in it, placing it far away from the snake and the rest of the rats. She picked up the phone, taking it off speaker, and checked the peephole – the vet had arrived. She let him in.

"Takahashi Daichirou," he introduced himself. "You must be Sakura?"

She nodded, "Yes. Gin told me you were coming; Shinsō's over here." She led the older gentleman to the tank with the sick snake. She put the phone up to her ear, "He's here, Gin and he's taking a look at Shinsō."

"Great," he told her. "Put me back on speaker phone so we can all talk."

She nodded and pressed the speaker button again, "Alright, you're back on speaker."

The doctor turned to her, "Where did you put the rat?"

She pointed the box, "It's still alive."

"Squeamish about killing things?" he asked her gently. She nodded. "Don't worry, I am too – and I've had to put animals out of their misery for fifty-seven years."

"Don't worry doc," Gin's voice seemed to echo in the room. "I'll take care of it when I get home."

"Alright," the doctor nodded and went back to looking at Shinsō. "It's definitely mouth rot, but it looks like we caught it early on. How long has she been acting like this?"

"I just noticed it when I came in to feed her about…twenty minutes ago," she said. "Gin, did you notice anything wrong with her when she ate breakfast?"

"She was a little slow gettin' ta it but I thought it was because I woke her up with the rat," he explained. "I was runnin' late for work so I didn't watch her like I normally do."

"I thought you were out in a hurry this morning," she smiled. "But everything seems fast when you're half asleep."

He chuckled, "Yeah – it does. So what can we do Takahashi-sensei?"

"I'm going to prescribe a series of antibiotics for her, and I have an antiseptic with me that you'll have to use to clean her mouth out with. Sakura, come over here – leave the phone there. Does it need charged?"

She glanced at the battery, "It'll be fine – it's a seventy-eight percent." She set it back down and went over to the tank. "What do I need to do?"

"Put on these gloves and pick the snake up," he coached. "I hope this isn't one of your favorite outfits…"

She looked down at herself, "Nah, it's fine. I need a new set of pajamas anyway."

He laughed at that, "Good because you'll have to throw those out when you're through – just to be safe."

"Good thing I live next door," she smiled and pulled on the gloves. "Now I pick up Shinsō?"

He nodded, "Just be very gentle, especially around the head and mouth."

She nodded and took a deep breath, "Shinsō, I'm going to pick you up baby – okay? The doctor has to look at you so he can make you better. Okay?" She got a long, slow blink as a response. "Good, now stay still." She gently scooped the reptile up in her hands and took her out of the tank. She sat down on the bathroom floor with the doctor, holding the sick white snake over the tub and he guided her through the motions of cleansing Shinsō's mouth, giving Gin a verbal play-by-play on what they were doing. The doctor sat up with Sakura as she babysat Shinsō and waited for Gin to come home. She had already changed into clean clothes and threw the other set out – everything had to be tossed, right down to the underwear and socks. She had taken a shower while she was over in her own apartment to wash away any snake germs left on her skin.

She discovered that Takahashi Daichirou was the father of her BioChem teacher, and had been a vet for nearly sixty years. He had two koi ponds, three dogs, seven cats, a parrot, two lovebirds and a parakeet named Felix.

"Felix? That's a strange name," she marveled.

"It's an English name," he explained. "He was a gift from a man I knew in America, a man named Felix."

They chatted about everything from the strange culture of America compared to Japan and the attitudes of cats.

"I have three cats myself," she explained. "Two of them are the very heart, soul and definition of anti-social and the other one likes me and Gin – he hates everyone else…and sometimes _I'm_ the bad guy. Should've had him declawed as a kitten but I was little then so I didn't understand…"

"How old were you when you got him?"

"Well, I was five when I inherited him – he was my mother's cat. I haven't had the heart to get rid of the ferocious furball. But it's funny…he likes Gin and he seems to be in love with Shinsō – I have to  
agree with Gin, if it weren't for the species difference between Ryu and Shinsō, I would think they had something going on."

"Maybe they do," the elderly man shrugged with laughter in his brown eyes. "They say love knows no bounds."

She laughed at this, "Oh but isn't that the truth…" She sighed but perked up when Gin came into the apartment. "Hey you."

"Hey," he grinned and set his briefcase in his bedroom. He walked over to her and gave her a tight hug. "How is she?"

"She'll be fine," she told him, hugging him back. "It'll be awhile until she's back in tip-top shape but it's easy to take care of her."

He kissed her forehead and turned to the doctor after he let her go, "Thank ya for gettin' here on such short notice – an' at such a late hour."

"You know I'm there for any sick animal Gin," the man shook the taichou's hand. "Any time night or day. Would you like me to show you what to do with her?"

Gin nodded, "Please."

After coaching Gin through the steps, the doctor helped them clean up and left. Sakura sighed and debated going back to her room to work on the neglected paperwork.

"Ah hell, I'll finish it tomorrow," she grumbled.

"Finish what?" Gin asked as he put on a pot of soothing chamomile tea.

"My stack of paperwork," she snorted. "It would've been all done if gramps weren't still upset with me. Whatever – I'll deal with it in the morning."

He nodded and poured two cups of tea, "Oh – an' where's the rat I need ta kill?"

She pointed to the isolated box, "It's in there."

He handed her one of the teacups, leaving the other on the counter, and went over to the box. Before she could ask what he was going to do, he had the rat in one head and its head in the other and quickly broke its neck with a sick _crunch_ and threw it back in the cardboard box. She opened her mouth in shock, then closed it and set the teacup down. She was shuddering as she walked towards the door.

"What?" he asked her.

"I'm going back to my apartment to listen to some happy music and try to pretend that that never happened and that I never heard that sound," she turned around to explain quickly and then promptly resumed her way out of the apartment.

Gin came over a moment or two later, having had to wash his hands thoroughly after dealing with the infected rat. He knocked on the door and pulled the key out of his pocket when he found it was locked and she wasn't answering. She was lying on the couch, headphones in, music turned up, and a purring Ryu on her stomach. She was singing along to something bright and happy, and was contentedly petting her loyal little demon kitty. She looked up and was not surprised to see that Gin had let himself in.

_I knew I should've used the chain latch_, she thought but just sighed as Gin sat on the floor, his eyes were open and he was staring at the floor at his feet.

He was the first one to speak, "I'm sorry. I didn't think ya would act like this."

"Didn't you hear I'm squeamish about killing things?" she asked him with a sigh.

He sighed, "I heard…but I forgot…"

"Just…try to remember from now on? Please?" she pleaded.

He nodded, "I think I will." He scooted over so he could give her a kiss. She sighed and kissed him back gently. He pulled back and looked at her intensely, "Still want ta spend the night with me?"

She thought it over for a moment, and then nodded, "Yeah, maybe I'll get a decent night's sleep for the first time in a month." She sat up and made a grumpy cat get up and move. "You'll stay over here Ryu – and you're going to _behave_. Shinsō's really sick right now, and you'll be nothing but a nuisance to the poor girl."

He yowled at her, and it was a yowl with a tone she hadn't heard before.

"You're staying here," she told him firmly, but was confused. He yowled again and sat by the door.

Gin looked at her curiously as she sat there, dumbfounded, "What's he goin' on about blossom?"

She furrowed her eyebrows, "I have no idea…he's never used that tone of yowl before…and now he's mewing – he hasn't mewed since he was a kitten!" She got up and opened the door to her apartment and watched, incredulous, as Ryu went and sat in front of Gin's door. Gin slid past her and opened his door and the couple watched the black cat run over to Shinsō's cage. He put his paws up on the edge of the table the tank sat on and pressed his nose against the glass near where Shinsō's head was. Shinsō looked up and blinked slowly, and then pressed her nose up against where Ryu's nose was.

Sakura and Gin stood in the doorway, amazed. Sakura's jaw had dropped and Gin's usual grin was nowhere to be seen. They looked at each other and then back at Ryu and Shinsō.

Sakura whistled, "The doc wasn't kidding…love knows _no_ bounds…"


	24. Chapter 24

The alarm rang way too early the next morning, and Gin woke up just enough to roll over, reach over Sakura, and turn the damn thing off. Surprisingly, the brunette didn't wake up; she just murmured something into Gin's chest and refused to move from her comfy spot underneath the blankets.

He chuckled, still half asleep himself, and hugged her gently, "Sakura, it's six in the morning…an' it's a Monday…"

She scrunched her nose a little bit and then glared up at him, "You just _had _to say that…didn't you?"

He nodded, "We have school today – and we both know how much trouble we'd get in if both of us called off."

"Yeah…I know…and there's a huge math test I'm dreading today," she sighed and rolled onto her back. "Now the first mission…figuring out where my clothes went…" she gave Gin a knowing look.

"I think ya pants are by the door an' I know ya shirt's in the livin' room," he smirked. "Ya panties should be in here…"

She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. She found Gin's shirt and put it on – she'd give it back when she found all of _her _clothes. She didn't care where _his _clothes were, it was _his _apartment – Sakura had to find hers so she could go back to her apartment and change into her school uniform. Gin was up and grabbing his clothes out of his closet.

"Found ya panties," he called over to her and tossed them to her. She slipped them on and then her pants. She went and looked in the living room but couldn't find her shirt.

She frowned and poked her head back into the bedroom, "Gin, I can't find my shirt…"

It was his turn to frown and he did a quick survey of the living room, "We'll find it later. Just wear that over ta ya apartment. No, don't argue – I know how long it takes ya ta get ya face on and you'll still want breakfast. Go change an' do all the girly stuff ya normally want ta – not that ya _need _make-up. I'll make breakfast – now _go_."

She sighed and glared gently but went over to her apartment to get dressed. She tossed Gin's shirt on her bed and the rest of her outfit in her hamper, and pulled on her uniform quickly and did her make-up almost just as fast. After breakfast together, Gin and Sakura left for school.

* * *

They were back at the Gotei that night and Sakura had all but flat out her grandfather that she _refused_ to do any more of the paper he sent her because the files were for the First Division. She was in the Fourth Division and was not responsible for _his _division's paperwork. He had relented but he was still upset with her. When he asked her why she should spend time with Gin and not Renji or Ichigo, she told him that they weren't on speaking terms and she would not apologize for something she wasn't sorry about – the boys would have to man up and apologize to _her _before she apologized to them.

"How was the math test?" Gin asked Sakura at dinner.

She just poked at her rice with her chopsticks and shrugged, "I don't know…I don't know if I _want _to know…"

"That bad, huh?" he raised an eyebrow; his eyes were open since they were alone.

She nodded, "Yeah…it was rough…anyway – let's talk about _anything_ but math."

He chuckled, "We still have ta work on the garden."

She grinned, "The seeds came in today. I have the actual plants on order – I can pick them up whenever I'd like."

"Really? We can work on that this weekend if ya schedule allows it," he offered. "I'm off."

"I'll see what I can do. It might have to wait until I finish my shift."

"Which shift do ya work?" he asked and took another bite of his rice.

"8 a.m. to 4 p.m.," she shrugged. "But I'll be on call other times – I don't think I'm on call this weekend, but if a crisis occurs I might have to go in."

"That's how it works in my division too," he nodded. "How do ya like the new barracks?"

"It's the same set-up as when I lived in the First Division barracks, but I get to wake myself up now – not my father. It's nice; a lot quieter too."

"Ain't their gardens purely medicinal?"

She shook her head, "Mostly, but there are a few ornamental trees and flowers in it. Very peaceful; I normally go there when I'm on break or off shift."

"Ah, I see," he sighed and pushed his plate away from him. "Ya done?"

She nodded, "Hai. Thank you for dinner Gin – it was delicious."

"Ya welcome, thanks for joinin' me," he grinned.

"I'll help with dishes," she said, her tone leaving no room for argument. The duo stood up and started clearing the little table, put away the leftovers and washed the dishes before putting them away as well. After they were finished, Gin took her hand and led her out to the gardens.

"Is ya grandfather still mad at ya?" he asked quietly.

"Probably," she shrugged. "But whatever, ne? He's a cranky old man. I think he's just lonely. He never got married you know. He was planning to and everything but…it's kind of like that old Charles Dickens novel. Did you guys read the translated version of _A Christmas Carol_ in your literature class?"

"It was interestin'," he admitted. "Let me guess, Yamamoto would be Scrooge?"

"Hai," Sakura nodded. "He was so involved with the Gotei that she packed up and left from what I heard – I wasn't even a fetus at that point so I don't know for myself."

They fell into a comfortable silence as they settled down under one of the persimmon trees. She nestled into his side as he wrapped an arm around her.

"I love you Gin," she whispered.

"I love ya too Sakura," he murmured back and kissed her gently.

They didn't notice the pair of brown eyes watching them closely – and they were still oblivious to those same orbs that weekend when they were planting the new flowers and seeds.

Yamamoto watched them closely while they were there – and he noticed how happy they were together. He had never trusted Gin, but you didn't need trust when you hired someone who knew what the hell they were doing. Still, there was something about Gin that made Sakura happy, and vice versa – and he didn't like it one bit. He would let them be for now – especially since he confirmed that Renji and Ichigo were _not _speaking to Sakura. She might as well have someone around – even if that person was Ichimaru Gin.


	25. Chapter 25

**A little smut in here for you guys - don't like, don't read after the line break! **

**And sadly, I still don't own _Bleach_ or Gin (Sakura does though!) XD**

* * *

It had been two weeks since Sakura had spoken to her next door neighbors – two weeks since they had all fought. Apart from the occasional romp in the bedroom, Sakura had been busy helping Gin in the garden or working on some new poison recipes with him.

"I want ya ta learn. Don't ya want ta know?" he told her when she asked.

She was about to say she didn't mind learning but she didn't think he was telling her the truth. But, before she could say it, he distracted her when he started going on about the basic things she would need to know.

It had been a week and a half since she had started learning about poisons. They had already gotten the gardening done – she had even finished working on the First Division gardens with her father – and there was another month of school before their one month break.

"Alright, what if we added this to the mix and –" she began and picked up a small bottle.

Gin shook his head, "No – that would be a potentially explosive mixture."

"And what we made in BioChem last month _wasn't_?" she argued sarcastically.

He frowned at her, "Remember the _baby_ fireball that mixture produced? We're lucky it set off the sprinklers an' fire alarm. Ya mix _those_ two chemicals together – an' ya friends will be puttin' our remains in the same matchbox."

She set the container down slowly and laughed nervously, "Forget I mentioned it."

"_I_ will, but _ya'd_ better remember – I'd rather have ya around for a good while longer an' _not_ in a matchbox," he teased.

"I think I'd enjoy that too," she blushed. "Anyway – so what if we do this instead…"

* * *

They had worked on different recipes for several hours and ended up cleaning up around midnight and crashing at her place – something that wasn't uncommon anymore; they spent most nights together – sex was optional. Tonight was one of those nights that were pretty sensual – whether it would turn out to be sexual was something they didn't really try to predict.

Sakura giggled when Gin planted a kiss right behind her ear, one of his hands on her waist, the other was on her shoulder. She ran her nose along his jaw line, feeling his smirk against the skin of her collarbone, and ran her hands up his chest before hooking them around his shoulders.

The hand on her waist slid under her back and she arched enough for him to undo the clasp of her bra. Before she could take it off he had one strap clasped gently in his teeth and skilled fingers tugging the other one off of her shoulder. Once he got the contraption off of her, it was tossed aside to be hunted in the morning – or maybe they would notice it later (it _did_ look kinda funny hanging from the ceiling fan).

She tugged him up for a kiss, softly moaning when one of his hands cupped a breast and played with it, rolling it around and tugging on the nipple gently.

"Mmm, Gin," she breathed when they broke the kiss. One of her hands dropped down to his chest, running a soft thumb over one of his nipples. He groaned and bit his lip – she knew how sensitive he was and she _always_ enjoyed taking advantage of it.

"Kami, Sakura," he panted softly, "Why do ya always do that? Ya know it makes me lose focus."

"Only for a second, love," she whispered. "And that's all I need." She grinned before flipping them over.

"Sakura what are – oh…" he started asking but was cut off with a pleasured sigh when she started attacking his neck, jaw, and collarbones with light kisses, her fingers working their magic as they trailed across his torso and stomach. He grabbed her hips and was about to flip them over again when Sakura moved and, before he had time to process what happened, pinned his hands above his head.

"What the…Sakura – c'mon, this ain't fair," he protested.

She stuck her tongue out playfully – he thought it was one of the cutest things she did when they were in the bedroom – and smiled innocently, "You're always on top Gin – _I_ wanna have a turn."

"Why didn't ya just say so?" he snorted.

"It wouldn't have been this easy – or this fun." Her innocent smile had transformed into a mischievous grin. "Don't you agree?"

She bent down and swirled her tongue around one of his nipples, the fingers of her free hand toying with the other. Gin would be lying if he said that he wasn't enjoying it – all those lovely sensations went straight to his cock. A moan crept out of his throat against his own will, and Sakura's knees on his thighs were doing a damn good job at keeping his hips still.

"Ah, Kami…Sakura…" he groaned as the hand that had been teasing a nipple went down and danced _just _that far from his aching manhood. She giggled and it both turned him on and annoyed him – she knew _exactly _what she was doing to him. She slid her feet to the outside of his legs, raised her rear end up and slowly pulled off those sexy little red, lacy, bikini-style panties that he loved. He could see her juices glistening in the candlelight when she tossed them to some other part of the room (and they just happened to land on the framed photo she had sitting on her dresser – the photo just _happened_ to be of her family).

She sat back down on her knees, stretched over him so she could still restrain his hands.

"Promise to do what I say, _Ichimaru-taichou_?" The way his name and title fell from her lips made Gin shiver with delight – only Sakura could say it like _that_ and have it not be awkward or gross.

"What are ya gonna say?" he breathed.

"Oh don't worry, you'll find out soon enough," she smirked. "Promise you'll behave or I'll go find those handcuffs."

"Why the hell do ya have _handcuffs_?" he was surprised.

"They're from Grimmjow – a gag gift," she shrugged. "I've never had to use them in the way he intended before – but trust me, they work. I had to handcuff him to a chair last year to keep him from killing my friends."

He swallowed – that was a little scary, and the look on her face didn't calm his sudden thrill of fear.

"Oh…ok…I promise – I'll behave," he nodded slowly and agreed reluctantly.

"Good," she laughed and slowly released his hands. "So stay there – and _no touching_!"

He frowned but begrudgingly kept his hands to himself – and his legs and his cock.

Sakura scooted to the end of the bed and leaned against the foot board. She cupped one of her breasts in a hand, toying with it, two fingers in her mouth – and Gin could see how she was swirling her tongue around the digits. Her orange eyes were open and fixed solely on him. When the fingers came out of the mouth, they went to the neglected breast and worked the nipple. She moaned softly, her eyes fluttering shut and his name dropping from her lips. The fingers of her other hand were in her mouth now, and soon repeated the process of its twin. One hand slowly trailed down her skin, past her waist and closer to her nether regions – Gin couldn't help but notice her wiggling her hips in anticipation. She slowly spread her legs. The fingers touched her clit and she took in a sharp breath which was quickly followed by a moan of his name. The saliva-coated digits gently played with her clit – teasing herself, he realized – and the fingers of the other hand were trailing _just_ on either side of her lower pair of lips.

Gin bit his lip and gripped the sheets he was sitting on (so tightly that his knuckles were turning white), when she moaned especially loudly when she slid one of those slim digits into the slick pink folds.

"Ah, Gin…oh, Gin…right there – oh yes! Right there," she called softly as she started pumping two fingers in and out of herself. "Ah…more…yes, oh Kami that's it!" She slid a third finger in, her hips bucking forward into her own hand. The one that had been working her clit slid up to play with a breast.

Her moans and bucking were increasing and the scent of her arousal was driving Gin insane. He leaned forward – forget keeping _this _promise – but she put a foot to his chest and pushed him backward.

She cried out, louder than before, and he watched – enraptured – as she rode out her orgasm, still saying his name. Once she had come down from her high, she took her fingers out and licked them clean – making sure to look Gin in the eye the whole torturous time. Then, still panting slightly, she sat up and moved to the side of the bed.

She patted the edge she was standing in front of and said seductively, "Come here _taichou_."

He cautiously moved to the edge where she indicated and was pleasantly surprised when she straddled his lap. He went to touch her, wrap her up and kiss the living daylights out of her but she stopped him:

"I didn't say you were allowed to touch yet!"

"Kami…I'd _hate _ta see ya on Halloween…" he muttered.

She giggled and could _feel _his moans as she licked, kissed and nibbled her way up and down his body. She propped herself up on her knees, her breasts in his face (he had to use every ounce of self-restraint – and borrowed some from some unknown greater being – to not take those lovely globes into his mouth) so she could pull his boxers off with a little assistance from him. She sat back down, his dick grazing her clit – they both moaned at the contact.

She slid off of his lap and knelt before him, spreading his legs apart. Sakura took his head in her mouth, teasing it as she lapped up the pre-cum collecting there. She took the rest of him in slowly, fighting her gag reflex. One of her hands went to tease his balls; the other was in between her own legs. She sucked and hummed and swallowed around him, but every time she felt him close to his climax, she pulled away – three times she did this; three times too many for Gin.

Sakura stood up, Gin still unsatisfied but keeping on his promise (much to his chagrin). She pranced over to the end of the bed, leaning over and gripping the footboard tight – her ass and pussy sticking out behind her. And then she said the words he wanted to hear: "Come and get it…"

Now, it was _his _turn. As much as he wanted revenge – it would wait for another night. He ran his cock along her folds and clit before slamming into her. He set a hard and fast pace, giving her exactly what she wanted when she asked for it. It wasn't long after he had set that unrelenting pace when he felt her walls fluttering around him and his balls tightening.

"Ah…oh Kami…ah fuck – GIN!" she cried and her body froze as her orgasm ripped through her and him as well. Gin couldn't hold out and she milked him for all she was worth, he called out her name, just not quite as loudly as she had cried out his. Panting, sweaty, and both leaning hard on the footboard, he slid out of her and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Dear Kami…I don't know if I wanna go through _that _again," he muttered. "It's torture."

Sakura laughed, "But wasn't that fun?" He looked at her and laughed softly at the delirious grin on her flushed face.

"Ask me again in the morning," he sighed. "Let's go get cleaned up."

"Hai, _taichou_."


	26. Chapter 26

It was the end of the first term and the beginning of the month-long break for the students at Karakura High. The entire month of August was theirs to play with – in September they would go back to school. Gin had left early that day, telling Sakura that he had another important meeting to attend at the Gotei and to not bother picking up his work – he had taken care of that.

When Sakura had let herself into her apartment, she was greeted by Ryu and Shinsō.

"Did Gin let you in sweetie?" she asked the pure white reptile when she picked her up. Shinsō nodded and hissed – it had a worried tone. Sakura explained that Gin had a meeting and would be home soon. She fixed dinner for herself, fed the cats and Shinsō at the appropriate hour, and then called Gin at 9 – when she would usually call him when he was away, it was something they had agreed upon a long time ago. She was surprised when he didn't pick up, but she left a voicemail and decided that he might just be away from the phone. She cleaned up after Shinsō and went to bed, the sheets still smelling like her lover.

She woke up at about three in the morning by the phone ringing. She groaned, rolled out of bed and answered it with a weary, "What the fuck do you want at three in the fucking morning?"

"Sakura – that's no way to speak to your grandfather," Yamamoto scolded.

"Gramps – it's _three in the morning_. Is the world ending?" she snapped.

"Quite possibly for you," he replied, anger bubbled just beneath the surface of those stern words. "Something's happened here – you should come."

"Is that an order?" she sighed.

"Hai."

"Right now?" she scowled. "Can't it wait until a more decent hour? I'm in no condition to drive – it's a two-hour trip and I'm running on four hours of sleep."

"You need to –" he started but her father's voice suddenly came on the line, apparently the phone had been stolen.

"Look, Sakura. It's about Gin – he's disappeared and so have Aizen and Tōsen. They took a _huge_ chunk of the Gotei money with them. I know you don't want to believe us but your lover just _betrayed_ the Gotei. He's _gone_ – and he's probably not coming back!"

Sakura fell onto the bed, "He…what…no! He can't have! No! Not Gin!"

"He's a traitor," her grandfather was back. "He must be found and punished – all of them do."

"Who else disappeared?" she asked, having been too worried about Gin to catch the other two names.

"Aizen and Tōsen," he said shortly.

"I warned you about Aizen! I knew he was no good! That fucker! When I get my hands on him I'm going to make him wish he had never even been conceived!" she shouted into the phone. She threw the phone across the room, curling up into a little ball and sobbing.

Not two minutes later, Sakura had two visitors – one with fiery red hair and one with shocking orange – two people that she hadn't spoken to in a month and a half. Apparently they had already gotten that same phone call, because when Ichigo sat down beside Sakura, he said:

"I'm sorry. I…" he sighed. "I'm so sorry…"

Renji wasn't willing to be forgiving when he walked in the front door, but when he saw the distressed state that Sakura was in, any thoughts of lecturing her and exercising his right to say "We told you so" flew out of his head. He sat down and pulled her into his lap, Ichigo cuddling up to his, and resultantly her side.

"You really do love him, don't you?" the red-head whispered.

Sakura hiccupped and nodded, orange eyes red-rimmed already.

"Renji?" Ichigo looked at his boyfriend seriously. "What if I were as hated at Ichimaru? What if I did what he's done? Would you still love me? Wouldn't you be having as intense a reaction as she is over him?"

Renji opened his mouth to say something, but closed it – and his eyes – and nodded slowly. "Yeah…I guess you really do love him…I'm sorry too, Sakura."

"I still can't believe he would betray the Gotei…" Ichigo muttered. "How could he do this to you?" he looked sadly at Sakura.

She sniffed and looked over at him, "And that's not the worst part…"

Two sets of brown eyes widened in concern, and Ichigo asked, "What do you mean?"

She squirmed out of Renji's hold and walked over to her adjoining bathroom. She came back out with something in her hand. Ichigo didn't have to ask any further. He knew what that blue plus on the plastic device meant. Renji leaned over his boyfriend's shoulder and took the object from Sakura. When he saw what it was, he nearly dropped it and looked up at the distraught girl.

"Sakura…" he gasped. "You mean…"

She nodded slowly and swallowed, more tears pooling in her eyes. "Hai; and it's Gin's."


	27. Chapter 27

They agreed that Renji would drive; Ichigo would sit in the back with Sakura; and the cats and Shinsō would be placed beside them as usual. Renji wasn't too thrilled about having the snake in the car – and was even less pleased when Sakura insisted on holding the snake in her lap for most of the car trip – but didn't have the will to fight with her. She had a lot of issues right now, and if the snake would help comfort her, then Renji would keep his opinions to himself.

About an hour into the drive, Sakura pulled out her phone, still sniffling. She hadn't stopped crying since she received the call, even though she went back to sleep for a few more hours, the tears still fell as she dreamed.

"I gotta make a call…" she said softly, but loud enough for Renji to hear over the cats' meowing. "Don't get mad when you find out who it is."

"I might get mad, but I'll keep my mouth shut about it," the fukutaichou griped.

"It's okay," Ichigo said. "I won't say anything either – and I think I know who it is already," he assured her, not taking his arm away from her shaky shoulders.

She pulled up the number and waited for him to pick up, hoping he was in a position to get to the phone. If she couldn't get to him, then she'd call the other number.

He was in a very unhappy mood, and picked up with a vexed, "Wha' th' fuck do ya want?"

"Hey Grimm," she said shakily.

"Sakura? Wha's wrong kitten? Oh, shit – nevermind, ah just figured it out fer mahself…" He started off concerned but it turned into a growl. "'E just walked in."

"I figured as much," she laughed weakly, despite the fact that wasn't anything funny about it.

"Permission ta punch 'im in th' face?"

"Iie, iie, leave him be," she said. Then she remembered something Gin told her a long time ago: _I vowed ta kill him._

"Sakura?" Grimmjow started worrying when she didn't answer.

She quickly snapped out of her momentary flashback, "Hm? Sorry. Look, just don't bother him."

"Why shouldn't ah bother th' asshole?"

She was beginning to get annoyed, and the tears were quickly forgotten as something akin to anger and desire for vengeance swirled in her voice. "He has a _damn_ good reason for being there. Just, keep me updated, okay? If anything big happens, call me – anytime."

"Ah will," he agreed. "Damn it if ya can't take care of yaself. Ah 'ave a feelin' tha' ya gonna raise some 'ell ova' this."

"I have the same feeling," she sighed. "It's just going to get harder from here."

"Well, as long as 'e didn't knock ya up, ah'll be cooperative enough," he joked.

"And if he did?" she shot back.

"Sakura – ah was kiddin'," he said defensively. And then it hit him, "'E _didn't_, did 'e?"

"Look, Jaeggerjaquez, he has _no _clue," she said softly, sharply and swiftly. "Don't tell him – and don't you _dare _hint at it either!"

"Why th' fuck _shouldn't _ah tell 'im?!"

"Because if he knew, it could cause him some serious trouble. Don't you _dare _breathe a word of this to him!"

"Can ah tell Harribel an' Lilynette?"

"Hai, hai – but they can't tell him either. He can't know – not until he comes back."

"Wha' makes ya so sure 'e's gonna come back?" he argued.

"I know he will," she told him sharply. "He _has _to."

"If ya say so," Grimmjow sighed. "Harribel's 'ere – wanna chat?"

She nodded, "Hai."

"Hey you," the busty woman on the other end greeted. "I heard Grimmjow's end – so you don't need to repeat anything. You wanna meet up?"

"I have a feeling that I'm going to be at the Gotei for a _long _time," Sakura sighed.

"And why the hell can't we come see you there?"

"Are you fucking kidding me? You'd be shot on sight! Especially if Grimm was with you – I think the sentries still have a shoot-on-sight and shoot-to-kill policy for him from when you showed up four years ago," she explained, exasperated.

"I get it, I get it," the older woman agreed. "But we'd better be invited to the shower!"

Sakura laughed, "Of course. They ain't gonna like it, but you'll be the first ones on the list."

"Good," Harribel laughed. "Gonna find out what it is?"

"I don't know – I just found out yesterday, so I still have a lot to do and process. Probably not though," she shrugged, calming down and relaxing into Ichigo's grip.

"Well, we'd better be getting the phone call too."

"Don't worry – you may not be first on _that _list, but I'll put you on it," Sakura grinned.

"And Sakura?"

"Hm?"

Harribel paused a moment before saying quietly, "No matter what the others say – I will be disappointed as fuck if you don't keep it."

"I wouldn't dream of anything else. If that's what gramps and dad tell me what to do, then the can go fuck themselves; I'm keeping the baby," she said. "And you can quote me on that."

The underground member laughed, "Damn right. Hey, we're getting called in by the 'royal' asshole – gotta go."

"Alright, I understand. Don't tell him – he can't know."

"Will do, and we'll call if something happens," she agreed. "Bye."

"Bye-bye." She put the phone back in her pocket.

Ichigo looked down at her, "What lists?"

"Baby shower," she shrugged. "And the 'baby call'."

He nodded, "Yamamoto-sou-taichou and Kyōraku-taichou aren't going to be happy."

"Did you hear what I told Harribel? I'm keeping the baby and I'm letting my friends in on it," she stated. "They can go fuck themselves."

Renji glanced at them in his rearview mirror, "Sakura? Has anyone told you that you'd make a good captain someday?"

"Only Gin," she smiled sadly. "Hopefully Kira can finished what we started."

"What _did _you two start?" Renji asked.

"Sorry Renji, that's classified," she shot back.

Ichigo gave her an impressed look, "Well I'll be damned if there aren't two Gotei members called Kyōraku-taichou in the near future."

"That's for sure," the driver agreed. "We're almost there, just a few more minutes."

Sakura nodded and dried her eyes with the tissue Ichigo handed her. She put Shinsō back in her carrier, and used her bottled disinfectant to clean up before they got to the Gotei.

Her father and grandfather met them at the front of the main Gotei building, and Sakura was and wasn't surprised to see Kira there too.

"Izuru-san," she greeted. "Or is it taichou?"

His face fell slightly, "It's taichou. But please, _you_ can call me Kira. It'd make me feel better."

"Me too," she admitted quietly and whispered to him, "You're here for the files?"

He nodded, "Hai. He left instructions."

She nodded also, "Of course. Here, they're in the car. I'll help you take them to your division."

"You don't need to do that," he said. "But it'll give us some time to talk."

She led him over to the car. "They're in here. The files are in this case," she handed him a black briefcase. "The products are in this case. I'll take it." She pulled out the slim silver briefcase Gin always kept locked up. She ushered her father, grandfather, and friends away – telling them that she would meet up with them in a few minutes.

"Kira and I have some important business to tend to," she said curtly and walked with the newly promoted taichou to his division. When they got to Gin's, no, _Kira's _office, he let her in and they set the cases on the desk. She opened the black one with the files.

"This folder contains all of the PINs," she said and set it off to the side. "I understand Gin wasn't able to implement the plan, so they can still be used."

"Just tell me what to do," Kira agreed and listened intently as she explained how to cycle the PINs, discussed the new recipes and general security of the poisons and recipes. It wasn't until several hours later that their little conference finished.

"I know it's a lot to take in all at once, but I have a feeling I'll be on hand for quite awhile," she told him. "If you need me, just call and I'll see what I can do."

"I would be much easier if you transferred divisions," Kira suggested. "But I also understand if you don't want to."

"It would be easier, and I've been considering it," she admitted. "So, don't be surprised if you see my file show up on your desk."

The blonde nodded, "Hai. Honestly, you'd make a better taichou than I am."

"They wouldn't do that," she chuckled. "I just graduated from Shin'ō, they aren't even _close _to making me a taichou – that's crazy."

"I'm just saying," he smiled. "You would."

"I've been hearing that _a lot _lately, it's kind of scary," she smiled sheepishly. "Well, I have to go talk to my higher-ups. It was nice working with you Kira, I look forward to working with you more in the future."

"Definitely," he agreed and shook her hand. They bowed to each other and Sakura left. Kira sat in his chair, thinking. "She'll make a great captain someday – she'll be as good as, if not better than Ichimaru-taichou."


	28. Chapter 28

Sakura sat at dinner with her father, grandfather, Renji, Ichigo, and Rangiku. The meal was quiet but full of smiles and laughter. After they cleared the dishes away, the group retired to the den. They all sat down, except for Rangiku – who excused herself to go to the bathroom (to take care of some feminine problems as she confided in Sakura), and Sakura, who stood at the window, a cold glass of water in her hand.

"Sakura…" her father sighed. "I know you miss him, but you can talk to us."

"Don't hate me," she said softly, but even Yamamoto could hear her. "Just don't hate me."

"Why would we hate you?" he asked, almost pleaded. "You're my daughter, I could never hate you."

"Let me rephrase that, don't be disappointed in me," she amended, her voice still low.

"What did you do?" Yamamoto said curtly.

She stuck a hand in her pocket, walked over to her father and grandfather, and held out the device with the little blue plus on it.

"I'm pregnant – and Gin's the father," she said with a business-like tone. She made sure to keep eye contact with her grandfather, staring him down – waiting for a reaction.

She could see her father's hands trembling as he took the test from her, "Sakura…"

She didn't look away from Yamamoto – and he didn't look away either.

"Sakura, I'm not disappointed in you." Shunsui looked up at his daughter and noticed how she was locked in an intense battle with her adopted grandfather.

"You're not the one I'm worried about disappointing," she said. "No, let me rephrase that. You're not the one I'm expecting to be unforgiving and close-minded."

Yamamoto's features softened for a second, and he looked his age for once.

She looked at him, "I know it's Gin's baby – but it's also _my _baby. And no matter what you say, I'm keeping it. I want this child – and I know Gin would too."

"He doesn't know?" the old man asked quietly.

She shook her head, "And he won't know until he comes back."

"Are you sure he'll come back?"

Renji spoke up, "He promised her. He might not have said it, but I don't have to be a genius to tell that whatever he had told her before – whatever that is, she won't tell us either – was as strong as a promise."

She broke eye contact with Yamamoto and looked over at her friend, smiling. She didn't say anything, but she didn't have to.

Shunsui sighed, "I'm going to be a grandfather…I don't believe it…I'm going to be a grandfather…" Then it really sunk in because his face blanked and then a grin slowly crept across his face. He stood up and pulled Sakura into a warm hug, "I'm going to be a grandfather!"

"Well," she chuckled. "I'm glad someone's excited for me."

Renji and Ichigo smiled at each other, glad that Sakura was cheering up a bit. Yamamoto slowly got up off of the couch and Sakura pulled away from her father's embrace.

"Come here Sakura," he said. She walked over to him and stood in front of him. He raised a hand and Sakura prepared for the worst, but he caught her off guard when he hugged her – an actual hug, not one of those 'she hugs him and he pats her back' kind of hug. She hugged him back, happy that he wasn't too mad at her.

"I love you Sakura," he whispered.

"I love you to jiisan," she whispered back. They stayed like that for a solid two minutes and then they let go of each other.

"Well, looks like we have some planning to do," he said with a small smile.

"Planning for what?" Rangiku had returned. Sakura turned to her, blushing, and said the fated words. The blonde's jaw dropped and then she squealed and wrapped Sakura up in a bear hug.

"Don't suffocate her!" Ichigo cried and Renji helped him pull Rangiku off of Sakura.

The brunette looked at her friend, "Have you ever considered getting a breast reduction?"

"No, why?"

"You might want to look into it," Sakura suggested. "It might be a good investment."

They all settled down to a movie and felt like a family. Sakura was content – they all seemed to be taking the baby news well. The next step was to tell them she was inviting her underground friends to the baby shower.


	29. Chapter 29

Sakura may not have been the first thing on his mind _all_ the time, but she sure did take up a lot of space in Gin's brain. He still felt like an asshole for leaving like he did – he hated lying to her, but he didn't want her to freak out. It had been almost six months since he left, sometime in January, and he still hadn't found the proper time to kill Aizen yet – he knew how, he just couldn't find the right time.

He had talked to Grimmjow a few times before, asked after Sakura once or twice – and got the impression that the bluenette wasn't too fond of him. He found the sixth member of the underground organization in one of the old corridors of the abandoned building they used as their base.

"Well, hello," he greeted, mockingly.

"Fuck off," Grimmjow growled. "Ah was just leavin'."

"Got a job?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.

"No, ah got a pass," he said, showed him the stamped paper and stalked off. "Ah'll tell Sakura ya doin' fine."

"Ya goin' ta see Sakura?"

"Yeah, an' ya ain't comin' wit' me – they'd shoot ya," he snapped as he walked away.

"An' they ain't goin' ta shoot _ya_ 'cause?"

"'Cause ah'm on th' fuckin' guest list!"

Gin watched as Grimmjow met up with Harribel and Lilynette at the entrance of the base, gave the sentry their passes, and left.

"I can't wait to see her! I bet she's still beautiful even if she is –" Lilynette started but Grimmjow clasped a hand over her mouth.

"Ain't ya eva' 'eard 'bout this thing called keepin' a secret?" he snapped quietly. "We promised 'er we won't tell."

The greenette shoved Grimmjow's hand off of her mouth, "_I_ never made that promise!"

Harribel glared at her, "_We_ promised, which means _you_ promised."

"An' ah told 'er ya promised, so shut th' fuck up," the bluenette growled. Lilynette pouted but got in the car when Grimmjow pointed to it.

Gin wanted to follow them, to see what was going on, but he needed to stay close to Aizen – and apparently it was about something he wasn't supposed to know about. But _what _could it be? It was long past her birthday, so it couldn't be that, and it was past Christmas and New Year's – he had no idea what it could be. Before he could ponder more, one of the underlings approached him – the bastard royale wanted to see him in the throne room. He nodded and dismissed the lackey.

He'd figure out what was going on with Sakura – but first he needed to kill Aizen. It was time to put his plan into action.


	30. Chapter 30

Ichigo was waiting at the front gate for Grimmjow, Harribel, and Lilynette. The sentries had their guns at the ready but he told them to stand down.

"They're allowed in," he explained and showed them the orders from Yamamoto-sou-taichou. "They're here for the shower."

They nodded, but glared as the sleek black car entered the lot. Ichigo walked to the driver's side, Grimmjow's window was down.

"You can park over there," he said and pointed to a certain section of lot. "Just be careful."

"Sure thin'," Grimmjow nodded and parked the car where Ichigo indicated.

After they crawled out and Grimmjow locked the car, stuffing the keys in his pocket for safekeeping, Ichigo led the odd-ball group to the party area. Sakura spotted them instantly – the electric blue hair being a dead giveaway – and waddled over.

"Hey guys!" she beamed.

"Haha, looks like we found mama penguin," Harribel teased and hugged the mom-to-be. "How are you feeling?"

"I swear if you ask that again at any point through the night and I'll try to slap you," Sakura warned. "That's all I get, minute-after-minute. But the low down? My back hurts, I get a little dizzy sometimes, and I still have about 17 to 19 weeks to go. Otherwise, I'm fine – annoyed with the over-protectiveness, but fine."

Grimmjow chuckled, "Ya dad's bein' a mother hen?"

"And Rangiku and Ichigo and even Renji," she laughed. She held her arms out, "I got a hug from Harribel, now you two need to pay up. Mind the bump."

The bluenette hugged her first and then Lilynette hugged her too.

"Can I feel your bump?" she asked excitedly.

"Oh, sure, just leave my shirt down," the brunette laughed. "The lil' guy just started kicking this past month, so he might react a little."

"Kickin' ya 'ard yet?" Grimmjow asked.

"Not really, but they have been stronger within the past week," she shrugged. "Oh Kami your hands are _cold_ Lilynette."

"Gomen," she blushed. "Oh! I felt it!"

Sakura nodded, "I'm sure you did."

"Is it a boy or girl?" Harribel wondered.

"I don't know; I don't want to know. I think Ichigo might know, but he won't tell me – I won't let him. I just use the masculine pronouns as a default," she smiled and giggled when Lilynette moved her hand. "That kinda tickles."

"Can I have a feel?" Harribel asked.

"Go ahead," she nodded. She noticed how the woman warmed her hands by blowing on them before she slid them under the pretty orange maternity shirt Sakura was wearing. "Thanks," she giggled. "You might have to teach that to Renji and Ichigo."

The baby kicked again and Harribel smiled, "It feels strange."

"Preaching to the choir," she grinned. "Wanna feel Grimm?"

He looked a little hesitant, "Ah dunno…"

"He's not going to bite – he doesn't even have teeth yet!" she teased. "The worst he'll do is kick, and it won't hurt you."

"It's just like a little bump on your hand," Harribel explained. "Nothing to be scared of."

"Ah ain't scared!" he retorted.

"It's okay if you don't want to," Sakura mediated. "It's okay."

He stared at the bump and swallowed nervously, "Ah just dunno...it's so _weird_ – no offense."

"None taken, I've been saying that for months," she smiled. "Here, give me your hand." She held out a hand and he hesitated before slowly placing his hand in hers. She was right, he wanted to – he just was a little scared.

"Come here," she said. "Just stand beside me."

He did as she said and stood by her side, his hand still in hers. She set his hand on her swollen stomach, right on the spot that she'd been feeling the most kicks. It took the little one a moment, but his mother's doubts dissolved when she felt the little one move. Grimmjow's face turned from one of nervousness to one of surprise when he felt the kick. Slowly, one side of his mouth slid up into an amazed smile, and he chuckled when he little tyke kicked him again.

"Hey there lil' fella," he grinned. "Nice ta meet ya too."

"Hopefully you'll be able to meet him in about three months," Sakura told the group as a whole. Grimmjow took his hand away, still smiling.

"Is he fussy?" Harribel asked.

"He likes to keep me up at night even now and then, a little annoying, but not as annoying as the first few months after he's born are gonna be," she admitted. "They say it takes a village to raise a child. I don't have a village."

"Then what do you call all this?" Harribel asked and motioned around the large room full of people.

"A small city," she laughed. "I think my sense of humor has changed – I think I'm funny now."

"Is anybody else funny?" Lilynette's words had a worried edge to them.

"When they aren't annoying me," Sakura laughed nervously. "Well, why do you guys come in and get comfy? I made sure everyone will be nice to you – or else…"

"Or else wha'?" Grimmjow looked a little nervous again.

"I'll set the cat on them," she said firmly. "I'm waddling – can't do much with a baby on board. So I'm letting Ryu do all my dirty work for me."

"Or me," Ichigo joined the group. "Your dad's looking for you – _again_…"

Sakura sighed, "Great…I was beginning to hope he had let off for a little bit…too bad." She turned to her oddball friends. "I should go soothe him before he has another meltdown; make yourselves comfortable. I'll be back." She waddled off. Ichigo watched her and smiled when Renji fell into step beside her.

"Yep, mama penguin," Grimmjow snickered.

Ichigo nodded, "She's a beautiful mama penguin though."

"A glowing mama penguin," Harribel added.

Lilynette nodded, "I knew she'd still be beautiful – even if she is pregnant."

"Fortunately she's in a good mood," Ichigo confided. "Her father's been hovering over her like nobody's business – I think he forgets that he has a division to run sometimes. Anyway, come on in – I'll show you around."

Once the last of the guests had arrived, the light supper was served – and had a little bit of everything, including the strange combination of pickles and chocolate sauce. They noticed that Sakura picked up one of the little plates of the pickles and chocolate sauce.

Ichigo leaned over to Harribel and whispered, "It's one of her cravings. It's not half bad at that."

Rangiku picked up one of the plates too, "It's actually pretty good."

Lilynette decided she would try it and Harribel agreed to split a plate with her; Grimmjow politely declined.

When the food had been eaten, the presents were opened. She opened the one from her father first – and Renji muttered that it was probably to get the man to shut up. (Later, Sakura confirmed the suspicion.) She pulled a mobile out of the box – it was decorated with stars and planets, which Shunsui said glowed in the dark.

"It's gorgeous," she grinned and hugged him (he sat right beside her). "Thank you!"

"You're welcome my cherry blossom~!"

She set the box to the side and Renji handed his and Ichigo's present to her. She pulled out a set of onesies – there were four of them: one was a solid pumpkin orange, one was a light gray with a white trim, one was a white with rainbow polka dots, and the fourth one made Sakura laugh out loud. She held up the royal blue outfit so everyone could read the words on the front: _Mama's Royal Stinker_

Everyone laughed at this and Sakura grinned as she hugged Renji and tugged on Ichigo's sleeve – he was too far away for her to hug him. "Thanks guys – I'll make sure to use it."

She opened the other gifts after she let go of Renji and Ichigo. She looked over at Unohana-taichou.

"Taichou? Don't mistake me for being rude or anything but…what are these?" she asked, bewildered, and held up items in question. They looked like toothbrushes in form but instead of bristles were soft rubber spokes.

"They're training toothbrushes, for when the little one starts teething – he or she gets practice for the future and feels good on his gums," she explained with a gentle smile.

"Oh, that's cool," the mom-to-be was suddenly fascinated. "Thank you!"

She opened the next box, from her grandfather, and grinned, pulling out a very colorful rubber ducky – blue with hearts of assorted colors splattered across its body.

"That's cute," she giggled. "I don't know who'll love it more – me or the baby!"

They all laughed again and Yamamoto cracked a smile, "I'm glad you like it."

"Thank you jiisan," she beamed and blew him a kiss.

The last present was from Grimmjow, Harribel and Lilynette.

She opened the plain box, "Awwww…" She held up the little stuffed fox. "What a sweetie! Thanks guys!"

Grimmjow chuckled but sent her a wink, Harribel grinned, and Lilynette got up and hugged Sakura. "It was Harribel's idea."

"I had a feeling it wasn't Grimmjow's," she teased as she hugged the girl back. "But that doesn't matter – thank you."

The party wound down around seven in the evening, Sakura was yawning as she saw the guests off. She made sure to say bye to the oddball crew.

"Thanks for the fox guys, I'm sure the little one will love it," she smiled wearily. "And thanks for coming by."

"Thanks for putting us on the guest list," Harribel agreed. "We'll be seeing you soon."

"I hope so," she said and hugged all three of them. Grimmjow hung back for a minute and hugged her again, and put a hand on her baby bump again.

"See ya soon lil' guy," he said. "An' we'll see ya soon too Sakura," he added quickly, a light blush on his cheeks. He looked around real fast to make sure no one was watching and quickly bent down to place a kiss on Sakura's swollen stomach. "An' tha's from Gin – not tha' 'e knows."

Her eyes watered and she hugged him tightly, "Thanks Grimmjow – you're the best!"

"Now don't ya start cryin' on meh, ah 'ave ta get back ta th' base ya know," he said worriedly.

She nodded as she pulled away, "Yeah, I know. Go on – I'll see you soon. Love you Grimm."

"Love you too Sakura, take care," he said and kissed her cheek before leaving.

She watched their car pull out of the lot and then caught Ichigo's arm.

"C'mon, I need to go to bed, I'm exhausted."

"What do you need me for?" he asked.

"To help me move the diapers and pull-ups Rangiku bought for me so I can _get _to the bed," she explained with a yawn. "Where's your boyfriend? He might as well help too."

"Just how much did she buy?" Renji asked when he was recruited.

"Enough to last me through this kid and a potential next," she snorted. When they opened the door to her room – they knew she wasn't kidding.

"I think she went a little overboard," Ichigo stated the obvious.

"Damn Rangiku, we're having a little talk in the morning," Renji agreed. "And I think we might want to get one of those storage units for baby stuff after all…"


	31. Chapter 31

He had failed. The bastard was still alive – and here he was: dying.

The old building the underground organization, called the Arrancar, was in flames – one of the beams had fallen on Gin as he tried to get out of the building. He had a serious wound in his stomach from his attempt to murder Aizen and was pinned to the ground by a heavy metal I-beam, with flames getting closer to him every second. He could hear the sirens approaching the building – the fire department must've been called and that meant the police couldn't be far behind. Maybe it was better that he would die here – that way Sakura wouldn't have to worry about him anymore.

"Wait! Harribel, Yammy – give meh a 'and 'ere!" Grimmjow had spotted the Gotei traitor.

The Cero Espada, first in line if anything happened to the "king", retorted angrily, "Why the hell should we save him? We have to get out!"

Grimmjow and Harribel had already set to work trying to move the beam off of Gin, "Ah ain't doin' it fer 'im!" he hollered back.

The giant understood and helped the other two move the beam off of Gin – and his strength was all they needed. The beam was tossed aside and Grimmjow tossed Gin over her shoulder before running out of the building.

"Don't ya dare die on meh ya fuckin' asshole – ah'd rather spare Sakura that conversation," he snapped before Gin passed out. It was hard to run with him over his shoulder, he had to use his good right arm to carry him – his left arm was completely useless, the bones were broken, the shoulder was dislocated at the very best and the gash in the bicep was making him lose blood at a fast rate. Harribel helped him carry Gin out of the nearest exit and they ran right into the authorities. The medics held the police back as they set to work on the criminals.

Harribel was relatively unscathed and waved the medics off, "Take care of them first…" she told them and pointed to Gin and Grimmjow. One insisted on giving her a look-over and she thought of Sakura, "If you have to."

Grimmjow was right, his shoulder had been badly dislocated, and he cried out in pain when they set it back. They cleaned out the gash and had to staple it close. He would be lucky if he could ever use that arm again.

Gin was in the worst shape of them all. The smoke inhalation had nearly killed him and the wound in his stomach from Aizen and the broken ribs and punctured lungs from the fallen beam were finishing what the smoke had started.

Grimmjow shoved the medic away, "Go take care of 'im – 'e's more important."

"But –" he started to protest.

"Ah'll survive, 'e might not if ya ain't gonna 'elp 'im," he growled and the medic, terrified, went to help with Gin.

Harribel sat down next to him on the pavement, "Think he'll make it?"

"'E damn well better," he spat. "Sakura's lost th' asshole once, ah don't want 'er ta lose 'im permanently."


	32. Chapter 32

The news had been covering the huge fire in Tokyo, and needless to say that the Gotei members were on full alert. The First and Twelfth Divisions had been sent to help with the local police and the Fourth had been sent to help with the medics. Renji and Rangiku stayed with Sakura, keeping her oblivious from what had happened.

"What's going on?" she asked; a pregnancy book in her hand. "What happened?"

"There's a major fire in Tokyo and they needed help from the Gotei," Renji told her. "Some company building."

Sakura – oblivious that Renji wasn't telling her the _exact_ truth – nodded in acceptance and went back to her book. Rangiku had her phone in hand, ready to call the hospital at any moment. Sakura was due any day now and was nervous as all get out.

"How about we play some _Monopoly_? You've read that book six times already Sakura," Rangiku suggested.

Sakura looked over at the blonde, glanced back at the book, sighed and put the book down, "That sounds good. I wasn't really reading it anyway."

"Too nervous to focus?" Renji said as he went and found the board (The Japan-Tokyo version was the only version they had at the Gotei, the Cities version was back at Sakura's apartment). They set it up and played for a good two hours.

"Let's see, I landed on Ginza…" she said as she set her marker down. "That means I…oh!" She cringed and put a hand on her stomach. "That one kinda hurt," she winced.

"You alright?" Renji asked.

Sakura nodded, "I think so…give me a minute…" She paused for a moment and then continued with the game once the contraction passed. "It's probably just one of 'practice' contractions," she reassured them. "I'll let you know if something changes." They played a few more minutes when Sakura got up and went to the bathroom. She was paler when she came back out of the bathroom, and she was a little shaky.

"What is it?" Rangiku asked and got up to help steady the mother-to-be.

"You might wanna call that hospital now Ran…" she said nervously. "I think my water just broke…"

"Are you sure?" Renji said and quickly put the board away. Sakura nodded. Rangiku pulled the number up on her phone and called the hospital, handing the phone to the Sakura. She asked to talk to the doctor she had been seeing regularly, told him what was going on and answered any questions he had, asking a few of her own along the way. When she said good-bye it was immediately followed with a "We'll be there soon."

She handed the phone back to the blonde, "He wants me in the hospital to perform a few tests to make sure it's the amniotic fluid…"

"And if it is?" Rangiku asked, seemingly oblivious as Renji picked up Sakura's overnight bag for the hospital.

"Then we'll be welcoming the baby within 24 hours," she said simply and waddled out the door.


	33. Chapter 33

Unohana Retsu felt her phone go off several times as she helped treat the wounds of the Arrancar but hadn't had enough of a break to check it. When they finally had all of the survivors patched up she checked her phone. Upon reading the message, she searched for the few friends she knew Sakura had in this criminal group and spotted Grimmjow first. She walked up to him, the blood in his hair doing little to detract from the brightness of the blue.

"Grimmjow Jaeggerjaquez?" she addressed him.

"Whaddya want?" He spat, glaring at her.

"I'm Unohana Retsu, a close friend of Sakura's," she introduced herself. "You are Tier Harribel?"

The Tercera Espada nodded, "Yeah, that's me."

"Where's Lilynette?" she asked.

"Over there I think, with Starrk," the blonde pointed in a general direction. "Why?"

"I said I'm a good friend of Sakura's," she repeated quickly. "Are you well enough to travel?"

"They have to go to the hospital for further treatment," one of the medics interrupted her.

"Perfect, that's where they would go any," she smiled at the young man. "Are they well enough to go to the hospital?"

"She's having the baby?" Harribel asked quickly.

Unohana glanced at Gin's body in the ambulance, "Hai."

"Oh don't worry 'bout th' traitor," Grimmjow said with a casual wave of his hand. "They say 'e's in one of them coma things."

The doctor's face fell at this, "I see."

Harribel got up, "I'll go find Lilynette and tell her the good news. I'll be right back."

The injured criminals had been shuttled to the local hospital. When they got there, Yamamoto had been waiting for them – and his great-grandchild.

He talked to the police chief, taking responsibility of Grimmjow, Harribel, Lilynette, Gin and Aizen.

"Aizen and Gin have betrayed the Gotei – we will deal with their punishments. The other three are close to a very important Gotei family member – she would like them nearby. I'll take responsibility for them," he said, leaving no room for argument.

Sakura had gone into labor and had been in the delivery room for ten hours already, and the group could hear her screams as they waited in the waiting room next door. They had been there for six of those hours and they were pretty antsy. Grimmjow wouldn't stop tapping either his foot or his fingers, wincing every time he heard Sakura scream a little louder than the rest. Harribel was either in her seat, fidgeting, or pacing around the room. Lilynette was about to go into tears but one of the nurses handed her a set of headphones and the greenette plugged them into her phone – which had survived the fire, mainly because she was one of the first ones out – and turned up her music so she couldn't hear the screaming anymore. Renji was normally pacing opposite of Harribel, and he didn't even have Ichigo to help soothe his nerves – the diligent med student had gone into the delivery room with the doctors and mother-to-be. Shunsui was busy having an absolute meltdown and two nurses were busy trying to calm him down.

The only one that was keeping his cool was Yamamoto. He sat in the corner, hands folded in his lap, not saying a word – sometimes they stopped and checked to make sure he was still breathing, but he had reassured them that he was very much alive each time.

It wasn't until 10:39 that night – fifteen hours after Sakura had gone into labor – when they got any news from inside. Ichigo came out in his scrubs, grinning.

The distressed, grandfather-to-be perked up, "And? And?"

"Calm down, grandpa," he laughed. "It's a boy – 6 pounds, 4 ounces. And they're perfectly fine. She wants to see you and you." He pointed to Shunsui and Yamamoto.

They got up and walked into the room – spending a good ten minutes with the new mother and baby. Renji and Rangiku got to see them next, and then the injured Espada were allowed in.

Lilynette gushed over the new baby, commenting on how adorable he was. His face was all red and puffy, but he was still cute. He had a small wisp of silver hair, he was a little chubby, and when opened his eyes, even Grimmjow was enchanted by the royal blue orbs.

"He looks just like Gin," Harribel said softly.

"Except the eyes…" Sakura sighed. "Not really either of us."

"'Ow are we supposed ta know tha'? We ain't ever seen 'is eyes, 'e always keeps 'em shut," the bluenette remarked.

"They're blue, but not _that _shade of blue," she explained. "Not even close."

Grimmjow reached out with his good hand and tapped the baby's nose, "It's good ta finally see ya, lil' guy. Wha's 'is name?"

"Hebi," she smiled.

"Well, he and Shinsō should get along well then," Lilynette giggled, "Since they're both snakes."

Sakura finally asked the dreaded question, "What happened to you guys? You're pretty banged up."

"Did you hear about the fire in the city?" Harribel asked.

"Hai," she nodded. "Renji said it was a company building."

"Yeah, if you consider us a company," the greenette scoffed.

"That was your base?" Sakura said slowly, "Is Gin –?"

Grimmjow shrugged and lied, "We didn't see 'im. 'E was probably one of th' first ones out – 'e wasn't on th' dead list. We checked." Well, it wasn't a complete lie.

Sakura frowned, "I guess that's good – he's not dead." She cuddled her baby boy, stroking one of his cheeks. "He's a sweetie, isn't he?" She sighed, content and exhausted.

One of the nurses informed Sakura that they would be moving her to a more adequate room for her to stay in.

"Hai, of course," she nodded tiredly and handed one of them Hebi while they helped her get into the wheelchair to go to the other room. They took the baby to the infirmary, and the Espada were taken by the Gotei members.

"You're not going to hurt them are you, jiisan?" She asked, "Except for that bastard Aizen, of course."

"Don't worry – we'll punish them but we won't hurt them," he reassured her. "Except for Aizen – he'll be repenting forever."

"Good," she nodded. "Good. Now I need to rest – it's been a long day."

"I'm sure of that," he smiled slightly. "I'll see you tomorrow Sakura. Oh, and by the way," he said as he walked out of the door. "Is Hebi an Ichimaru or a Kyōraku?"

"Jiisan, he's an Ichimaru – through and through," she smiled. "But he's as loud as a Kyōraku – some things just don't change."


	34. Chapter 34

Sakura was very grateful that Renji, Ichigo, and Rangiku insisted on staying with her, rotating out each week for a solid three weeks now – because she had not had a slept for more than three hours at a shot since she came home with Hebi. He was crying for food again but Renji just told her to go back to sleep, he'd feed the blue-eyed babe. She still had interrupted sleep, but less so on some days. Most nights she insisted on feeding him herself. She was breastfeeding, but she was using bottled breast milk – Hebi just wouldn't latch properly and it hurt Sakura. So she and her doctor decided the bottled breast milk would work best for her seeing as the pump didn't hurt her.

Renji was able to coax Hebi back to sleep, but wasn't so successful in getting Sakura back to sleep.

"You're exhausted, you need to sleep," he told her.

She sighed, "I know, I know…it's just so hard to sleep. Between Hebi waking me at all hours and Gin gone…it's just…difficult."

"Look, I know you miss him – but I'm sure you're right: he'll be back," the lieutenant hugged her.

"I hope so," she sighed. "Did you hear what they were talking about at the captain's meeting today?"

He shook his head, "Should I?"

"I…" She took a deep breath, "You know how Kira's been a fukutaichou for a long time, under Gin and under the captain before him, and the short term of the captain before him?"

"Yeah, he seems to like it," Renji nodded.

"He does – he doesn't like being taichou, and he's made that pretty clear. He's requested to step back down to fukutaichou and it seems my grandfather's permitting it. We can't have a Gotei member who's uncomfortable in his job." That last bit was sarcastic as hell.

Tattooed eyebrows furrowed together, "Really? Who does he want to take his place – or has he said so?"

She looked up at him, "He wants me to take his place; and everyone but Mayuri agrees with him."

"Well that figures," he chuckled. "Let me guess, the freak wants to take over as Third Division taichou?"

"Got it in one," she rolled her eyes but smiled. "Of course, Yamamoto's not going to let _that _happen, not after all of the formal complaints that Gin had to send in on the jerk." Normally, she would say "asshole" but didn't want Hebi's first word to be so…inappropriate.

Renji chuckled and then they fell silent for a moment before he asked, "Well?"

"'Well', what?"

"Are you going to take the position?" he clarified.

"I don't know…I think I will – but I'm not sure," she admitted. "Unohana-taichou convinced Kira to stay on until I decided and convinced the rest of them to be patient seeing as I'm still on maternity leave with a three-week-old son and just lost Gin…perhaps permanently…"

"Look, I'm pretty sure _something _happened, but I don't know what _exactly _happened to him, so I can't help you there. But think of it this way – why did he teach you all about the poisons?"

"He said it was extra help for biochemistry," she shrugged.

"But if he _knew_ that he was leaving, maybe he wanted you to take his place all along," Renji suggested.

She sighed, "Maybe…" She almost told Renji about how Gin had wanted to kill Aizen for years, but when she knotted her hands together, the scar on her left palm caught her attention and shut her up before she broke the oath of silence she made to Gin. "I don't know, it could be but I don't think he had any idea things would turn out this way – none of us did."

"Maybe he expected the worse and prepared?" it was the fukutaichou's turn to shrug.

"…I guess so…he still had no chance of knowing about Hebi…" her voice wavered in that I'm-about-to-start-bawling-eyes-out way.

"Why didn't you tell him at school?"

She snorted in amusement, "First off, I didn't know until _after_ school – you know, _after _he had left. Second, I wouldn't even _want _to tell him during _school_ – c'mon Renji, I'm supposed to be the good girl after all – and good girls don't get knocked up during high school."

"Well, your grandpa's pushed those graduation papers through," the red-head tried compromising.

"Yeah, _after _he found out I was pregnant and didn't want my reputation ruined – I wasn't even allowed to go to my own graduation ceremony because he didn't want me to waddle that far…"

That got a weak laugh out of both of them. The idle chatter lulled Sakura to sleep, and Renji made sure that both mother and son were sleeping soundly before settling back in himself. He'd talk to Ichigo about Sakura's potential promotion at a more civil hour; he wasn't sure how it would affect his friend if she took the position. He hoped it wouldn't be anything bad.


	35. Chapter 35

**Just a fair warning, I will probably be going on a short hiatus due to school and writer's block. For those of you still reading this, thank you for sticking with me, I really appreciate it and I'm sorry for the unnecessary suspense. And of course, I do not own anything but Sakura and Hebi - that hasn't changed and I don't think it will. I'll go now and let you get to this story. Hope to see you soon!**

**PS: Reviews are loved!**

* * *

There was a knock on the door, one Sakura quickly recognized.

"Come in Kira," she called and looked up as he entered the room. "Hai?"

"I have those files you wanted," he said and set the small stack on the edge of the couch and the room – it was one of the few places not covered by some more files. He had learned quickly that his new taichou by going through them by priority and was now getting into the habit of pre-sorting them, normally getting the Third Seats to help him.

"Ah, good – thank you," she smiled. "How are the new PINs coming?"

"I have my encryption program working on it," he explained. "Would you like me to take some of these off your floor?"

"Only if you absolutely insist," she replied as she returned to the papers in front of her.

Kira didn't say anymore as he collected half of the lower priority files to assign to the Third Seats; he'd come back and pick up some of the higher priority files to work on himself.

After Sakura had accepted the Captain's seat, she dove into her work. When Hebi wasn't with her, he was with his grandfather or in the Fourth Division pediatric center. The little Ichimaru had charmed his way into the hearts of the Gotei members, except for Divisions 11 and 12. The little tyke was currently sleeping soundly in the crib they had set up in the office, clutching the stuffed fox from the Arrancars – he cried if he didn't have it.

The newest Kyōraku-taichou finished her current stack of classified, high priority, due-the-next-day-by-11: 59 PM files. She sat back in her chair and sighed before draining her teacup, pouring another, and started on the next set of papers.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ichigo was at the hospital on errands for the Fourth Division – he had finally been assigned to the open Fourth Seat position. He was delivering some desperately needed medicines to the doctors and was currently checking in on the still unconscious Gin. The carrot-top stood alone at the former taichou's bedside, frowning.

"She doesn't know about you being a vegetable," he said, even though he was pretty sure Gin couldn't hear him. "Though if she did, you'd be a carrot. She loves carrots. And damn, she loves you too…but we don't want to be the ones to break her heart." He paused for a moment. "She's doing really well at her new job, buried herself in her work. How she balances it all, I have no clue but however she does it, it works…she misses you terribly. If only you'd wake up, we'd all feel better."

The orange-haired medic sighed before turning and walking out of the building. He was climbing into the car when one of the nurses ran out after him, flagging him down.

"Kurosaki-san!" she called.

He walked over to the winded woman, "Hai?"

"It's the Gotei coma patient. Something's happened."

* * *

Kira knocked fervently on Yamamoto's office door, having received a text from Ichigo. He had already called Sakura away from the Captain's meeting. Normally the gloomy lieutenant would've been embarrassed on interrupting a captain's meeting but this wasn't an everyday situation.

"There's something going on with our patient at the hospital," he said swiftly and worriedly. "Ichigo need clearance for the doctors to perform an emergency surgery."

The old man nodded, "Dial the number, I will grant permission. Retsu, you will go down and assist."

"Hai, tell them to start without me, I'll be down there shortly," she replied as he took the phone from Kira.

Ichigo picked up the phone and handed it to the doctor, and worried. He and his taichou would be helping with the procedure. Even if Gin did pull out of this, it'd be a long recovery. Either way, they're going to have to tell Sakura something – and soon.


End file.

Bleach, Hurt-Comfort, Romance