5 Gin's change

It has been a month since Itsuki was finally able to turn his mystic eyes off and was now currently finishing off today's training session. The ground was littered with snow as winter had arrived. Rangiku could be seen sitting down wearing an overcoat over her green kimono at she gazed at Itsuki as he trained, unsure of what she was feeling in her heart. It always happened when Itsuki smiled at her or when she watched him train. Gin glanced at him training and then at Rangiku before giving a knowing smirk and started to leave. By the time Rangiku realised, he was already gone, a faint glimmer of worry passed through her eyes but then her attention was immediately gathered by Itsuki.

At first both Gin and Rangiku were surprised at him training, wondering for what reason he was doing it for. Itsuki was caught off-guard when they asked him as he never did prepare a response, so he just gave a childish and cliché reply of him feeling useless and wanting to help them. Although he really did want to help them in the near future, they didn't need to know about the future which was full of thorns. Although there will be tiny moments of happiness, just experiencing these relaxing yet fulfilling days was enough for him as he knew it would soon come to an end.

Itsuki noticed Rangiku's subtle glances at him but chose to ignore it. It left him with complex feelings as entering a relationship this early on didn't even cross his mind. Nobody can say about the future but for now he would rather act oblivious to it as it could be attributed to him being her crush. Although he wasn't an otaku, it was every man's dream to have a harem. Especially in this world as there was Yoruichi Shihouin, Kuchiki Rukia and many others. He never knew if he would create a harem or only have one woman and keep her happy but he would cross the bridge when he got there, right now all he needs to do is increase his strength so he could help his friends and try to prevent Gin's death in the future.

As he finished his training he went into the hut, where a warm towel was prepared, to wash off his sweat. Looking at his body, faint signs of muscle started to show on his body, although not much but compared to his previous scrawny body it was a good change. His ragged black kimono was already there accompanied by a small coat. After drying himself with the towel he wore his kimono and tied up his hair into a high pony tail whilst coming out, leaving a few strands cascading down the sides of his face.

He tried to remember the timeline he was currently in but couldn't come to a conclusion. It wasn't stated when Rangiku and Gin met but he knew that it was in summer or spring and that they joined shin'o academy 111 years prior to the main plot.

He also knew that Gin wanted to join the academy because of his desire to kill Aizen.

Finally noticing the absence of Gin, Itsuki turned to Rangiku

"Rangiku, have you seen Gin?" Itsuki asked the still dazed harpy who was leaning on her arm

Shocked by the sudden question, her hand slipped as she fell backward rather comically.

Surprised at what happened, Itsuki couldn't stop himself from bringing out a small giggle mesmerising the opposite party

She replied getting back up while collecting her thoughts and archiving this moment into her deepest memories as a small blush appeared on her face

"I don't know, he never tells us where he is going whenever he leaves. It's been like that even before we met you"

Her complexion started to look downcast and a gloomy air surrounded her. A rare moment of panic could be seen in Itsuki's eyes as he tried to cheer her up by changing the subject.

"…"

Failing to find a subject to change to, Itsuki was just left there with an open mouth unsure of how to proceed. Seeing the antiques of her friend, Rangiku burst out laughing, her previous gloomy air being washed away. Realising he was being laughed at, Itsuki closed his mouth as he returned to his apathetic self with a hint of red appearing on his face. As the red receded a small smile then crept onto his face as Rangiku was now back to normal. However, a faint glimmer of worry passed both their eyes at the same time.

The day passed on as normal as Itsuki went to gather some firewood, seeing that Gin wasn't coming back anytime soon, while Rangiku stayed and took care of the hut. No matter how small, home was home for the three of them. As the sun was starting to set, Itsuki returned home carrying a sizeable amount of firewood unfit for someone that looked the age of 13. Itsuki realised that possessing reiatsu gave a boost to his body's capabilities. Even Rangiku could lift more than the average man. However, for Itsuki he could lift more than both Rangiku and even Gin possessing more reiatsu than normal and he trained his body. His reiatsu also felt a bit more denser than Rangiku's or Gin's as he always emptied his reiatsu to push himself in training.

"I'm home" uttered Itsuki as he entered with the pile of firewood.

He placed them on the side and grabbed a couple to light up a fire in the middle of the room. As the sun finally set and the darkness slowly engulfed soul society, there was still no sign of Gin returning home. A worried voice travelled to his ear

"Is Gin here yet?" Rangiku asked while handing him some rice and egg.

The three's living condition became much better as Itsuki always went out to do miscellaneous tasks for a small amount of kan. Kan being the currency of soul society. So, every now and then the three are able to have a proper meal. He was also able to buy more comfortable beds, although second hand, for the three and get better utensils and plates to eat out of. Overall, you could say that there living condition had improved.

Seeing the worried look on Rangiku's face, Itsuki reassured her as he ushered her off to bed after enjoying a meal together. Although Rangiku may have feelings for him, both Gin and Itsuki thought of her as someone that they need to protect. As Rangiku drifted off to sleep, Itsuki started meditating while lying down as he slowly increased his reiatsu and made progress in getting his fourth partition which will allow a total of 256 thoughts processes.

Time gradually passed by and there were still no sign of Gin and as soon as Itsuki thought that he wasn't coming, a faint sound of footsteps travelled to his ears. There was a certain heaviness to these footsteps, but they were undoubtedly Gin's. As Gin entered the hut, he gently placed his collected firewood with the others and walked towards his bed. No change could be seen on his face apart from the lack of a smile but Itsuki can feel a trace of killing intent being emitted from Gin.

'He must've seen Aizen'

Itsuki said nothing and continued to pretend to be asleep as Gin laid down and drifted off to sleep with Itsuki following not long after.

The following days, this situation repeated itself and although Rangiku didn't show it, Itsuki could tell that she was worried. There were times when Gin never came home at all and only arrived in the morning and sometimes, he came home smelling of blood. Although he tried to hide it, Itsuki with his heightened senses was still able to perceive it.

Finally, Itsuki could take it no more and decided to do something. So, one night, after Rangiku fell asleep, Itsuki stayed up and waited outside the hut for Gin to come home. He didn't wait long as he saw Gin coming out of the forest.