Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach. 'Nuff said.

Title: Game Over

Pairing: Gin/Matsumoto

Rating: T (for colourful language)

Author's Note: Been in my head for quite some time.

Gin's perpetual smile faded as soon as the blade pierced his skin. Seconds later, it was torn out and he slid to his knees, holding a hand over the wound while the other used the ground to keep himself steady. When the taste of copper filled his mouth, he peered up at his orange-haired opponent.

The kid had beaten him.

He grimaced.

'Seems hardly fair.' He mused, and then paused. 'On second thought…'

Karma always was a bitch.

Gin laughed to himself, and that Kurosaki kid looked down at him with a weird expression.

Was that pity?

He'd always hated pity. Killed the last guy who took pity on him, in fact -- then his whole family, one by one. But that was a long time ago, before he even joined the Gotei 13.

"It was fun while it lasted, eh?"

Kurosaki said nothing, and Gin fell back, his hand still covering his chest. He stared up at the sky through lidded eyes, watching two miniscule but powerful figures clash. Papa Kurosaki was a lot stronger than he thought, and in the back of his mind, Gin knew that the battle was going to end soon. Aizen's perfect plan was going to come crumbling down, and he was going to lose. It was only a matter of time. The bad guys never won, after all. Gin knew this from the start, but wanted to see it through anyway.

He regretted nothing.

It was the best game he'd ever played.

He watched until his vision began to blur, and then turned his attention to Kurosaki Jr.

"Oi, kid," he said, paying no heed to the boy's scowl, "I gotta request for ya before I go."

The brat didn't reply, but Gin knew he was listening.

"It's Ran-chan's birthday soon…" he went on, "I was kinda hopin' t'get her somethin' nice. Y'know… t'make up for makin' her mad an' all…" he paused to cough up some of the blood in his throat before continuing, "But as ya can see… I ain't gonna be 'round for much longer… so could'ja get her somethin' for me? She likes pink… maybe another scarf or… a nice kimono…" he trailed off and chuckled softly, "Actually… maybe not. We ain't kids no more so she don't fit in them that good… she's not fat or anything… but she'd be poppin' out of it, if ya catch my drift." He swore he saw the Kurosaki kid blushing, but it could've been his imagination. "Then again… Ran-chan's always been shameless… she probably wouldn't care…"

Damn. It was hard to think when he was dying. He should've written a list.

Gin squinted.

He'd known from the beginning that he was going to die. But he had kind of wanted his Ran-chan to do it. Tousen, that bastard, lucked out. He actually saw his friends before he kicked the bucket -- or rather, before Aizen kicked the bucket for him.

It would've been nice though, Gin mused. Poetic, even, if he had died by Ran-chan's blade, and seen her face one last time.

So he tried to picture it in his mind. He didn't want Kurosaki's ugly mug to be the last thing he saw, and so he imagined the little girl he'd rescued all those years ago -- the skinny, strawberry blonde with ratty hair and pretty blue eyes who didn't have a birthday until he gave her one.

It would have to do, he decided, closing his eyes and smiling.

Maybe next time he would do things a bit differently.

Maybe next time he would let her choose the game instead.

____________________

FIN

Word Count: 600

Not sure what to say other than… I hope you enjoyed. Please REVIEW!

-Lady Azura-