A/N: I've seen like three episodes of SPN and Karin's prolly gonna get Jossed in a year but whatevs. XD

Major thanks to Blade of Sparda for betaing.

Cursedly Blessed

Have fun, he said. Practice your English, he said.

Urahara was an ass.

(She didn't need to practice English, especially not with university entrance exams behind her).

At that moment, sitting in a coffee shop across from a complete stranger as her friend of five months spoke on her behalf, Karin Kurosaki was feeling less than appreciative of a certain shopkeeper's efforts towards keeping her safe.

He'd flung her straight into a new dimension without warning, with the promise that he'd be back for her in a month. It had undoubtedly been for her protection, and while she could have forgiven the … inconvenience… of being dropped somewhere with virtually nothing than what she had on at the time (i.e. Rukia's old memory replacer), she didn't like the implications of her current situation.

She had no documents, no forms of identification, no currency. It was unlike the shopkeeper to send her anywhere, let alone a new dimension, so ill-equipped.

But really, all of that was insignificant when she considered the fact that Urahara was now four months late. Had he even sent her to the dimension he'd intended? True, the world seemed relatively safe, but was the passage of time even the same as her home dimension?

And as safe as it seemed, she'd still been incredibly lucky to have met the eccentric brunette chattering a mile-a-minute beside her.

Karin didn't even bother to attempt to follow the conversation.

Initially, she had thought that the suddenness, the lack of warning and preparation in which she had been literally dropped into the new world, was just the crazy shopkeeper being himself. But as the days passed and the deadline came and went, she started to suspect that the abruptness had been made out of a hasty panic.

(Had the war become that bad?)

But since she'd always dealt better with anger than worry, she buried her concerns under a hardening resolve to kick certain family members in the ass for their overprotective tendency to sideline her as soon as she came home.

"Right Karin?"

Startled, she looked up just as she was elbowed in the side by Dawn – the girl that reminded her of a strange combination of Tatsuki and Inoue; she was brash and straightforward, but ditsy and oftentimes nonsensical.

Initially, Karin had just been thankful that Dawn seemed to lack enough commonsense to shelter her that first day. It was only recently that she started to realize that Dawn had been under the mistaken assumption that she had come out of an abusive relationship.

From the considering glances that the girl across the table sent her, Karin wondered if Dawn had shared that assumption.

Licking her lips, Karin gave Dawn a sheepish smile, "Sorry. Please, could you repeat?"

Tilting her head to the right, Dawn patiently reiterated her words, "Jessica has a boyfriend, but he's a harmless nerd, who apparently ditched Jessi here this weekend. Sooo-ooo since we only need like this weekend while my place gets fumigated or whatever, this should work out perfectly right?"

What should?

Karin opened her mouth, only for Dawn to clap her hands together with a grin, "Great! That's settled! I'll crash at Darren's, while you stay with her. Thanks so much Jess!" Leaning forward, she grabbed Karin for a quick one-armed hug as she stood, before leaning over the table to do the same with her apparent old roommate.

Karin managed to get out a "Wait-" around the same time as Jessica managed, "Dawn, I'm not sure -", but Dawn was already half way across the floor with a cheerful shout, "See ya guys!"

Karin stared at the door that was swinging shut and carefully swallowed. Slowly, she turned her head back to see Jessica smiling awkwardly at her.

She wasn't sure what expression she had on her face, but Jessica suddenly laughed, "I'm guessing Dawn made these plans without you?"

Karin smiled and resisted the urge to grit her teeth, "She speaks very quickly, and I-my English…"

Jessica shook her head and stood, "It's ok. Don't worry about it. She's told me a little about your situation with the boyfriend and everything." Gathering her purse, she missed Karin's suddenly furrowed expression.

Although the concern she received for her supposedly traumatic past was convenient, she still felt irritatingly uncertain over exactly how to react.

The closest thing to domestic abuse she'd directly witnessed were the fights between her dad and Ichigo; and even if that could qualify as abuse, she wasn't sure who, in the pair, was the victim.

On some days, she had the uncharitable thought that the victims were her and Yuzu. (Yuzu, because she didn't like to see anyone sad, and herself, because she was somehow always the one taking the plaster from Yuzu to patch up the holes in the walls).

Jessica continued, "Plus, it's not like this was the most ridiculous request she's ever made. She's crazy, but a pretty decent judge of character. Come on, I'll take you back."

At the blonde's expectant look, Karin crumpled the straw's paper wrapper in her fist and hesitantly stood up, "Back…?"

"Back to my place, where else?"

-0-

Despite her misgivings, Saturday passed with minimal awkwardness.

Like Dawn, Jessica was startling trusting. Apparently, despite her open acknowledgement of Dawn's 'crazy' personality, Jessica seemed more than willing to take Dawn at her word and left Karin alone in the apartment for most of that morning. And despite the busy schedule that Karin knew Jessica had to have (Dawn had complained about the quarter system often enough), Jessica even invited her into the kitchen to bake.

Her. Baking.

Yuzu's job.

She'd given her warnings, but Jessica had waved off her concerns. After several charred batches, which Jessica had laughed helplessly at, they'd finally produced one decent batch – half of which they ate for dinner.

Now drastically behind in the day's schedule, Jessica had left her alone to pack – not that she really had much to pack. So when the doorbell rang, Karin had felt comfortable enough to holler at the staircase, "I'll get it!"

She only registered the increasingly pungent smell of sulfur when she reached the foyer and stopped. Now that she had detected it, the scent suddenly seemed overwhelming. Gagging, she covered her mouth and took a step back, just as the doorbell rang again.

"Karin? Are you getting that?"

Karin shuddered. What was this… feeling? It was almost like a hollow, but deeper and darker. She could feel the goosebumps rising, trailing from her arms up to her neck and behind her ears.

It was the first time she'd felt anything close to the supernatural dangers from home.

The doorbell rang again, and this time the staircase creaked, "Karin? Is that Sam? Is he back? Did he forget his keys?"

Snapping out of her daze, Karin swallowed and took another step back, "I don't think it's Sam."

Jessica laughed, "Did you look?"

Before Karin could answer, Jessica had appeared around the corner. Her smile faded to a concerned frown, "Karin?"

Karin darted another glance at the door, before turning back to Jessica, "Is there another way out?"

Jessica stepped closer and laid an almost tentative hand on Karin's shoulder, "What's wrong? Is it someone you recognize?"

Karin shook her head, "No, I just – it's a bad feeling." She didn't know why she was this unsettled. It wasn't like she hadn't dealt with hollows before. Plus, she'd been training, receiving help from Urahara and Ichigo's friends, for years, ever since Ichigo almost lost his powers completely.

She'd survived for five months in this dimension without incident. Based on her history here, the odds were that it was just a bad feeling.

(Based on her entire history, the odds …weren't worth considering).

Jessica peered at her face for a moment before pointing down towards the corner from which she'd emerged, "There's a fire escape up the stairs and through the hallway window."

Karin glanced back at the staircase. She was estimating how quickly she could bridge the distance when Jessica quietly slipped past her toward the door. Stepping forward, she readied herself to grab Jessica and run, "Jessica, what are you –?"

With an eye at the peephole, Jessica suddenly laughed, "Oh relax, it's only Brady."

Before Karin could stop her, Jessica was opening the door, revealing a tall blond man, wearing a sheepish grin.

"Brady!"

The sulfuric scent disappeared for the briefest of moments, before crashing back down like a waterfall, heavier than ever. The odor was almost felt tangible, like she was standing in a cesspool of slime. Feeling the hair rise at the back of her neck, she fought against the urge to react.

Jessica was standing much too close, and attacking with her limited knowledge of this world's supernatural dangers would just be stupid.

-0-

Karin looked like a bristling cat whose tail had been stepped on.

No, Karin looked like a cat whose territory had just been invaded, with Jessica as the territory and Brady as the intruder.

Setting down the platter of cookies, Jessica sat next to Karin, who was curled, almost protectively, over a borrowed laptop, typing furiously away. Maybe Brady reminded the girl of an old ex?

Ignoring Karin's blatant, if not purposeful, lack of social graces, Jessica clapped her hands together and smiled tightly at Brady, "So, you said you wanted relationship advice?"

If Brady was hoping for some one-on-one privacy, he was going to have to come at another time. Karin didn't look like she was going to unstick herself from Jessica's side anytime soon.

Her old acquaintance smiled self-deprecatingly and raised a hand to scratch the back of his neck, "Yeah, sorry. I know it's late and everything."

Jess laughed, "Please, you call this late?"

Brady let out a huff of a laugh before biting into the cookie, "Mm! This is good! You made this?"

She nodded, before tilting her head at Karin, "The two of us did." Dawn's friend didn't even look up from her rigid pose, perched on the arm of the sofa where Jess was sitting.

"Man, Sam's one lucky guy," Brady gave her another appreciative look.

Jess laughed, "Well, he has you to thank for that. Now, if you're stalling for Sam to get back, you might be in for a long wait. All I know is that he has to get back before his interview, which is at-"

Brady gave another laugh and waved his hand, "Nah, call it intuition, but I have a feeling he'll be back soon, and anyway, I'm here for you."

Leaning back, Jess tried to ignore the way that Karin stiffened even further, shoulders hiked up to her ears, "Well, if you need, couch'll be open. Karin, you can come crash in my room. I'm sure Sam won't mind."

That said, while Karin seemed like a nice girl, she was going to haunt Dawn for all eternity if Karin ended up being some type of psychopath.

Despite sitting right next to her, Karin seemed intent on ignoring Brady's presence. When Jess leaned back to see what Karin was looking at so furiously, she was only able to catch a glimpse of Japanese characters before Karin adjusted the angle of her body to hide the screen – all without looking up.

Jessica glanced back in time to see Brady looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

She shrugged.

Brady sent her a grin before looking at Karin, "So, you said your name was Karin?"

The girl didn't move.

Cursing Dawn in her head, Jess gently prodded Karin in the side with her elbow, only for Karin to close the laptop, which she then slid onto the side table with a mumble, "I did not."

Without looking up, Karin reached out to grab the glass of water on the table.

Scratch that; Jessica was only going to be able to yell at Dawn if Dawn didn't yell at her first. She had no idea that Karin would react his badly to the presence of another man. This Karin seemed like a completely different person.

Dawn was probably going to accuse her of traumatizing the girl if this kept up. Maybe it'd be best if she had Karin hide out in her room?

Standing up, she started to pick up the plates that she'd laid out, "Karin, do you want to take a quick shower while Brady and I talk?"

There, that was a direct but plausible excuse for Karin to escape the room wasn't it?

Ah, who was she kidding, she had no experience in these matters. Why had Dawn chosen her of all people to host a virtual stranger?

Just as Karin stood, Brady tilted his head to the side, "Oh, I suppose it's time."

Looking at the window in the adjoining room, Jessica frowned, "Do you have to leave?"

There couldn't really make out anything in the window - not with the curtains drawn. She thought she could hear maybe the purr of an old engine in the distance and the distant thumping bass of a party down the block.

She turned her head just in time to see Brady stand up with an off-kilter smile, "No, I'm afraid you do though."

Just then Karin suddenly slipped off the couch into a crouch and mumbled, "You're not…?"

Brady raised both eyebrows, "I'm not…?" With an amused glance at Jessica, he directed his gaze back down at Karin, "You're gonna to have to speak up dear."

Karin remained silent with her eyes focused on her knees. Her fingers absently traced the edge of the table. In the silence, Jess frowned as her unease grew. Finally, Karin looked up, "Not Christo?"

Jess stared, feeling like her lungs had frozen as Brady's eyes turned black. He closed his eyes and shook his head, as if recovering from a dizzy spell, before looking back up. The black eyes that reminded her of one of those Japanese horror flicks were gone. Part of her felt certain that maybe she'd been mistaken, that it was late and her eyes were just tired, but at that moment, it seemed like she was looking like a completely different person.

He looked the same. But something, the slant of his shoulders, a slightly wider smile, something was just off.

He laughed, eyes fixed on Karin, as if she wasn't even there, "I've…never been called that before. What are you girl? Cuz I have to say, I've never seen-"

He was cut off as the whole coffee table was flipped into at his face. Before Jessica could react, Karin was tugging on her arm, dragging her toward the staircase, "Run!"

"What?" she managed.

Karin turned around, twisting and pulling so that Jess found herself stumbling forward up the stairs as Karin made a slicing motion in the air behind them, "Run faster!"

"Karin, what - ?"

She was cut off as Karin shoved at her from behind, forcing her to look in front of herself in order to avoid tripping on the stairs, arms sprawling out to catch herself before she fell – and that was when she stopped.

Because standing in a loose stance, at the top of the stairs, was Brady.

"How…?" Jess licked her lips, her mouth suddenly dry. Behind her, she heard Karin mutter something indistinguishable. Unable to look away, she stared at Sam's friend.

How was he already there? Was this a dream?

Despite her attention, Brady was staring at Karin with an almost amused expression on his face, "Are you a hunter?"

Hunter? What? What was going on? Jess looked to her side only to see Karin staring back up at Brady with an annoyed expression before stepping up in front with a dry mutter, "Kuso kurae, kusoyarou." (Eat shit, shithead)

Still smiling, Brady narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to the side, "Now that wasn't very nice."

There was a flash of blue as Karin launched up the stairs, just as Brady raised his hand.

Jess managed to see Brady's eyes widen in surprise right before something slammed into her chest. There was the brief disconcerting recognition of weightlessness, right before everything whooshed past her and her back greeted the the wall with painful enthusiasm.

-0-

ShitshitshitshitshitshitSHIT.

Even as she launched herself forward, Karin had the feeling that she wasn't going to make it in time to stop the man's chains from hitting Jessica. Nonetheless, she felt a sense of satisfaction as she sank her fist into the smirking face and felt cartilage crunch. Without pause, she spun around for a roundhouse kick only to meet empty air.

Instinct had her spinning to the side with a raised elbow. She caught an expression of shock in Jess's acquaintance right before he disappeared again.

This time, she was able to sense his presence, several paces to her left just as several more semi-transparent chains came rushing toward her face. Sparing a glance down the staircase, she checked on Jessica and deflected the chains with another cut of her hand. From the way Jessica hadn't reacted to the chains that had pursued them earlier, Karin suspected that the chains were only visible to her

Fun.

"What are you?"

She looked back and instinctively raised her defense as she cursed at her weaponless state. Just like before, the only thing she had in her pocket was Rukia's little toy.

The broken nose she had gladly bequeathed to the man was visibly mending itself before her eyes. Taking a step back, she glared back, "What are you?"

Brady raised his forehead and chided, "Really? You're the one who called me Christo." He stopped with an absent frown and glanced down to the left before shrugging, "Ah well, guess my time is up."

This time, the chains came shooting towards her without a motion from him. Hurriedly, she dropped to the floor, ducking some and kicking others to the side. Leaping up to execute another spin-kick, she abruptly found herself face-to-face with Brady's grinning visage and immediately leaped back.

By now the discomfort and alarm that had arisen at the unknown threat was starting to fade into irritation. The moment the man disappeared again, she thrust her hand into a pocket as she elbowed up to her right.

As she predicted, her attacker caught her elbow with an open palm, "How do you know where I'm going to app-AGH!"

Before he could finish his question, she'd sprayed him with the memory replacer.

Without looking back, she hurried to the staircase and practically flew down. Skipping the last few steps, she leapt and picked up the unconscious form of Jessica before crashing through the window.

Doors were overrated anyway.

Ducking and rolling while carrying someone wasn't exactly something she was used to, so she ended up in more of a controlled sprawl in the dry grass. Noting the idling car at the side of the road as she recovered and stood, she was half tempted to attempt a carjacking. The only problem with that plan was the monster's freaking teleportation abilities.

If she hadn't had years of dodging her Dad's hugs and then her brother's enemies, she had a feeling she would have had much more trouble dealing with the monster's attacks. Regardless, driving would be pointless if the asshat teleported into the car, which left… well, not very much.

Spying the chapel silhouette at the end of the street, she vaguely registered concerned shouts before she was darting off.

When she'd been crouched over Jess's laptop, the only thing she'd been able to discern from her hasty research was that monsters and creatures were almost always universally fought by some form of religious organization. It was a total gamble, but if stepping foot into the church could buy them some time to figure out why a demon was after Jess, then she'd take it.

Judging by the way the demon had healed his nose (and the fact that he wasn't a human), she suspected the memory replacer would only buy her a few minutes. But while she'd only managed to learn Blut Vene from Ishida, she'd managed to come fairly close to learning Hirenkyaku.

Well, no. What Ishida had actually said was that she was butchering the art, and that her version of Hirenkyaku was more like a bastardized version of Shunpo with some elements of Hirenkyaku and Soni-whatever…

…She hadn't exactly been listening.

Running was running, and as long as she could get Yuzu out of the way in time, she had been satisfied.

-0-

Jess's friend was an unforeseen complication. Whatever hallucinogen she'd sprayed into his face was new and powerful – entertainingly trippy if he wasn't on a schedule.

He'd have to see if he could get his hands on more after he ripped open her chest.

Or maybe he'd keep her. The way that his telekinesis hadn't worked on her had been annoying, but it'd be entertaining if he could use her to taunt his cousins.

At first, he'd been a little discomfited to realize that she'd seen right through his act from the moment she saw him, until he realized that she'd just been a nutcase. Watching her flail at the empty air in front of her had been amusing for all of about two seconds before it became boring.

Still, who would have thought that her random kicks and punches would always manage to land whenever he teleported next to her?

Shaking his head (damn, that drug was strong), he sauntered into the street only to frown as he caught a flash of familiar blond hair streak down the street.

That speed was unnatural. He narrowed his eyes as he watched the girl he'd labeled as insane carry his target into the church.

Definitely not a hunter.

With a smirk, he fixed the image of church corridors in his head and moved.

Grand entrances were the best.

However, to his disappointment, the girl, Karin, once again lifted her head the moment he reappeared.

He hadn't even made a sound. Just what was she?

He watched as she moved in front of Jessica, who appeared slightly dazed (perhaps he'd knocked her into the wall harder than he thought? Humans were so delightfully fragile).

Regardless, playtime was over. He was certain he'd seen the Winchesters driving down the street as he'd left. If he wanted the presentation to be done right, he'd have to start now.

If he couldn't move the girl himself, he'd just have the church do that for him. With a wave of his hand, he sent an entire of benches straight toward the girl as he advanced, sending her crashing into the other side of the church and leaving just Jessica to flinch before straightening her back to stand, defiantly alone.

Huh, he'd have thought there'd be more screams.

He'd have to fix that.

He lifted her violently into the air, suspending her above the entrance, just over one of the decorative crosses on the wall between the stained-glass windows.

Symbolism was an important element to any good presentation after all.

As was color.

Raising his hand, he reveled in the confusion and fear that he saw in those doe-brown eyes. And was that betrayal that he saw? He laughed delightedly and swept his hand to the side.

Warm blood splattered onto his face.

What?

Blinking rapidly, he hurriedly wiped at his eyes to see the girl from earlier suspended in the air in front of Jessica – who was unharmed.

Instead, a speck of red was blooming over Karin's lower torso. The girl had both hands outstretched in front of her, fingers curled like she was grasping a lance.

What?

How had she already recovered? He was certain he'd seen the benches hit, seen the way her body had curled to the side.

What was she?

He took an instinctive step back. Staring at the scene, he growled as a sudden suspicion coalesced in his mind and he banished his intent to eviscerate little Ms. Jessica Moore. Sure enough, the Asian girl dropped to the floor, as if whatever had been suspending her had been cut.

He stared as the girl glared up at him.

The cut that was meant to disembowel Sammy's precious little darling had never landed, and instead this interfering little slip of a girl was holding the air in front of her, bleeding like she had been attacked.

She'd intercepted his attack.

He flashed back to the flailing-at-empty-air act that he'd been so amused by. Had the girl been fighting his telekinesis?

What an interesting find. Too bad she was such a nuisance. Idly, he licked the blood off his finger and watched for her reaction.

Nothing.

How irritating. "Who sent you?"

The girl just stared back with the same expression. The only sign of tension was the way that her hands were clutched tightly around her midsection.

Of course, the doors slammed open a beat into his one-sided staring contest, "JESS!"

Ah, dear old Sammy. What impeccable timing.

"Brady! What? What are you – "

He let the smile on his face grow before pointing. He watched with gleeful anticipation as Sammy stared at him with incomprehension, before turning slowly around to crane his head up at the frozen tableau of his beloved girlfriend.

Pity about the absent blood. Sammy's reaction would have been precious. He'd just have be sure to compensate with brighter fireworks.

"Jessica?"

Affecting embarrassment, he let out a chuckle, "Ah, sorry about that." Loosening the hold around her throat, he lifted a hand to gesture, "I originally intended to do this in your bedroom – parallels to your childhood and all."

Brady added with a wink, "Got to have all the intimate connections, am I right?"

He let another laugh bubble up as Sam wrenched his gaze to stare at him – still, with incomprehension.

"My, my. This life has seriously turned you into useless sack of piss, hasn't it?"

Sam took a breath, darted another glance just as Jessica managed to croak out, "Sam. Brady, he's-" The sounds of her choking seemed especially loud in the moonlit silence as he retightened his hold, causing Sam to spin back at him.

Finally.

Finally, there was a flicker of rage in his eye. "There it is!" he crowed.

"There. Is. what?" Sam bit out.

"Awww." Tilting his head to the side, he lifted his voice to a higher octave and continued mockingly, "Did little Sammy think that he could have his white-picket fence life?"

"SAMMY!"

Raising his hands at the entrance of the second Winchester, Brady continued, "Ah, whatever happened to the concept of a private conversation?"

Dean, unlike his brother, took in the scene at a glance and stepped forward with a snarl, "You-"

Brady pouted as Jessica let out a shriek, "Ah-ah-ah." He waved a finger, stopping Dean in his tracks, "No yelling here. It's a church. Don't you know the meaning of respect? I mean there are certain things that you can do and certain things that you just don't."

He paused and let his smile stretch out across his face as he leaned forward and carefully enunciated, eager to see the dawning horror creep into their eyes, "Such as lighting fi-OOF!"

"CAN YOU SHUT.UP.?!"

He was sent crashing through the wooden stage of the church, distantly registering the sounds of more yelping followed by a desperate shout of, "Jess!"

For a moment, he was still, stunned first by the physical impact, then by the thought that a girl had managed to seriously damage his meat suit.

Shaking off the shock, he shoved the debris away in a rage and staggered to his feet with an almost crazed laugh, "You think that's going to stop me?!"

At the end of the corridor, Sam stood with Jessica curled protectively in his arms while Dean was halfway over to the girl, who stood hunched over.

He reached out an arm to wrench Jess right out of Sam's grasp, ignoring the white jagged hint of bone that jut out of his forearm.

Nothing happened.

He frowned.

Something warm dripped down his nose. Lifting a hand to his face, he dabbed at the moisture.

Blood?

Suddenly, the stinging warmth across his face seemed to develop in intensity, along with the pain in his hand. He stared with incomprehension at his bloodied hand. Under the dim glow of moonlight, some of the faintly red smears seemed to glow.

Blood.

He took a step back as he felt everything start to burn. Shadows started to grow darker and longer beneath his feet, as if he was a source of light.

Holy ground.

There was a legend in hell that he'd heard a long time ago and dismissed. Pure blood and holy ground.

Apparently, it was true. Picking up his head, he glared at the girl, "You bit-"

The last thing he knew was white.

-0-

"Urgh."

The girl in front of Dean sank to the ground, still holding her midsection. He stepped forward in concern, only to stop as he spotted a pattern of dark lines spreading out just above her neckline. Hesitant, he reflexively glanced behind him again, checking on Sam's status.

His brother and his girl were rocking back and forth on the floor, wrapped in each other's arms. He wasn't sure whether or not to grimace at the almost sickening sweet display. He settled for a tight smile.

For all that she was a civilian, she'd supported his brother and accepted his abrupt entrance into their lives without a judging glance. He was glad that she hadn't been killed.

He licked his lips and turned back, stepping forward to crouch next to Jess's unnamed friend, "Hey, you ok?"

The girl glared up at him through her black hair, "Ab-so-lute-ly peachy."

He debated reaching out to see her wound, but wariness and paranoia won out, "So… what was that?"

She directed her gaze back down at herself, and with a grumble, shrugged off her coat, "What was what?"

He watched with growing concern as she stretched out the sleeves, "Hey, you aren't going to –" He stopped and hissed in sympathy as she tied her jacket around her waist, directly over the cut with barely a wince, "Pretty sure that's not how first aid works."

The girl hummed noncommittally, before turning around and stepping toward where the demon had stood.

Following her, he prompted, "Well?"

The girl crouched down and picked at the debris, "Well what?"

"What happened?"

"I dunno."

"Well, what do you think happened? Who are you anyway?"

"A crazy dude tried to attack Jess, but blew himself up instead."

Dean stared at the back of the girl's head, absently noting that the dark lines on her neck were gone. "A dude," he repeated.

When she didn't respond, he blinked several times in aggravation, before unclenching his jaw, "So … your story, is that a dude pursued you into a church; somehow, lifted Jess up over the door, and then stabbed you before blowing himself up, all with… what? His bare hands?"

She finally stood, stared at him with a somewhat vacant expression, and blinked, "He didn't stab me."

He stared, startled out of his paranoia regarding her status as a non-human, at her utterly blatant lie. He pointed and leaned back with a sarcastic smile, "So you're what, just bleeding randomly?"

She shrugged.

He gaped, "So you're just denying this even happened...even with what you saw…?" A small part him, at the back of his mind, admired her gall. He could only imagine trying to do the same thing on some of his old cases.

Yes, officer, there's nothing to see here. Absolutely nothing.

Jedi mindtricks, man.

Jazz hands.

She turned her back to him and started stepping over the wreckage. Her flat reply drifted back, "I don't care what I see. If I deny their existence, then they, whatever they are, don't exist. Fucking Urahara."

-0-

Knock knock.

Karin rolled off the sofa with a thud and groaned.

Knock knock knock.

Without opening her eyes, she raised her voice, "'m coming."

She didn't move.

Knock knock knock knock.

She sighed.

BANG BANG BANG.

With a snarl, she flipped off the floor, "I SAID I'M COMING!"

Stomping over to the door, she slammed open the door as she ranted, "Dawn's out right now, which you'd know if you-"

She blinked.

In front of her, were the two guys from the other night – and Jess. The shorter one smiled flirtatiously at her, while the taller one looked at her with an earnest expression.

Without moving a muscle on her face, she reached out to swing the door shut.

Unfortunately for her, the shorter one stepped forward, blocking the door from closing with an angled foot.

Yea, she hadn't thought that that was actually going to work either.

"Karin…" Jess started.

To her dismay, Karin felt her scowl lessen just as the taller of the two brothers stepped forward, forcing her to crane her head up.

"Jess is being targeted."

No shit.

Also,… shit.

She could just feel her plans of waiting around the area for Urahara (to kick his face in) disappearing like water through cupped hands.

She stared for a moment before sighing and waving them into the apartment.

It seemed as if Ichigo wasn't the only one with the knack for finding trouble, because it looked like she'd been effectively sidelined straight into another conflict.

Heaving another sigh, she turned around to face her guests, crossed her arms, and leaned against the door, "So… a demon."

The shorter one narrowed his eyes as he smirked at her triumphantly, "So you knew he wasn't human."

She frowned as the shorter man dodged the kick from Jess's boyfriend with a glare. Ignoring the girl, the taller male stepped forward with an apologetic smile, "Please excuse Dean. He's… special."

Before Dean could retaliate, Jess softly elbowed her boyfriend with a laugh, "Sam, be nice."

Immediately, Dean echoed her, "Yeah Sam! Be nice!"

Casually flipping off his brother with the hand that his girlfriend couldn't see, Sam broadened his smile, "Please, we just have a couple questions."

Karin scratched the back of her head as she was reminded with a pang of Ichigo and Rukia (and Yuzu and Goatface and –no). Letting out a short breath, she twisted her mouth up to the side.

The thing was, it was never just a couple questions.

She found herself eyeing the bruise just under Jessica's hairline. Still, she did owe Jessica for taking her in for the weekend.

Karin uncrossed her arms, "I didn't know. I guessed."

It wasn't like Urahara wouldn't be able to find her if she stayed in this dimension.

A/N Cont: Originally, Brady was going to try to possess her, only to encounter her hollow, but I couldn't figure out why Brady would leave his meatsuit or why she would have awakened her hollow (i.e. why she'd have the opportunity to awaken her hollow between Ichigo and his friends)

But catching up on four years of Bleach for as a beta for AnomalyLady rekindled my interest in Bleach. Reading cwysscross's fics didn't help either.

To anonymous readers (/readers of my other stories), if you want a response to a review or if you have any questions/concerns that you'd like a (relatively) fast response to, please fell free to use the askbox on my tumblr at aternoctis.