Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
Paring: Toshiro Hitsugaya X Karin Kurosaki.
Summary: It means goodbye.
Toodle-Pip
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Are you going now?" A brown haired woman asked softly as she untied a soft blue apron from her waist. She hung the apron on a hanger beside the kitchen. She leaned against the door frame leading to the wet kitchen, smiling when she saw her sister comb her hair using her fingers hurriedly.
Karin bitted her lips, nervous, glancing at her reflection in the mirror for the last time, "Yeah. Toodle-pip Yuzu" the girl said with enthusiasm. She ran towards the main door, fumbling to put on her shoes, falling down twice in the process.
"Be careful!" Yuzu called out, waiving.
Karin grinned back and ran towards the restaurant near her house. Where she promised to meet Toshiro today.
It had been a long time since she last saw him.
Four long years.
~*~*~*~*~*~
She tapped her feet impatiently as she glanced at the watch hanging on the wall in front her. With a sigh, she threw another glance towards the busy road beside her. The glass front gave a nice view of the busy street. Cars in a variety of color passed by on the busy road in haste. A loud horn and a crashing sound startled her before she frowned. Man, everyone is in hurry today. No more stopping and saying hello. Heck she didn't even know her neighbor. Thinking back, it had been more than a week since the last she saw her brother. Ever since her brother moved out, she rarely saw him.
Will the same thing happen to her after she marries Toshiro? Will her sister be lonely after that?
The sound of a chair being pushed back startled her. Looking up, a grin made its way to her lips. "You are late Toshiro." She stated as a white haired man sat in front her. Dress in his casual clothing, he still had the aura of a director who loved his paperwork.
Toshiro smiled; his turquoise eyes twinkled with happiness as he looked at his fiancé. "Sorry" he apologized, his voice deep.
She nodded her head knowingly before she looked down; her blue eyes scanned the menu, searching for his favorite food and drink. Wait! Maybe he wants something else and not the usual? "Do you want anything to eat?" she quickly asked. She turned around, searching for a waiter to place her order.
The white haired man quickly shook his head. "Nah, don't bother about that Karin."
Her lips pursed together, "Then what are we going to do today? Stare at each other?" she suggested, eyebrows rose in dissident.
A deep melodious laughter escaped his lips. Few heads turned to their direction. An elderly couple smiled at their direction, knowingly. "Good idea! I can stare at you my whole life and never get bored." he exclaimed.
She didn't laugh she just eyed him with her dark blue eyes. Something is off about him. 'Nah, maybe because I haven't see him for a long time so, I can't really remember how he usually acts'.
"I miss you" he whispered the words softly, looking at her with his turquoise eyes.
She blinked her eyes, startled when she heard that. Slowly she opened her mouth and asked him, her voice soft, "Hey, what's wrong Toshiro? Something is troubling you?" Her eyes never once left his face. She didn't know why she had the urge to memorize his face. He did change a lot in four years time. He looked older, more matured and she can see the faint frown line on his forehead. He was just thirty-five yet he looked older than his real age. "You should rest more you know. I don't want an old husband" she added, smiling.
He kept silent; his eyes dull and he looked lost in his own train of thought. "You know that I love you right?" he said his voice above whispered.
Something is definitely off with him.
He never is the type who declares his love openly. Never.
Slowly she nodded her head, "Yeah, I know that."
"I'm very happy with you Karin and I never told you this before. The first moment I laid my eyes on you, I was taken by you. And all I could think was 'Wow, this woman has quite a temper'."
Karin laughed. Yes, she can still remember the time when she first met him. It was the hilarious moment in her life. Soaked to the bone and her makeup ruined; she shouted at him for driving his car too close to the sidewalk resulting in the water puddle splashing and soaking her. In her high-heels, she ran to stop his car, and pulled him out just to shout at him. She even ranted, pouring her heart out to him, telling him about how she messed up her first interview, because the high-heels were hurting her back and he was only making it worst.
He raised his hand and touched her left cheek slowly, "And to think that in a few months time you will be my wife, I can't help but to feel happy. Eight years I've waited for you"
She smiled softly, nodding her head. They will be married in June, two months from now. And she too couldn't wait for the day.
The sound of an ambulance startled her. She turned around to look at the gathering crowds near the side of the road. "What happened?" she asked him. When she heard no replay, she looked back at him. He was nowhere to be seen. Her eyebrows twitched, annoyed. How dare he leave her like that! She will kill him for sure. Getting up from her seat, she left the restaurant and walked towards the gathering crowds, curious.
"What happened?" she asked a man that was standing beside her. A single drop of water fell on her. Startled, she looked up, confused before another drop of water dropped on her face. Ah, it was raining. Drizzling.
That man just shrugged his shoulder. "Accident." He answered her shortly before he left the area.
"Excuse me," she said as she walked her way through the crowd.
She stopped when she finally reached the middle of the crowd. Lying on the road was a body covered with a white blanket. Blood soaked the tar road. She could see the white hairs that stuck out from the cover. "An old man?" she found herself asking a medic that stood beside the body. The medic shook his head.
"A young man. Around his thirties" he answered her.
For a while she couldn't breathe.
What if that man was Toshiro?
She sighed in relief when she saw him among the crowd, looking down, and his eyes sad. And it broke her heart to see him like that. As if he could sense her, he looked up, his eyes meeting hers. Even though he stood across from her, she could hear his every word clearly despite the noise that the ambulance siren made.
"I'm sorry Karin and farewell."
She blinked her eyes and the next moment he was gone. She moved forwards trying to follow him but she stopped when her cell phone rang. Muttering curse to whoever was called her, she picked up her phone. The sobbing sound from the other line made her raise her eyebrows.
"Yuzu?" she asked softly. "Why are you crying?"
"To… To… Shiro-chan"
"Hah?" she asked stupidly. What was up with her sister?
Between her sobbing, Yuzu muttered something that made her world stop. "He's dead"
"Yuzu, you are few days late. Today is third of April not first of April. So no April Fools" she said sternly, despite that she could feel her chest tightening, making her unable to breathe. Another sob from her sister made it all more real. Taking a shaky step towards the body that lay on the ground, she could feel her heart nearly explode with fear.
"Miss, please don't-"
"Shut up!" she snapped back. She will prove to her sister that she was wrong. There's no way this man can be Toshiro. If he was Toshiro, then who sat in front of her at the restaurant?
Slowly she lifted the cover.
It's him. It's really him.
Karin felt her knee give away under her. She could not breath, she could not feel, she could not even think. Her hand trembled as she touched his face tenderly. The dark blue eyed woman cradled his head on her lap, brushing his hair from his forehead with caressing fingers, not caring that his blood was soaking her jeans. She wiped the blood from his forehead, bent down and kissed his cheeks. He felt so cold. So unlike him.
And it scared her.
With the help of the medic, she was brought back to her feet. She watched with hollow eyes as medics carried his body into the ambulance. She leaned against the poll near the roadside. The moment the ambulance left, she fell back to the ground, bruising her knees. She didn't cry. She just stared at the spot where his body was previously laying as rain slowly soaked her; watching the blood traces being washed away by the rain.
Just like nothing happened there…
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Well I think everything went just fine for me. And I won that case that I told you before." Karin said with enthusiasm. Her sister nodded her head, smiling at her sister's high spirits. Karin smiled back at her sister, before she glanced at her wrist watch.
Third of April.
It had been five years since the day he left her and she was still recovering from the loss. She didn't cry when she claimed the body from the hospital. She didn't even shed a single tear during the burial ceremony. In fact she just smiled sadly and she can proudly say that she did a good job ignoring the glance that other people threw at her during the burial ceremony. The twenty-seven year old woman just stood on her spot watching everything, memorizing everything.
How can she cry when she knew that he loved her?
It would be selfish of her to cry during his burial ceremony. Because she knows that she needs to send him with a smile and not with her tears. If not he will blame everything on himself and she can't accept that.
So, she smiles.
And a heartless woman they called her.
A single tear dropped before she quickly wiped it and replaced it with a warm smile, she will live for him. "Let's go Yuzu." Throwing a last glance at his grave, she said softly, "Toodle-pip Toshiro"
Because it means goodbye.
Until next year Toshiro.
And I love you too.