Okay. This sort of happened when I was having a bit too much coffee and reminiscing over Bleach and FMA at the same time. Woohoo.
After the demise of Sosuke Aizen and the Arrancar, the Soul Society has been hit with various strange occurrences for the past few months. As Edward and Alphonse stumble into the world of the Shinigami, they brace themselves for an adventure that almost reminds them of the past. Post Winter War; Ed and Al have passed away in Germany, also having never returned to Amestris. Multiple pairings inclusive.
Disclaimer: Unless either Tite Kubo or Hiromu Arakawa is a girl in high school who lives in Australia, then I obviously do not own Bleach or FMA. One can only dream, though.
PROLOGUE
"Karin, get your head out of the gutter, will ya!"
The raven haired teenager whipped around just in time to dodge the ball that was heading towards her direction. She swivelled and kicked the ball with a juxtapositional mixture of violent grace, sending the sphere over to one of her comrades as she did so.
"Sorry," she muttered, the sprinting causing her breath to sound haggard. "I'll be more cautious next time."
A snort was heard beside her, although in her opinion it sounded more like a growl. "You better will be, Kurosaki!"
Karin instantly flinched at her last name.
As far as she could remember, her family name had given her an odd sense of pride whenever she placed a step onto the ground. Isshin Kurosaki, pseudo doctor in the transient world and former captain of one of the Gotei 13 squads of the Sereitei, Soul Society, had been her father. When she had discovered that yet another member of her family was part of the Shinigami fold, she couldn't help but resign a form of hate towards her kin.
Ryohei rolled his eyes as he noticed the subtle change in Karin's demeanour; she was probably thinking about her family again, the flaxen haired male construed. He had become accustomed to the older Kurosaki twin falling into sudden trances and spacing out for vague periods of time. The boy never scrutinised the subject, but ever since he noticed Ichigo's profound absences and the recent change of ties between Karin and her father, he soon realised that something dire had happened to the once crazy yet oddly peaceful family.
Karin's indigo pupils were cast across the sky, brow furrowed in a concerned fashion. Thick, opaque clouds were scattered over the horizon, grey with overcast. "I think we should be ending practise here," she declared, her voice loud but not enough to be considered a yell. "Ryohei, would you mind helping with packing up?"
He nodded with a sigh; the annoyed cries of his two other friends becoming mute to him. Ever since their years in elementary school, "The Outcast Four", as Karin would jokingly name them in the past, had been virtually inseparable friends in and outside of school. Although soccer had brought them together at the start, an unspoken sense of loyalty formed between the three boys and Karin. She had been an odd paradox of a mother, big sister and little sister to the group; but more recently however, Ryohei tried to ignore the feelings of unwanted affection that he had towards the girl.
Shaking his head, the tallest male big farewell to the others, following Karin to where she had her bags kept.
"Kurosaki," he said, trying to catch her attention. When she had turned her face to meet eye contact, the boy softened his eyes a little in a semblance of solace. "You've got to stop thinking about them. At least, try to during soccer and school. You're performance is slackening."
A flicker of rage passed in her pupils before she cussed. "You're not my goddamn counsellor, Ryohei. If you have nothing better than patronising to do, then I suggest you leave me alone."
"I'm only trying to help you. Besides, I'm supposed to escort you home, if you haven't forgotten."
"Oh, it's the only thing that doesn't slip my mind," she quipped sarcastically. Her sneakers crunched on the gravel as if trying to channel her irate emotions. "I still don't understand why Goat Chin insists on this, anyway," she groaned, flicking her waist length hair back from flying into her face.
"If you hate him so much than you probably shouldn't heed his words, Karin."
She shot a dark, questioning look before becoming suddenly interested with her shoulder bag. The girl clutched onto the thing tightly, knuckles turning an unhealthy shade of pale white. "I shouldn't, but I have nowhere to go if I get kicked out."
"You know that's a lie. Isshin'd never kick you out, you have Orihime's and Tatsuki's apartment, and you've always got mine, Pinta's, and Donny's place to kick back in." He sighed again, placing his free hand in one of his pockets and readjusting the grip on his bag. "Karin, stop lying to yourself. The more you do, the more you'll get yourself hurt."
"And I still maintain that you're the masochist in our group," she joked dryly, meeting he boy's intense gaze. They walked in silence, only the rustle of the nature around them and their footsteps falling on the rough surface of the road threatening to slice it like a sharp knife. "Look, Ryohei..."
"Don't, Karin," he hushed, effectively grabbing the girl by her shoulders and turning her to face him. She didn't seem fazed by his movement, but looked up at him without guarded contempt. "Idiot, you know we all care for you. You can call us selfish until the rapture occurs, but it's hurting us too when you're acting like this. We're already at your street, so go home and do your homework. We've already had your slacking off in practise today; so don't try to get away with that in schoolwork as well." Ryohei couldn't help but let a small grins overtake his countenance as he spoke the last sentence, chastising.
Karin softened her look. "I'll try," she whispered.
"Good." Ryohei's arms trailed down her frame to meet her waist. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said, squeezing her in a hug.
"I'll tell Yuzu you said 'Hello'," she teased, pulling back and walking towards her house. Laughing lightly at Ryohei's disgruntled reaction to her jest towards his possible fondness for her twin, she sidestepped the entrance to her house with an air of nonchalance.
"KAAAARRRRIINNN-CHAAAAN, MY LOVELY DAUGHT- OOOF!"
To any other normal person, a father kicking their children as a form of greeting or bonding would have seemed strange, or at least in terms of an act of cruelty. Karin shook her head without glancing at her old man whose face seemed to be implanted on the floor.
Despite what occurred during the past four years of her life, Karin deduced that some things simply wouldn't change in the Kurosaki household.
I apologise for the length of the prologue. I promise you though, the chapters to come will be much longer (except for perhaps the first few). So please, stay tuned and I'd appreciate any and all reviews that I receive!