Nightmares plagged her mind constantly since the last war, images of her bother's blood face, her father screaming in pain and Rukia falling to the ground. She knew Yuzu slept peacefully on the bed next to hers, not remembering much from that night, but the cold swear took control of her every night, when she finally let her guard down. Did it mather, though? Her family was finally happy and safe after a long time, quickly falling back into their crazy routine, her brother would go to school, work late and come home tired whle Yuzu helped their father in the clinic... and then there was Karin. Well, Karin would keep that strong smile on her face, keeping the family from falling apart after so many tragedies. A cool breeze entered the window, brushing her ebony hair gently and making her forget the images for a while. Opening her eyes slowly, she climbed out of her bed and made her way to Yuzu's sleeping form. Taking the disregarded blanket on the floor, she placed it on top of her sisters fragile body before turning to the window.
She knew he was there from the moment the breeze caressed her features, his reatsu had became familiar to her over the years, cold, foreboding, but at the same time so comforting. His head rested on the window, his eyes were closed peacefully and she could feel the calmness irradiating from him, instantly calming herself. She took a step closer to the windowsill, careful not to make any noise, and hoped to scare him...she should have known better than to try to scare a Shinigami Taichou. The moment she stepped in front of him to ruffle his snow-white hair, his hands were already on her waist, pulling her even closer to his (surprisingly hot) body. With a playful scowl in her face, she was ready to give him a lecture about letting her have some fun one in a while when she saw he was desperate, but, for what?
"What's wrong?" she asked in a whisper, his teal orbs darkened considerably, making her worry even more. "Toushiro?" her voice, louder this time, made Yuzu stir in her sleep. Noticing this, the white-haired youth pulled the girl closer and motioned for the rooftop. Shunpoing to the edge, he sat down and brought her with him. She tried to ask again what was the matter but was interrupted by his lips on hers. He kissed her passionately, almost desperately, as if they wouldn't see each other for the eternity to come. Suddenly, something clicked in her head, making her quickly stop their kiss. Looking into his eyes again she found her answer, this time he seemed to be apologizing. "They found out" it wasn't a question, just a simple statement to which he confirmed nonetheless with a nod of his head.
"I am almost certain that they know" a pause "the Soutaichou seemed to have figured it out with my constant visits to the World of the Living... now they came up with the idea of training you. We had a meeting today and you were suddenly brought up, the way he looked at me and asked if I had something to add..." his face was conflicted and he looked guilty. "I'm so sorry, Karin. I should have known better than to let this continue, I knew they may not have liked it, but I let this side of me take control and I wouldn't see reason... I, I.. They..." his attempts to make a coherent sentence were interrupted by her lips pushing firmly against his. Bringing his hand to her cheek, he pulled her closer, deepening the kiss until they were out of breath.
"Shut up, Midget." she said smiling cockly at him. "We both know that I would have gone bonkers and fought all the way to your division if you have cut it off... besides, you just can't resist my charm" she added with a stupid wink at him before pecking him lightly on the lips. "Don't worry about me, okay? If they want me trained, fine! They'll just have to come down here and train me!" the fire in her eyes was unmistakable. She wasn't afraid of them.
"Karin, you don't understand. They don't want you trained like your brother was, they want you trained like every other Shinigami is.. In the Academy, that means you will have to leave your family." Toushiro said seriously before looking helplessly at the night sky.
"Well, they can't just barge into my house and force me to some place I don't want to go!" she exclaimed hotly, throwing her hands up in frustration. They sat like that for a while, in complete silence, before she sensed something moving towards them. "Er, Thoushiro. There is something watching us." she said carefully. The young Taichou turned to where she was looking and raised his eyebrows.
"They are watching us" he simply stated and got up from his spot on the roof, walking slowly to what seemed to be a small floating television, he bowed his head slightly and spoke in a clear voice "Good evening Yamamoto Soutaichou, Kurotsuchi Taichou." the small "television" flashed green and an elderly voice rang into the quietness.
"Good evening, Hitsugaya Taichou. I see there is something you would like to discuss with us? Perhaps in a meeting." Yamamoto offered lightly. Seeing the white-haired young man tensing his shoulders lightly, he added in a pacifying voice "You don't need to fear, Hitsugaya Taichou. Although you kept a secret from the Gotei 13, it wasn't anything compromising to our safety or of others. Meet me tomorrow at sunset, alone, afterwards we can decide Kurosaki Karin's fate with the other Taichous." oh, probably not a good thing to say. Toushiro could almost feel Karin's eyebrow twitching in annoyance and he silently prayed that she wouldn't say a thing.
"Eh, excuse me, but I would appreciate if you wouldn't talk about me like I'm not here" Karin said in the politest tone she could master, which wasn't saying much as she was clearly pissed. "No way I would let you decide what to do with MY life!" she exclaimed hotly, giving up from pretending to be polite and getting up from her spot.
"What an insolent human! I might say even worse than her brother, at least he compensates with the blade." another voice came from the television, this time louder and with a strange ring to it. Toushiro shot Karin an exasperated look making her childishly stuck her tongue out at him.
"Hey! You don't even know if I can fight! I'll show you just how much better I am than my brother!"Karin retorted apparently affronted to be compared to her brother.
"Enough, Kurotsuchi Taichou. The girl is right. If you would like to attend to the meeting we can arrange for you to return with Hitsugaya Taichou tomorrow." Karin knew that, although he was being nice to her, he wasn't asking if she wanted to go, he was simply giving an order in a different way.
"Thank you, Soutaichou." she said anyway. Turning to Toushiro she saw that he was astonished by the way they were talking to each other, as if they were old friends, the expression on his face was quite comic for Karin.
"I will be expecting you both tomorrow at sunset then." Yamamoto said as the television shinned a bright green again before turning black and floating away.
"That was...strange." Karin said after some time. "I should get back before Yuzu wakes up."she added but made no motion for the window. Toushiro laid down and brought her with him, resting his head on top of hers, he put his hands around her waist and pulled her to him. After some time he chuckled lightly, the sound making her feel warm inside as she felt his chest vibrate underneath her hand.
"I never saw the Soutaichou this comfortable and accepting. Maybe you do have that charm, Fireball." his voice was drowsy as they both drifted to sleep beneath the rising sun.