AN: This little head bubble wouldn't go away so I'm writing it. This story is really dark, and is hardly you're everyday fluffy HitsuKarin. I'm taking a twisted turn on this couple and doing something no one has ever done before. There's mentions of yaoi in here and possibly a few scenes but the main focus of the story is HitsuKarin...and Aizen lol. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: All things Bleach-related belongs to Tite Kubo...who should also end this stupid arc any day now.

Maybe Games

"She is playing a game that she doesn't want to play, but can't seem to quit. As a player she wishes to see how the game concludes, but she also wishes the other player would retreat. She wants to win after-all and she makes for a sore loser, but her combatant uses his moves to keep her off-guard and primed for his advance. Should she block him, outmaneuver him, or just play dead until his back is turned? Isn't the last the way of the female?'—Donna Lynn Hope

Chapter 1: The Name of the Game Part I

Atlantic Palms Apartments, 5:40 PM
North Charleston, South Carolina

He swore inside of a jail cell in Miami-Dade County that he would never fall in love again.

The veins to his heart were too vulnerable, too open and unguarded. Of course he didn't believe that the ultimate fissure of his whole heart was his entire fault. She was quite deceitful in her ways to make him believe their love was real, that the connection they had was not just a lie. At the cost of an assault and battery charge, Toshiro Hitsugaya gave into that one night of complete misery and anger. Although until this very day he still didn't quite remember all that happened. He just remembered the smell of blood, the cold metal of handcuffs, and staring the very source of his pain down as the cops drove him away. The faint smirk that graced her pretty face as he was hauled off to jail was all he could focus on while being processed through the system, taking his very own mugshot, and while he waited patiently to make a phone call. His first night in jail saw him emotionally rotting away in the corner of his cell. A few tears slipped from his amazing eyes, but there was mostly silent internal misery. Toshiro felt that on that very night each vein and artery in his heart severed one by one. Inside him he couldn't find any warmth that happy thoughts brought him. Instead his entire soul felt tepid, and each time the memory of her conjured in his mind he felt himself become even more frigid and lost.

She ruined him. Manipulative games ruined him. Lies ruined him. However, above all else love ruined him, and from that day forth inside of a Miami jail cell Toshiro Hitsugaya swore off love.

At the end, he didn't call his mother for three days. In all actuality he never called her. She had sent out a missing person report a day after he was incarcerated, and the jail notified her of his current predicament. She bailed him out two days later, and was quite shocked to see the pitiful state her son was in. His usual bright beryl colored eyes were dull, and red from hours of silent tears, his once immaculate blonde spiked hair was in a chaotic situation of tangles and knots as if he hadn't brushed his hair in days. He lay slumped against the wall on his makeshift bed, almost seemingly surrounded by an intense air of distress and utter anguish. It consumed him, and swallowed him whole with no escape plan to follow. Toshiro didn't really explained much to his parents or friends, anything they know of the situation they knew through court trials.

The endless months of parole and social defection at school and home didn't register much in his mind. All he really knew was that his heart wasn't what it used to be. Any romantic encounters he had after her just weren't the same. There was no substance to any of them, and even at the height of his orgasm he still felt completely empty. She literally broke him in ways she probably wasn't even aware of, but then again the deceitful bitch might at least have a clue. At least he thought so. To say the least, life in Florida wasn't the same for the 18 year old. There wasn't anything for him there, and the chance of running into her was high, and he didn't think he could do it. Not without being a heartbroken train wreck, yet again.

So he thought being a coward was better. Toshiro made the move to North Charleston, South Carolina upon his graduation. He was fortunately accepted into Charleston Southern University. The moment he graduated he left everything he had in Florida and didn't glance back. He did had the classical family "break-up" when his mother and father dropped him off at school, but as for most of his old friends he sent them a text goodbye and ignored any and all contact. He wanted to start anew.

Being in the Palmetto State sparked a change in him, one he wasn't afraid of embracing. He figured there wasn't much left for him as he was now. His once blonde hair became a silvery white with a long bang on his right side ending at his chin. The rest of his hair was spiked and silky; some females likened it to winter icicles. He had his right eyebrow pierced and he often sported barbells then hoops. There were two cartilage piercings on his right ear and three lobe piercings on his left. The tattoo of a fierce ice dragon wrapped around his left arm with the wings spreading on his back. He didn't socialize much unlike his younger days in Florida. At the most he insisted on talking to a total of three people. His only other form of human contact was banging college chicks in his apartment. The empty feeling never left Toshiro, but a man did have needs so he continued nonetheless. The three people he talked to were in happy relationships and they often wondered why he never dated anyone. He would tell them he was waiting for the one, but he knew that deep down he couldn't love or trust anyone anymore.

Too many what-ifs sprouted in his mind. For instance, what if he met a girl that was just like her? The type of girl that feigns innocence until she had him right where she wanted him. The type of girl that trick him at the deepest moment just to knife him down. Although, even if he didn't meet a girl like her he figured the females in this state weren't all that amazing. A lot of them were on either polar sides of being extremely whorish or being extremely reserve (with undercover whorish tendencies). No particular girl stood out from the other, with a few exceptions but even those anomalies weren't enough to quell the desolation within him. Sex was still inherently meaningless to him now, and he didn't think it was ever going to change.

That was until a warm evening in October brought to his doorstep an answered forgotten prayer.

Now 20 and a sophomore at CSU, Toshiro resided in a rather quaint private apartment community made for college kids like him. Atlantic Palms Apartments was just a few minutes from his university, and had a nice pool with basketball hoops, a grill, flat screen TV, corn hole, gym, movie theater, and tennis and beach volleyball court. Whenever students weren't studying a whole congregation of college kids could be seen out by the pool area. Toshiro's apartment had a nice view of the pool, equipped with a balcony which he stood upon. Dressed in white swim shorts and a shark tooth necklace over his exposed tan chest, Toshiro sipped the bottle of Budweiser before gazing out at the bustling activity beneath him. He had contemplated on if he wanted to go down to the pool for a swim, but with all the people down there he didn't really feel up to it. A sudden slap to his back sent a jolt through Toshiro, but the honey laughter behind him calmed him a bit. He turned to look at his tenacious roommate who also held a Budweiser bottle in his ring clad hand. The spiky safety cone orange hair often found him the butt of most jokes, but one look at the slick tawny irises often set in a piercing glare stopped most people in their tracks. And if that wasn't enough, a few good right hooks from his killer sinewy tan arms did the job. Ichigo Kurosaki was his roommate of over 6 months, and one of the three people Toshiro actually talks to. They weren't the "best of buddies", but their friendship was civil and held an equal amount of respect. Toshiro admired Ichigo's persistence to never give up on anything like schoolwork, jobs, relationships or even Call of Duty. On the other hand Ichigo liked the rather tactical sober nature of Toshiro, and many of times Toshiro found himself a personal shrink for Kurosaki. The two of them resided peacefully in the living quarters, with the occasional wild kickbacks once in a while.

"Are you going to stare all day or are you going down there? The pool won't just suddenly move to you." Toshiro snorted at the snide remark of Ichigo's before knocking back another swig of beer.

"With all those people packed in there I doubt the pool could move at all." He replied while taking one last glance at the outing before retreating into their two bedroom apartment. He swiped his iPhone off of the glass end table before falling back onto the black leather couch.

"Another day, another night without possibly getting my balls sucked. Isn't life grand?" His remarked made Ichigo laugh even more before he sat on a rather plump red bean bag with bottle in hand.

"I don't know Tosh. There's more to life than getting your balls sucked. Say for instance, actually getting mouth in general?"

"Ugh. The last two girls that gave me mouth left teeth marks, or at least I think so because I surely feel it!" Toshiro wasn't kidding. If he lifted the underside he could reveal two tiny teeth marks on his shaft. He didn't know why some girls found him to be a chew toy. It irritated him actually because the subtle pain of scraping canines reminded him all too much of past best buried.

"Heh, two weeks later and you're still bitchin'! I'm pretty sure the marks are gone by now."

"It doesn't matter. Point is there shouldn't have been any marks at all." The nonchalant shrug was all the response he got from Ichigo who continued to drink his beer while checking his phone. He didn't think Ichigo would understand. He had told his roommate a plethora of information on his once shady past, but not the darkest secrets contained in the mouth of his hidden skeletons. Pain used to be a great part of Toshiro's romantic life, but the kind of pain he voluntarily went for used to dominate him. Eventually it got in the way of his life and upon his relocation to sunny South Carolina he disengaged himself from the dark corners of his desires.

"Whatever you say man life moves on, and so does your dick apparently! I'm startin' to think I should soundproof my walls."

"I should soundproof mine! You're the one actually getting laid every day. I don't even have one girlfriend, yet you have two girlfriends and a boyfriend! Not to mention you recycle them every day, and you even have a pattern in how you recycle them!"

"Recycle is a bad word, and very offensive," Ichigo proclaimed, while taking another sip of beer. "I don't recycle them. I schedule them how I see fit, and I give each person their own personal day based on my mood. Rukia on Mondays and Wednesdays, Inoue on Tuesdays and Sundays, and then my Grimm Kitty Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays! Sundays is a free for all. First to call gets it all."

Toshiro couldn't help but roll his eyes at his senseless roommate. "You have no sense."

"And you're a lonely man, Tosh." And that he was, but he laughed it off before finishing his Budweiser. After all, laughing was better than realizing and accepting the truth. Ultimately instead of going to the pool like he was thinking about, he ended up playing Call of Duty: Ghosts with Ichigo even hours after the sun set. They had ordered a stuff crust pizza from Dominos for dinner since none of them really had any exemplary cooking skills. It was only 45 minutes after they ordered did a resounding knock reaerated throughout their apartment. Right in the middle of attaining a kill shot, Ichigo glared hotly at the door before nudging Toshiro in his arm causing him to get killed in the process.

"Answer the door."

"I have no choice now considering you just caused me to get knifed!" Ignoring his asshole roommate's laughter, the 5"6 man stood up to his full height and stretched before answering the door upon the insistent knocking.

What awaited him took the breath out of his lungs as if the air suddenly got heavier and started crushing him.

He loved girls with dark hair, and this woman before him had lots of it. Two long obsidian bangs framed her heart shape faced in slick tendrils that past her chin, while the rest of her smooth hair fell down her back and ended midway. Her eyes were reminiscent of Ichigo's interestingly enough, but her stare was intensive, so intense and piercing that it unnerved him and placated him at the same. All his life he heard plenty of comments on his exotic beryl irises, and while green eyes were highly praised he thought gray eyes were magnificent in their own dark yet light shade. Her cloudy irises gleamed right at him, and her intense stare amplified her lead colored eyes that seemed to switch to black without lighting. She had long eyelashes that make his eyes flutter, and at 5'2 she had a rather well built physique with a decent bosom and strong, long toned legs. She seemed rather ordinary to the general population, but to Toshiro she was just the type of small, dark, and beautiful that he craves.

Her very presence commanded his unending attention, and he wasn't sure why. She seemed like the epitome of women who got what they wanted no matter the consequences. Those types of women tended to step on everybody to fulfill some driving ambition that borderline nefarious. Those type of women set up unsuspecting men for failure. That type of women put him jail, so he was quite sure he wasn't going down that road, no matter how delicious she looked.

Yet Toshiro couldn't look away. He stared at her for a moment, a bit mesmerized and overwhelmed, but he regained his composure a moment later.

"Can I help you?" Small, pouty red lips smirked in amusement before she shifted her eyes from the tips of his toes to the ends of his hair. She tilted her head a bit to the side in apparent wonder before stepping even closer to Toshiro. He backed away a second later, quite enamored but slightly weary of this woman's intention. She laughed as he took a step back before finally opening her mouth to reveal a chocolaty smooth voice.

"You could help me, but I doubt you could handle such a task. I am simply here for my brother whose bright ass head I can clearly see behind you." Befuddlement came to Toshiro at her response, but his inquiry would have to wait as Ichigo came up behind and smirked at his younger sister.

"Well well well. I take it you're "bored" again, Karin." The ebony girl named Karin shifted against the frame of the door, before pushing her way passed both men to sprawl out on the previously occupied love seat. She removed her white jacket, leaving her in nothing but black jeans shorts, a red kami, and red/white Authentic Low Pro Vans.

"You can say that. My muse has been far from entertaining lately. Seem as if it's all stressed out. So I came here for a reprieve to you know, kick back and vacate a little." Ichigo took his seat right next to his sister while Toshiro leaned against the bar of the kitchen, trying to seemingly get away from Karin's rather domineering aura. Ichigo sported a serious expression on his face, with worry evident in his eyes.

"Well if anything is wrong you can let me know." Karin nodded but otherwise didn't elaborate on any problems. She seemed intrigued and curious, and Toshiro wasn't too sure if she was subtlety glancing at him from the corner of her eyes. His eyes might be playing tricks on him. Ichigo sighed at his sister's inept emotional structure before looking at her again.

"You know the rules. Otherwise that you can stay here, I can't keep losing friends over this."

"Don't worry. I think I found a solution." Toshiro was not sure what the Kurosaki siblings were talking about. It sounded serious, and Ichigo really seemed distressed at the prospect of losing yet another bond, but somehow he had a foreboding feeling about their situation. Every time those gray eyes looked at him his danger meter went up. He almost felt intimidated by the small girl, especially when she looked at him when she said she found a solution. The stare was steely, hard, yet fiery and light and bright with mirth. It was almost as if….she found a new shiny toy.

Suddenly, Toshiro felt like he was caught in a game he wasn't even asked to play.