I said my last was going to be my last but this plot bunny wouldn't stop jumping in my head and the song Alive by Dami Im didn't really help either so... heres a 3rd HitsuKarin fic!
Warnings?
-Not edited
-A bit of ooc?
-THIS ALSO CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO DON'T READ THE MANGA!
That's all so enjoy!
On this cold breezy night, the Kurosaki household was celebrating the return of one Kurosaki Ichigo and one Kuchiki Rukia. On their return they received warm hugs from from (a teary) Yuzu and Karin and a series of fatherly assaults. After months of battles and hardships, the Quincy Blood War finally ended a week ago, of course after Ichigo went missing for months ongoing Yuzu grew suspicious. Yuzu is not as dense everyone thinks, she just never acts on those suspicion but when she saw the lack of sleep and worried faces her family make as the days go by she decided to go for it. Isshin, not being able to lie to his daughter spilled the whole truth, of him being a shinigami, what is a shinigami and finally, the current war at hand. However, what Isshin doesn't know is that Karin already knows the situation, from a certain ice wielding taichou.
Karin's lack of reaction caused Isshin to throw her confusing glances only to brush it off later, thinking that Ichigo already told her. Focusing his attention on the other twin, Yuzu unexpectedly did not break down to tears after receiving the information causing Isshin to look worried. But it later smoothed into an awed expression when she gazed at him with eyes fitting for a Kurosaki and exclaimed, "Onii-chan will be fine! He'll come back, he always does!"
Back to the matter at hand, the Kurosaki family was holding long peaceful and perfectly normal feast to welcome back Ichigo and Rukia,
"Masaki! Our dear son has grown up and brought back a girl! My dear rebellious son, I expect grandchildren soo-"
"You damn old man, give us a break! We just got back from a war."
"But Ichi-nii you didn't object to the grandchildren thing."
"K-Karin, n-not you too,"
"Eh? But Onii-chan I've always thought you and Rukia were dating, I mean sharing the same room..."
"Ohohoho, so you've already sta-"
"That's it! I'm turning in for the night. Let's go Rukia."
"E-eh?"
"Masaki! Look, our son has gro-"
"Ah! Otou-san!"
"Isn't that going a bit too far Ichi-nii?"
"Ichigo! Go down there and help your father!"
Dinner came to an end when Isshin was knocked out by Ichigo, who had to drag him to bed whilst Rukia and the Kurosaki twins cleaned up the mess before heading back to their separate rooms.
Shutting the door and locking it Karin threw herself onto her bed before drilling her face into her pillow and contemplated.
It's been a week since the war ended, Ichigo and Rukia are already back but where was he? Was he still mad at her? Did she ruin their friendship to the point of no return? But he asked her to wait for him didn't he?
With a familiar ache in her heart, she reminisce the day she confessed to him, 'my feelings were nothing but a burden.'
On a warm sunny day, two figures lay on the patch of grass near the guardrail whilst watching the sunset. One was a teenage girl with grey eyes and long raven hair bind by elastic. The other figure was a teenage boy with shocking white hair and icy blue-green eyes. Both, one more than the other, were sweating waterfalls and panting heavily from the intense soccer game that took place before hand.
"So how's Soul Society Toushiro?" asked the raven-haired girl with the high ponytail, her hands juggling a soccer ball back and forth.
All she received was silence from the white haired boy named Toushiro. Instead, he sat up and continued gazing at the setting sun, contemplating how to give her the news. He's known her for five years now and he knows that she would either react solemnly or violently at the news, he's hoping it would be the latter. After all for the past five years, he's only dealt with her solemn side once and he finds that she was harder to comfort as he didn't know how she felt. Unlike her violent side that spills everything on her mind whilst abusing him at the same time.
Seeing his brooding face, Karin also sat up, the ball still in her hands but not for long as she aimed the ball at Toushiro's head. Unfortunately, it didn't hit its target instead the ball ended up in Toushiro's hand. Retracting his gaze from the sun he turned his glare towards the soccer girl. How did he become friends with such a tactless, extravagant, human girl?
She raised an eyebrow at his obvious annoyance, "that bad, huh? Did Ranguki-san skip out on work again?" All mirth, well most anyway, disappeared from her eyes as she tried to suppress her smile. She finds his relationship with Matsumoto to be very humorous and amusing.
Turning his gaze back to the sunset he finally spilled the beans.
"There's going to be another war."
After hearing the news, Karin's face dropped, she knew where this was going.
"When?"
"At least three months from now."
"Is Ichi-nii..."
"I'm sorry but we need his power."
"I... see." She sometimes wish that Ichigo wasn't so strong, he wouldn't have been involved in any of this and he wouldn't have come home with a broken arm or leg. No, he would be home more often than not if he never became a shinigami but then he wouldn't have met so many great friends and she would've never met Toushiro.
Closing his eyes, Toushiro stood up from his position, his height fitting for his 18 year old appearance, "I have to go back..." It's not like he had a choice, if he did then he would've stayed to comfort her.
"Ok..." Hearing her disheartening reply Toushiro took a quick peak at her facial expression but her hair was covering her face. Not knowing how to comfort her in this situation and hoping that she'll be fine he took one step with intention to leave, only to be softly tugged back. Looking back he followed the hand gripping his shirt back to its owner and found Karin standing with her head tilted downwards causing her black hair to curtain her face. He didn't have time to think before Karin wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her front against his back. Her sudden embrace startled him causing him to stumble a step back.
Karin being a head shorter than him buried her face into his back and mumbled, "Promise to come back safely?"
His eyes darkened as memories of Aizen and the Winter War flash through his mind. If it wasn't for Ichigo, Toushiro was sure he would've died that day, he hates to admit it but he was glad that Ichigo was on their side. At the back of his mind, he secretly doubts that he would survive this war but instead of voicing out his thoughts, he squeezed her surprisingly soft hands with his calloused ones to reassure her.
"I can't promise but I'll try my best." He vowed, trying to keep his voice from sounding doubtful.
It seems to work as Karin, not trusting her voice, replied to his answer by tightening her hold on him. Both stood there basking in each other's warmth and momentarily forgot about everything: Soul Society, Shinigami/s, hollows and the upcoming war against the Quincy. When Toushiro's time was up he reluctantly made a move to free himself from her warmth but...
"I love you." Those three words were all it took to turn Toushiro into a frozen statue.
Karin has been in love with him for years now but only realised it a year ago. She didn't plan on saying anything to him; especially not those three words but the thought of never seeing him again scared her. She wanted him to at least know how she truly felt about him. It's hard not to fall in love with someone who's been taking their time to visit and play soccer with her since she was 10. She knew him for 7 years and has been in love with him since she was 13. Seeing Toushiro's reaction –or rather the lack of- she tightened her hold on him, fearing rejection but it didn't came.
After her confession, Toushiro just departed, not replying to her confession, not even glancing back at her. It was when he was metres away did he finally say something.
"Karin, wait for me." He said, his voice sounding somewhat warm. He didn't look at her; he didn't even wait for her reply before he disappeared from her sight.
Although he didn't reject her, she couldn't stop the dejection eating at her heart when he didn't visit her the following months. Even after all these years she could never understand the enigma named Hitsugaya Toushiro.
Once the war began, Matsumoto would somehow send Karin updates on the war via Hell Butterfly and for that Karin was thankful as it eased the pain her heart when she hears his voice in the background. However as the war rages on, the updates were less frequent and detailed but at least she knew they were still alive. She realises reality was cruel when one day the butterflies stopped coming altogether. That was when she panicked, the fear of not knowing what happened scared her and distinguishes the hope she held in her heart. Despite these feelings, she didn't let it affect her life, or tried to. She notices her grades were failing, bags under her eyes were starting to develop and the many misses she made during soccer club. All in all she hasn't been herself since the butterflies stopped coming.
So when Ichigo and Rukia showed up at their footsteps with bandages wrapped in every crook and penny she squeezed the air out of them in alleviation. They were alive, injured but alive, that's all that matters at the moment. She felt a spark of hope lightened up inside her as she felt his cool reiryoku lingering around them. 'Maybe he's alive too. They won right?' Was what she thought until the memory of that day came back to her and she suddenly didn't want to see him. She doesn't want him to reject her, she doesn't want to endure another heartache. Now that she ponders on it, didn't he have a childhood friend who he spoke so fond of?
Karin being so lost in thought didn't hear the tapping sound of her window but she did jolted to attention when the window slid opening, creating a scraping sound. Turning her gaze to the window she saw an 18-years-old looking boy sitting on the windowsill. One leg was propped up on the windowsill, the other leg making contact with her bed. One of his hands was also pressed against the windowsill whilst the other was still in position from sliding the window open.
Icy teal eyes met stupefied grey ones, "Karin," he whispered, his voice sounding wistful and anxious. He felt his heartbeat fastened and his thoughts in a jumbled mess. All he can hear is his mind chanting, 'she's here, she's hear'.
"Tou-shi-ro" Karin sounded out as if it was a foreign word, staring at him in disbelief. Her brain struggled to process his presence. As if under a spell, Karin reached out to him, grabbing his haori and pulling him onto her bed so they were both sat across from each other. With one hand cupping his cheek, the other traced the bandaged wrapped around his head and knitted itself into his thick white hair. All this time, their eyes were still interlocked. "Toushiro? You're here right?" she whispered with hope in her voice. All her fears suddenly dispersed in thin air when she laid her eyes on him and all she could think about was him. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears as she traced his bandages.
Toushiro gripped the hand cupping his cheek and leaned into it, his other hand snaked around her waist and pulled her closer. Breathing in the familiar scent that surrounded her and basking in her warmth never failed to calm him and put him at peace. "I'm here Karin, I'm back." And he has never felt more at home.
That was all she needed to break down. Her tears freed themselves from their boundaries and flowed freely down her cheeks as she buried herself in the crook of his neck. Both of her hands moved to grip the front of his haori. "W-welc-come b-back" she managed to chock out, happy that he's alive. 'He's alive' she thought.
Adjusting his hold on her, he cradled her head and pulled her even closer, eliminating all space between them. As Karin cried Toushiro stroked her hair and buried his nose in it. 'She smells like coconuts' he thought, not uncomfortable at the least with their current position.
Reality dawned on Karin when she stopped crying and her head cleared up. She just cried in front of Toushiro, embarrassed by her actions, Karin quickly moved back but Toushiro wasn't having any of that, he's not planning to let her go ever again. Using his hand to clutch the back of her head, he pushed her closer to him until their foreheads connect and their nose brushing against each other. Karin's face flamed up at the space -or the lack of- in between them and suddenly felt self-cautious whilst Toushiro was anything but. 'Has he always been this touchy?' She clearly remembered him rejecting her -or so she thought- a year ago.
During the war, Toushiro experienced many hardships and feelings. The moment he lost his Bankai was one the scariest things he experienced but it made him realised how dependent he was on Hyourinmaru; He never felt so naked without his bankai.
He also felt the emptiness of losing a fellow captain who treated him like a son, he felt the despair that filled his heart when the Soutaichou was killed but most of all he felt the fear of not being able to see her again.
It was his near death experience that made him realise how ironically short life is and that there is no second chances. His thoughts would quickly drift towards her; he needed to see her again, he needed to bask in her warmth, he needed to see her carefree grin, he needed her in his life and most importantly, he needed to reply to her confession.
Despite being in the middle of a war, his fukutaichou and sister figure sill manages to tease him one way or another. He vividly remembered what Matsumoto said- no ordered- him to do after he lost his bankai.
"Taichou, after we win this war, I want you to go back to Karin-chan and kiss her like she's your drug." Not at all embarrassed by what she said but her comment made Toushiro blush. And Hinamori just happens to be walking by at that moment.
"Eh? Shiro-chan has a girlfriend? Mou, Shiro-chan why didn't you tell me!" She pouted, like any other older siblings, Hinamori is also curious about her brother figure's love life.
"Why do I need to report to you about my love life?" He asked, his blush slowly disappearing, not denying the girlfriend part.
"So you do have a girlfriend! You told Rangiku-san about your girlfriend but you didn't tell your sister?"
"Oh, Taichou didn't tell me, I spied on them." Mastumoto grinned, remembering her Taichou trying to act cool whilst his face was on fire from Karin's confession.
"MATSUMOTO!"
"So her name is Karin-chan… Shiro-chan you have to introduce me to her!
"HINAMORI!"
Remembering Matsumoto's order, his gaze slowly travelled down her facial features, taking note of the tears stains and stopped at her pink, plump and kissable lips. He subconsciously licked his dry lips and stared back at her eyes. He slowly leaned towards her, giving her time to pull away but she doesn't, instead she leaned in closer and met him halfway. Their lips shyly brushed against each other, experimenting the new affectionate action. Pressing his lips firmly against hers, he angles her head to kiss her better and his other hand travelled to the small of her back and pushed her against him. It felt like he took a big gulp of air for the first time, and he never felt so alive as ironic as it sounds. He licked her bottom lip for entrance but she stubbornly kept her lips closed. Annoyed, Toushiro pulled at her hair and snaked his other hand under her shirt making her gasp. He took this as a chance to plunge his tongue into her hot cavern making sure to thoroughly explore every inch causing her to let out small whimpers only he could hear. Pulling away from her for a second he removed Hyourinmaru from his back and laid him near the bed. Pinning her down onto her bed, he continued kissing her, his tongue swept across her mouth and aroused her tongue from its slumber. He laid his elbow near her head to prevent him from crushing her; his other hand intertwined its fingers with Karin's and lay flatly against her pillow. Karin's other free hand tangled itself in his soft wild hair and played with it, feeling unsure where to place her hand.
They both pulled away from their passionate kiss in need of air, both panted trying to control their breathing. "I love you" this time it was Toushiro who said the three words, huskily and softly.
His confession flew over Karin's head as she was still recovering from the kiss. Unsure whether it was a hallucination or reality, she locked her gaze with his teal ones. He smiled at her, his eyes usually guarded, sharp and calculative softened into something calm, serene and dazed. Realising she hadn't misheard it, she wrapped both her arms around his neck and pulled him into another kiss which he enjoyed very much. 'He said it, he said it' she chanted in her head.
However, Karin's ecstasy only lasted for a short moment as she remembered he was a shinigami. Loneliness filled her heart as she realised he was going to leave her again. Breaking off their kiss, she rolled them so he lay next to her and nuzzled her nose against his collarbone, breathing in his minty scent.
"Don't go..." She mumbled, her voice trembling.
"I won't" he replied, his voice firm yet soft.
"Y-you're lying, you can't stay here forever,"
"Do you want me to stay here forever?"
Pulling away from her intimate session with his neck, she glared into his eyes before answering, "what if I do want you to stay with me forever?"
"Then forever I will," Meeting her glare with his own stare filled with hardened resolve he continued, "I've already talked to the Soutaichou and your dad. They already gave me their assent to stay with you." He watched as her eyes and her mouth widened in surprise, he really wants to kiss her right now.
Karin was in shock 'h-he planned everything already? Was that the reason why he asked me to wait for him?'
As if reading her thought as he retold his plan, "I planned everything the moment you confessed to me that day, I didn't want to reciprocate your feelings before getting the 'go' sign from the Soutaichou and your dad." He can't help but feel glad that Kyouraku replaced the original Soutaichou. Sure he was upset about the Soutaichou's death as he was their hope of winning the Thousand Year War but Kyouraku was a lot more understanding. If it were the original Soutaichou, he would've banished Toushiro from the Living World, not that he would obey anyways. Toushiro would've still find ways to meet up with Karin.
"S-so y-you're staying?" She questioned, her voice cracking from excitement, her eyes sparkling in delight and her lips twitching into a grin that quickly grew grim when she digested a crucial piece of information. "Hold on, you asked my dad?"
"On the condition I attend school with you and yes, I asked your dad." He groaned, annoyed at the thought of having to deal with high schoolers. He groaned louder when he remembered his discussion with his former taichou. He never blushed so hard in his life.
Toushiro and Isshin sat on a table across from each other, a cup of steaming tea placed in front of them. They were at the Kurosaki's household and at this time, both Karin and Yuzu are at school. Whilst Isshin cup was still full, Toushiro's was nearly gone by now. Not that anyone can blame him; Isshin's stare was nerve wrecking and can even make the aristocratic Kuchiki-taichou break under his stare. As expected from his former taichou and Karin's dad, he's known this man since he joined the tenth division and the serious Isshin that appears once in a blue moon never failed to make him uncomfortable.
"So..." Isshin started off, pausing a little to create suspense, "you want me to trust you with my daughter?"
"Yes, taichou,"
"Do you love my daughter?"
"With all my heart,"
"Do you promise to protect her?"
Toushiro felt his eyebrow twitch in irritation; did his former taichou doubt his love for Karin? With narrowed eyes, he glared at Isshin in the eyes, "What kind of question is that? Of course I will!"
Seeing the determination in Toushiro's eyes, Isshin felt defeated. 'Oh Masaki, how do I go about giving my daughter away?' He prayed. Isshin was like any overprotective fathers, -not as protective as Ichigo- always wary about boys around their daughters especially if her only friends are all male. He even went as far as threatening Karin's male friends to not touch her, let alone date her.
Now that a boy is asking him permission to trust him with Karin, he felt lost. If it was any other boy, Isshin would've thrown him out the window without hesitation but the boy who was asking for his consent is none other than Hitsugaya Toushiro, his former third seat and a person he already accepted as his son. Isshin has known Toushiro for a long time now and he knows that Toushiro is capable of protecting his dear daughter so he sees no reason why he needs to continue the interrogation but at the same time he wants role-play as the overprotective father who scared away their daughter's suitors. Hmm... Maybe he should continue to role-play the overprotective dad just for a while, after all Toushiro's reactions are top notch and amusing. Well at least Isshin found it very amusing. He was about to resume his interrogation until...
"...Grandchildren..." Toushiro muttered his head turning to look out the window, a dark red hue staining his cheeks. He couldn't believe he had to resort to using this card.
As Toushiro expected, at the mention of grandchildrens Isshin's ears perked up and his serious facade was fighting a losing battle, not that Toushiro can see. Toushiro felt rather than see Isshin's wavered resolve.
"What about grandchildren?"
"Well... You don't have to just rely on Kurosaki for grandchildren anymore..." He felt his cheeks burn brighter. 'This is so awkward' he thought. Who wouldn't find it awkward? Oh wait, Isshin.
The moment Toushiro finished his sentence; Isshin dropped his serious facade and promptly lunged at Masaki's poster, "Masaki! Did you hear that!? Our second son promised us future grandchildren!" His outburst and sudden change of personality caused Toushiro's face to flame redder. He sometimes wonders why he respected this man in the first place.
That was proven when Isshin slammed both his hands on the table and focused all his reiatsu onto the unexpected Toushiro -who didn't have time to cool down his face-, his eyes full of intent to kill. "Listen Toushiro, you may have been like a son to me back then but if you hurt Karin in any way don't expect Ichigo to be the only one after your neck."
Despite the killing intent directed towards him, Toushiro couldn't help but sweat dropped. For once, Kurosaki and his former taichou are acting like they're cut from the same cloth. 'Like father, like son' Toushiro thought ironically, finally figuring out where Ichigo got his over protectiveness from.
The killing intent didn't last long as right after Isshin finished threatening Toushiro, he suddenly disappeared as if he used shunpo only to reappear with a book and pushing it into Toushiro's face. Isshin let out a lopsided grin, "now how many kids were you thinking?"
Taking a good look at the book Toushiro read the title of it '1000 baby names'.
"Come on, you only have to study there for one year," Wrapping her arms around his neck she pulled him closer until their foreheads touch, successfully snapping Toushiro back to reality. As Toushiro remembered what they were talking about, Karin continued.
"Besides, I get to spend more time with you." Only to do a take back on what she said and realised how corny it sounded. Now that her mind is clear and she's thinking properly, she remembered how weak and sentimental she acted and it irritated her. She hasn't cried since her mother's death and she was rather proud of her reputation but now… With a renewed resolve, Karin grabbed the collar of Toushiro's shihakushou and pulled at it in an intimidating way.
"By the way, tell anyone about this and I won't let you touch me for a month." Eyes glaring and blazing with fire, as expected of a Kurosaki, he could practically see flames bursting in the background.
"Only if you agree to be my girlfriend," he smirked, rather than being afraid, he was more amused at her anger. He would even go as far as calling it cute.
"Deal." Karin frowned at his lack of fear. Of course a 100 years old man who fights with death breathing down his neck everyday wouldn't be scared of human girl.
"Great! Then I have the rights to beat up those guys who have been checking you out." He grumbled under his breath before giving her a peck on the lips but his mumbling didn't go unheard.
Her anger immediately dispersed and was replaced with curiosity. With an eyebrow raised, she asked, "how'd you know I was getting hit on?"
"...Kazuya has been updating me on these things." He averted his eyes from her, not having the courage to look her in the eyes. Out of all of Karin's friends, he got along with Kazuya the most and over the past 3 years, Kazuya has been taking notes of guys hitting on Karin and then reporting them back to Toushiro. Not that she needs to know about it. How Kazuya figured out Toushiro's crush on Karin was an even deeper mystery.
"Tou-Shi-Ro" she hissed, wanting to know how long this has being going on for.
"Go to sleep," and with that sleep overtook them and they both fell into a peaceful slumber.
But that peacefulness didn't last long as the next morning,
"Kyaaaaaaah! Karin-chan!"
"Hohoho, as expected from my former third seat!"
"*Gasp* I never knew Karin and Hitsugaya-taichou were in a relationship. I must report this to Matsumoto-fukutaichou."
"TOUSHIRO! WHAT IN HUENCO MUNDO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"
Omake
When Toushiro travelled to the Living World to see Karin, he didn't pay attention to his surroundings and moved absentmindedly. All he could think of was seeing Karin again and his distraction didn't go unnoticed by Matsumoto and Hinamori who peaked from behind a corner as Toushiro waited for the gate to open.
"Where do you think he's going Rangiku-san?" Hinamori questioned. Her eyebrows furrowed in disapproval, "he's still recovering"
"Isn't it obvious? He's going to see Karin-chan!" Matsumoto grinned.
At the mention of Toushiro's girlfriend, all her worries of his injuries disappeared replaced with cliché romantic scenes.
'Aw~ Even though he's injured he still wants to see her' Hinamori sighed at the thought.
"Her name was Karin-chan right?" A light bulb went off in Hinamori's head and she turned back to Matsumoto.
"Ne Rangiku-san, let's follow him!" After living with Toushiro for most of her childhood, she knows he wouldn't introduce her to Karin anytime soon so she decided to see who won Toushiro's heart personally.
"Ooooh, let me grab my camera."
Once Matsumoto came back with her camera, the pair went through the gate a good 5 minutes after Toushiro. Upon arriving in the peaceful town of Karakura, both quickly masked their reiryoku before trailing after Toushiro's reiryoku. Which lead them to the Kurosaki household and just in time to see Karin holding Toushiro's face in her hands.
"Aw~" Hinamori cooed, she has always been a sucker for romance.
Matsumoto on the other hand smiled, glad that her Taichou didn't miss out experiencing a love that she no longer could.
'You've grown Taichou' Matsumoto thought as she captured the 'HitsuKarin' –the result of Matsumoto's and Hinamori's discussion on shipping names- moment with her camera.
Hinamori let out a small squeal when Toushiro pulled Karin into a hug, not at all disturbed by the lack of space. This was a side of Toushiro that Hinamori has never seen before and she was rather surprised when Toushiro allowed Karin to touch him let alone cry on him. He wouldn't even let her ruffle his hair. She turned back to Matsumoto, wondering why she hasn't said anything this whole time only to see her with her camera out, a mischievous grin plastered on her face and an indescribable gleam in her eyes. Looking back at the couple her face flush and her hands flew to her mouth attempting to suppress the squeal that was threatening to come out.
"They're kissing!" she shrieked quietly, her little brother grew up into such a fine man.
Matsumoto let out a wolf whistle when Toushiro pinned Karin to her bed. "Go Taichou! Atta boy!" she cheered. She was rather impressed with Toushiro's display of dominance, who knew the child back then had it in him?
"This is better than my soup operas" Hinamori exclaimed, her face still flush at the scene. She can't wait to officially meet Karin, maybe they can tell each other embarrassing stories of Toushiro.
'Rangiku-san was right, they are so adorable~' Hinamori thought. She remembered how shocked she was when she found out they've been friends for a long time, in human terms, anyways. She was even more surprised when Matsumoto revealed that he had been skipping out on work to see Karin and all she could do was sigh. 'How romantic'
"Hohoho, let's see how everyone else reacts to this." Matsumoto snickered as she rapidly spammed the button on her camera. Oh, she can already imagine the tenth squad's reaction.
"Remember to give me a few copies too Rangiku-san!"
"Of course, after I give them to Shuuhei to publish!"
I didn't know whether I should put the omake or not but... oh well
Hope you enjoyed it!