Because I felt compelled to support this pairing; Toshiro is already cool, but I always liked Karin. Momo kinda creeps me out for some reason. 0_o
This might get lengthy, since I plan on adding a few more chapters.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. Tite Kubo & Viz Media do, I think. :/
""okay, as I went through this section to edit, I realized that if Toshiro were in a gigai he probably wouldn't be able to flash-step; however, he wouldn't be as cool if he didn't start out the story meditating, so I'm not changing it. :]
This is a Prologue chapter, of sorts:
* * *
Hitsugaya Toshiro was meditating. He sat atop an office building that towered over the street below. As he concentrated he could feel tiny ribbons brushing against his mind, the reiatsu of Karakura's many residents. The humans were milling along in the town below. Hitsugaya could vaguely sense the general location of the other soul reapers deployed in the town. Matsumoto was closest, perhaps subconsciously wanting to be near her division leader. The lieutenant was easily guessed to be shopping in one of the local markets. She had spoken with reverence about a rather colossal place called the 'Mall'.
Suddenly one of the ribbons of reiatsu tugged on his mind, drawing his attention. He instantly connected the short burst of spiritual pressure with the simultaneous exclamation of "Kesu!" from the mass of people below. Scanning the ground, Hitsugaya saw the interruption to be a black-haired youth. This conclusion was rather obvious, as the girl had apparently kicked her ball in rage and was left to stare after it as it sailed away. The ball continued to bounce away from the girl, along the cement past the stairs down the hill and on its way to the street, where the ominous 'automobiles' roared and honked. Sighing a bit at this anonymous human's lack-of-control, the captain flash-stepped until he was at ground level. Then he trapped the ball with his foot, bringing the nuisance to a halt. With a flick of his foot, Hitsugaya caught the ball in his hands. For a moment he studied the thing, unfamiliar in its design, but identifying it as a ball. A soccer ball, he dimly recalled. He raised his gaze and locked eyes with the living girl. She looked stunned; Hitsugaya didn't blame her, as he probably appeared out of nowhere. Kids were sure stupid, or at least this one was. Just moments earlier she had been chasing the ball, jumping over the fence and skidding down the hill, all with a look of determination plastered on her face. That was idiotic - if she had followed the ball into the traffic..... Well, Hitsugaya would hate to be administer Konso on such a young soul. What was with these humans anyways? Were they all as reckless as Kurosaki Ichigo and his friends?
"Is this yours?" he asked, not missing a beat even as he studied her intently. A stupid social nicety; he knew perfectly well it was her toy.
"Yeah," she answered, nodding her head slightly.
"Be more careful next time," he scolded, tossing her the ball. She caught it deftly, staring at it in surprise. Employing the use of Shunpo, the 10th division captain was gone before she could lift her eyes.
Sitting again on the roof, Toshiro spared the child one last glance before settling down into a comfortable position for meditation. He resumed his training, a little proud, in the back of his mind, of his good deed.
* * *
Much later into the day, Hitsugaya found himself wandering aimlessly about the city. Okay, perhaps aimlessly wasn't the word; more like subconsciously. He usually headed for a certain spot around this time. It was evening, with the sun nearly set over the horizon. It was also Hitsugaya's time for patrol, though Ikkaku was likely to steal a few kills from him anyways. It was amazing what some shinigami did to fend off boredom - not that Ikkaku was one of those shinigami. He easily amused himself with combat, and combat really wasn't that amazing. His blood lust was however, a bit disturbing. There's something not right about those 11th division soldiers, Hitsugaya thought to himself.
Still strolling, Hitsugaya looked toward the sky. The view wasn't as nice as it may have been in Soul Society, but he appreciated it all the same. Hitsugaya scanned his surroundings for a bench. Seeing none, he made do with the railings by the hill and sat down to rest his limbs. But a dutiful shinigami as always, he pulled out his hollow-tracking device and stared at it, willing a Hollow to appear and rip a chunk out of his day. Metaphorically, of course - he was awfully bored. Minutes passed and none appeared.
At the sound of footsteps, Hitsugaya looked up. There before him stood the girl from before, recognizable by the sporty black hair framing her girlish features. She looked less helpless now, with her soccer ball strapped securely in a net at her side. Now that they were mostly alone, Hitsugaya was struck by the undiluted strength of her spiritual pressure. It wasn't quite as blatant as Kurosaki's, and that made sense since she wasn't a Soul Reaper, but it was still abnormal for a human. This town is practically inviting the Hollows with people like them hanging around, the captain thought. Then she spoke.
"You're the one who picked up the soccer ball for me earlier, right?" It wasn't really a question.
"Yeah," he answered anyways.
"Arigatou," she said.
"You're welcome," Hitsugaya replied turning back to his phone. But somehow, he was positive the girl had more to say. He tapped about three buttons on his Soul pager before the girl interrupted once more:
"Hey, what school are you from?" He scowled - why did everyone assume he was a kid?
"I'm not from any school," he snapped. He released a short, irritated breath of air. "And I'm busy, so go away." The words could have come out harsher, but the child seemed happy and innocent enough. It's not like she knew what she was distracting him from. So he held back.
Of course, that meant he had passed up a chance to scare the kid away, so there she remained. She continued the conversation, asking:
"You can play soccer, can't you?"
Soccer, huh? He'd come across it before. It was the sort of game that children enjoyed, even in Rukongai. He'd never really cared about something so childish, of course. But he got the basic concept: kick, run, and some fancy taps with the feet to keep the ball to yourself. Nothing too challenging, considering his reflexes.
"I think so," he answered, a scowl still on his face. He was somewhat resigned, and he expected this girl would continue interrogating him until she got to the point.
"We have a game this Saturday. Would you play with us?" Behind her, her friends were arriving. They all started at the proposal.
Inwardly, Hitsugaya rolled his eyes. One trick with the ball and she assumes I'm elite. He felt a bit proud, but mostly skeptical. Oh, and disinterested, as this was completely irrelevant to his assignment. So he ignored the question.
One of the kid's friends grabbed her and they roped her into a hushed argument. He heard scraps of what they were saying. ".... bleached hair." "could be in a gang" "his expression is scary." That sort of thing. At least he was intimidating somebody.
"I don't believe anyone that short could actually play soccer."
....................... What?! That insolent little brat!
"What did you say?! Who are you calling short?!" That's it, I don't need to deal with this crap. He stood up and started marching away, fuming.
The girl, the only girl among them he noted, turned to face him. "I'm sure he was just joking," she said, trying to placate him. Then she realized he was leaving. "Oy, matte!"
Though Hitsugaya was ignoring them in a sense, he still felt the girl's spirtual pressure. Her reiatsu flared wildly out of nowhere. Warily, he glanced behind him, and the captain was alarmed to find her soccer ball spiraling after him. Reacting quickly, he flipped backwards and kicked the offensive thing away, inadvertently performing a bicycle kick. He aimed it slightly away from its kicker; he wanted to scare the girl, not punish her. So her teammate would have to take the heat.
Following his shot, Hitsugaya was amused to see it hit its target. He landed smoothly on the ground, dusting off his jeans. For a second there was silence. The children seemed to be undecided whether they should be impressed or frightened. It was the girl that convinced them. She broke the silence with a cheer.
"All right," she grinned, pumping her fist. And Hitsugaya found himself showered with praise and surrounded by a group of awe-struck children.
This reminds me of my days at the Academy, Hitsugaya thought briefly.
"Who are you?" one of them asked.
Hitsugaya sighed, answering, "I'm Hitsugaya Toshiro."
For a moment he was somewhat entertained that all of the brats went back on their previous assessments, complimenting his hair and his skill. He noticed the girl was separated from her possy. She was staring at something in the distance.
And then his device went off, its persistent beeping demanding his attention. Flipping open the thing, he checked the screen. A Hollow? His eyes found their way up to the girl's profile. She was muttering to herself now, murmuring, "This feeling again...." He was intrigued, but willed himself to check the screen again. Damn, I'm the only one near it. Without prompt, he ran off, ignoring the kids' protests. As he left, he heard vaguely, though he certainly wasn't listening for it: "We practice at Tagadaino park! Make sure to please come!" He kept on sprinting though, giving no indication that he'd heard.
Checking the phone periodically, he eventually found himself at a nameless park. Of more immediate importance was the Hollow, which was closing in on two spirits. The wholes were backed up against the ladder of the slide. Both spirits seemed a bit younger than the children he'd seen earlier, but nonetheless as scared as they would have been in this situation.
The Hollow itself was a tiny thing, resembling an overgrown mushroom with talons and a tail. He leapt out of his gigai, then into the air and sliced decively across the back of the thing's skull, killing it efficiently. The evil spirit was not cleansed, however.
It had been awhile since he'd seen it, but Hitsugaya instantly recognized the Gates of Hell unfolding themselves and sucking in the hollow's spirit, and the hollow went, with a bloodcurdling shriek. The captain was a tad surprised that such a weak Hollow had once been an evil person. With a tremor, the twin doors disappeared, leaving the area ominously still.
Hitsugaya stared after the gates, lost in thought until one of the pluses sniffled a bit. Cutting through the silence, it dragged Hitsugaya back to the present. He approached them calmly, wondering in the back of his mind who these spirits were, when they had died, if their death had been painful, and if they knew anything about their earlier assailant: the usual and sympathetic curiosity that a soul reaper experiences when they encounter a new spirit. But that wasn't important at the moment.
"Who..... who are you?" the boy of the two asked, stepping in front of the girl (His sister?) protectively.
"I'm here to help you find peace," he answered. The boy looked unconvinced, but the girl seemed curious.
With huge eyes, she looked at him and asked, "Peace? As in heaven?"
Hitsugaya hesitated. Was Rukongai considered heaven? It was not the first time a spirit had asked him that, but he still did not have an answer. Instead he replied,
"Yeah, something like that." With a gaze he hoped was reassuring, he prepared the two for their Soul Burial.
* * *
The next day passed without event. He considered dropping by the park to practice, simply for something to do. But he refused to abandon his post without adequate reason. So, he found himself back at the hill by evening, just as he had yesterday.
Perhaps in the back of his mind he expected the girl to show up again today as she had yesterday. He was not disappointed. A few minutes after he had arrived the girl sprinted her way up to him, her spiky hair billowing behind her like a shadow. She called his name from a distance, in recognition, before she finally approached, chest heaving. He tapped away on his Soul Pager, giving the child a chance to catch her breath.
"You again," was his greeting.
"Yeah, me," she panted, unimpressed. "Why didn't you come to practice?"
"I never said I'd play with you guys," he answered. "Besides, I don't have any free time."
At that, she adopted skeptism. "You're in grade school; how busy could you be?"
"Shut up," he sighed.
And she did for a moment. Then she opened her mouth again, asking, "Why do you come here so often? Do you live nearby?"
"No," Hitsugaya answered. He paused, staring up at the sky. Soul Society was nowhere nearby."This is the best place to see the sky from..... It's nostalgic," he concluded, reminded of his childhood with Momo. They shared a pleasant moment of silence before the girl broke it once more.
"Nostalgic, huh? Just how old are you?"
"That doesn't concern you," he huffed. This girl, he thought, irritated. I don't even know her name and she already wants to know everything about me........ Wow, I don't know her name. The realization left him surprised, as if there were a buzzing in his pocket..... No wait, that was just his Soul Pager. There was a Hollow nearby. Why does this always seem to happen when I'm with her? Now that he thought about it, the girl was always present when there was a hollow nearby. What if her strong reiatsu had something to do with it? Now thoroughly worried, the captain started to run off. But the girl grabbed his wrist, stopping him.
"Don't go that way," she said suddenly, looking both worried and stern. Then she seemed to pause, realizing her advice had come out nowhere. "Um, how should I put this?...... I feel there's something bad over there....." She probably felt it was a lame explanation - she seemed embarrassed.
This girl, did she sense the Hollow....? He found himself annoyed that he couldn't refer to her with a name. They both glanced down as his device went off. Flipping open the phone in a practiced motion, he registered the new information: the Hollow had been defeated. Probably Ikkaku...... The both of them visibly relaxed, even though the girl couldn't possible have seen what his Soul Pager had told him.
"So, you're coming to the match tomorrow, right?" she asked as he turned to leave.
He glanced back at her. Why did a soccer game mean so much to her?
Deciding on impulse, he answered, "I guess so." It sounded like another sigh.
The girl's face broke into a smile, then spread into a very wide grin. Hitsugaya turned to leave once more, but hesitated before taking the first step. He wanted very much to ask the girl her name. He glanced up at her, readying his tongue and: then an image of Momo flashed before his eyes, temporarily replacing the girl. He closed his mouth. The girl blinked her eyes, staring at him quizically.
"It's nothing," he said, raising his hand up in farewell. And he turned and left.
And really, he didn't need to become attached to another girl.
* * *
The next day the captain decided the other shinigami would do just fine patrolling the city by themselves. Curious about the girl, Hitsugaya actually showed up at practice that day; not that it mattered, as he didn't join in and the others didn't see him. He was satisfied in learning the girl's name, as the team immediately greeted her with a cry of "Karin!" and "Did you find him?". It was nice to put a name to her face. Hitsugaya was mildly amused to learn that the Karin girl was the captain of her team. Just as the shinigami had captains for their squads, leaders in the Living World were considered captains too.
After a bit the children stopped socializing and began practicing, following an order from Karin. She was easily the most skilled on the team, he noticed. But they looked up to her for a different reason, it seemed. Watching them for a few minutes, he thought he knew why. The girl threw herself into the practice with as much focus and dedication as many Soul Reapers did when in combat. It actually reminded the captain of the Kurosaki kid, when he had fought to save Kuchiki Rukia. But it was more than that: the girl fought (Played, he corrected.) with heart. Soccer was something she honestly loved, and she threw herself into it with passion.
"Taicho!" Hitsugaya jumped at Matsumoto's greeting, still watching the girl. She waved happily at him before asking, "Are you a stalker?"
"Definitely not," he answered, annoyed. He returned his sights to Karin. "I'm just curious about someone down there." Perhaps he had worded that poorly. Matsumoto followed his gaze.
"Eh?!" she wondered. "You're in love with a girl from the World of the Living?"
"No, of course not," Hitsugaya replied, irritated.
"No need to be shy, taicho. She's very pretty," his lieutenant said coyly. Growling at his lame excuse for a lieutenant, her captain stood up and walked away. "I understand, sir! A man gets lonely sometimes!" she called at his retreating figure.
She heard him huff. Rangiku turned her head back to study the raven-haired girl on the ground below her. She really was pretty. The human girl kinda reminded Rangiku of Rukia for some reason...... Probably that whole beauty-with-a-purpose vibe.
* * *
There was no way he was going to explain to his vice-captain why exactly he needed to attend a little kid's soccer game. It was his turn for patrol, but the time overlapped with the game's time. The game itself wasn't all too important. Karin, however, was a matter of interest. And trouble. If the Hollow truly were attracted to her abnormal reiatsu, then she would be in danger. None of the Soul Reapers' patrol perimeters were near the soccer field; no one would be able to help in time if a hollow attacked. Hitsugaya wasn't willing to take that chance. So......
"Matsumoto, I have some business to attend to. I need you to cover my patrol area until I'm finished," he said this all in an official voice one could only obtain from a very serious dedication to his job.
Rangiku blinked at her commanding officer, before saluting. "Whatever you say, taicho." She dropped her hand. "What kind of business anyway?"
Hitsugaya avoided her gaze. "I'm still interested in that girl from earlier." Inwardly, he froze. Not what he had meant to say. Hyorinmaru chuckled distantly at his expense from his sealed state.
"Well, if it's in the interest of love, I've not problem covering up for my sloppy captain! You need a girl after all!" Rangiku chirped happily.
"Ugh, stop twisting what I said! That's not it at all!" Again, Hitsugaya averted his eyes. "I just have a feeling something bad is going to happen to her."
Sobering only slightly, she nodded. "Well, go do what you have to do. I'll go work my butt off for you, so it better be worth it!" And with that, she leaped off.
Hitsugaya sighed, again, and made his way towards the soccer field. Staring up at the clouds, it occured to him eventually, At this rate I'm going to be late. And he found he really didn't care, because he could feel the Karin girl's spiritual pressure, mostly foreign, but powerful enough it left little doubt. And she was safe.
* * *
Finally arriving at the field, Karin's team stared at him in amazement. Karin herself seemed to be overjoyed that he had shown up after all, but she still had the sense to call a time-out, rather than stare at his approaching form in disbelief, as the remainder of her team seemed to be doing.
"You're late," Karin accused, but it was more of a greeting. She was beaming at him and grinning as if she'd rigged the lottery.
"I never promised to be here at all," he retorted.
Then the other team walked up. He let them have their banter. The other team was composed of unimpressive jerks, but there wasn't anything special about them. Karin spouted some pep-talk to her friends and they cheered. "Let's sub in Toshiro!" At this, he protested:
"Oy, matte!" Karin's team turned to face him. "I didn't come here to play soc....." he trailed off as he laid eyes on her leg. A nasty, purple bruise was blooming just below her knee. That looks painful, he thought. He smothered his initial response to administed kidou. "You're hurt," he stated.
"What, this?" She wriggled her knee minutely. "It's fine!" she shrugged, a facade of nonchalance.
That's definitely gotta get in the way of her playing. And yet, she keeps on going, he thought mutely.
A warrior at heart, isn't she? Hyorinmaru agreed. Hitsugaya valued that in a person.
Once more, the shinigami sighed, again in resignation. "Fine, I'll play for you guys." And he switched in with one of Karin's teammates.
The whistle blew, announcing the resuming of the match. Toshiro fell in step with the game rather quickly. At first he just sat back and watched, assessing the situation and formulating an appropriate strategy. Karin's team was doing fine, with the team captain herself dribbling the ball down towards the goal. He might not have to do much of anything at this rate. This game isn't exactly in the bag for them, he thought, but with Karin's approach at the game, they have a chance of winning on their own. Then an opponent player stole the ball and shoved Karin away. The girl lost her balance, but got up quickly, determined to win the ball. At this, Hitsugaya was stirred into action. He maneuvered himself so that he came at the player from the side, not physically harming the boy, but stealing the ball in such a manner that the boy lost his momentum and crashed to the ground. Hitsugaya stared coldly at fallen kid (What a child.) before realizing he needed to do something with the ball. Two of the other team's members came rushing at him. Having nothing planned, he simply side-stepped each player as they dived at him. He noted with distaste that their aim held little discretion between the ball and the player. Dodging another defender, the field was open between him and the goal. Aiming quickly, Hitsugaya shot the ball. It actually didn't go anywhere near where he intended, but it had enough force behind it to topple the goal's guardian-person into the goal. It was a score.
And so, the match continued in this manner for most of the game. Hitsugaya was growing annoyed. He wasn't supposed to be interacting the Living at all, least of all winning their soccer games. Everyone besides the Karin kid seemed content to sit back and let Hitsugaya score shot after shot. This won't do. But he wouldn't leave them standing in the dust, so he stole the ball and headed toward the goal yet again. He was relieved to find Karin trailing beside him as they headed to the other end of the field.
"You're doing great, Toshiro! Kick it!" she encouraged, sprinting to keep up with his pace. Seizing the opportunity to be rid of the ball, Hitsugaya passed it to the bewildered girl. At her unprompted question, he answered, "It's your team - you take the shot." She blinked once, then, understanding, faced the goal. A smirk appeared on her face as she prepared for her shot.
"Here it goes!" She yelled, winding up her leg and striking. Her shot was low, speeding quickly and neatly into the corner of the net. The strange goal-guardian didn't have a chance of intercepting it.
And then the whistle sounded, signifying the end of the match, which elicited a groan or a cheer from each respective team. Karin gazed proudly at her gang before turning to him, smiling like a high-school graduate. "It's all thanks to you, Toshiro."
"Pfft. You scored that goal, last time I checked," he scoffed. "Anyways, I have something more important to discuss with you."
She seemed surprised that there was anything on his mind aside from their victory. "Huh? Like what?"
"Earlier, on the hill, you....." Hitsugaya was cut off by a terrible screeching noise. The two of them looked up, eyes locking on a giant tear in the sky.
I guess I wasn't wrong about her being in danger, Hitsugaya thought as he checked his Soul Pager. This is gonna be a giant Hollow! A menos?! Did this Karin girl have the worst of luck? No, he answered himself. Just the best of reiatsu. Figures.
Struggling out of the tear was a giant hollow, its body a bestial form, like a monster that had sprung from the sewers. Spotting Karin, the hollow lashed his arm out to reach her. Karin could do little more than raise her arm to defend herself, paralyzed with shock as she was. Hitsugaya, a well-honed warrior that he was, could do much more. He dove at her, knocking them both back as the hand reached them. Keeping his arms protectively draped over the girl, the two stared at the Hollow, Karin cautious, Hitsugaya calculating. As it turned out, Karin was not scared for herself. "Everyone, get out of here!" She yelled to both teams. The children didn't need telling twice - - they had seen the crater. Elementary and middle-schoolers alike ran for it, leaving the two of them alone at the park. Karin's team each managed one glance back at her and Toshiro by the crater before they fled the scene.
Then Karin snapped her gaze back to Hitsugaya, a realization dawning on her. "You can see that thing, Toshiro?"
"I'll explain later, just get out of here." He told her, glancing at her, then the Hollow.
"You're kidding, right? That thing will go after my friends!" she shrieked. Oh, trust me, it's much more interested in you, Hitsugaya thought darkly, but said nothing. Casting his arms off her shoulders, Karin's eyes darted about wildly before settling on a weapon: her....... soccer ball? What is she thinking?
Charging at the ball, the kicked it towards the Menos. The ball sped at the hollow's skull, the light surrounding suggesting that it carried reiatsu. But as inexperienced as Hitsugaya assumed she was, she didn't realize she had poured (very little) reiatsu in it at all. It was about as effective as a low-level demon magic spell - that is, it caused no damage.
"Nani? It isn't hurt?" She whispered, staring at her enemy.
She's killed Hollow in that manner before? Hitsugaya wondered, doubtful. He leapt out of his gigai, leaving the body to fall to the ground. Just in time too. The hollow's fist pounded down through the air, again aiming at Karin. Flash-stepping, Hitsugaya managed to swing Hyorinmaru out of his sheath and block the fatal blow. Standing in front of the girl, he did not hear her scream or whimper, even as he felt her reiatsu surge with adrenaline. She was strangely silent, and Hitsugaya wasn't sure whether she could see him. "Reign over the frosted heavens," Hitsugaya summoned, "Hyorinmaru!" With that his shikai was released. In a fluid motion, he grabbed the chain at the hilt of his zanpakuto and cast it at the hollow's arm, effectively freezing it. With a short pull, he tore the beasts arm off, and the oddly-shaped chunk of ice landed yards away. "With a captain in the World of the Living, you Hollow don't stand a chance," he sneered. Angrily, as if it had heard his taunting, the hollow conjured up a Cero, rapidly charging it. Hitsugaya acted fast; he jumped into the air, cutting through the beast entirely. The captain landed, and behind him, he felt the hollow freeze. Working with Hyorinmaru, Hitsugaya made sure the ice fell harmlessly to the ground around Karin. As the Hollow's spirit disappeared, so did the clouds that had come with it. The pair were once again bathed in the light of the evening sun. Why do I always seem to be around her this time of day? he mused, addled. He walked back to her. She was still sitting on the ground, blinking at the air around her with her huge eyes. Wordlessly, he held out his hand and helped her up. Un-wordlessly, he asked, "Are you alright?"
"Um, yeah," she answered off-handedly, a little distracted. She looked around her. "Looks like everybody else got away." She sighed, happily. "I'm so glad." She turned and inspected him. "Toshiro, that kimono you're wearing....."
"You do have very strong spiritual energy," he told her. "Even so, I'm surprised you can see me at all." What she did next was a bit more surprising. Not paying attention to the last few words of his explanation, she reached out and grasped his shoulders. At first, Hitsugaya blanched from the contact, wondering if she was suffering from shock. Then he realized it wasn't an embrace. It was a position of begging, as if she needed something of him.
"Do you know where Ichi-nii is?" she asked desperately. "In that garb, I'm sure you're a shinigami!"
Again, he was taken aback. "How do you know about shinigami?" he asked, caught off-guard.
"My brother is a Soul Reaper. Kurosaki Ichigo!" she said unsteadily. Her eyes were big and round, pleading for an answer.
"Kurosaki? You're his little sister?" He closed his eyes, a little shocked. Surprise, after surprise. What an odd girl. "That makes sense." He lowered his gaze. "Gomen, I'm afraid that I don't know where he is." He stole a glance at her, taking in her crestfallen face.
"I see," was all she said. Karin let her arms drop off his shoulders; he had forgotten they were there. She stared at the ground blankly, and Hitsugaya felt that she was concealing a great sadness from him. Overwhelm with the urge to console her, he thought up something to cheer the girl up, give her strength.
"However," he began. She glanced up, warily. "Your brother is training to become stronger, just as you are. You guys don't give up till the very end. That's just how you both are." Her eyes lit up, and in that moment, the captain felt as if he knew this girl. Stupid notion, really. But it was there, all the same. "Don't worry. He's your brother, after all," he concluded. We've...... bonded. was all the captain could conclude.
Karin gaze was grateful, her reaction maturer than he'd expected of her. Wiping her eyes, though she had not shed tears, she unleashed an unguarded smile upon him. "Yeah, you're right." The shinigami was alarmed by her innocence and expression. This is the first time she's actually smiled at me. He blinked, surprised at the observation. But he felt warm inside, like he had when he'd lived with Momo and his family. Content.
And then the moment ended with his lieutenant's distant call of "Taicho!". Surprised, Karin turned to face the new arrival. "I'm relieved to see that you are okay!'
"That person is a shinigami too?" Karin asked.
"Ah. She's my subordinate," he answered, tonelessly.
"So you have subordinates?" she mocked, arms relaxing into a position behind her head.
"Sort of," he hedged, thinking of his squad's discipline. "You're a little late, Matsumoto."
"Gomenasai, taicho," she said, addressing her boss. Spotting Karin, she pointed, saying, "I recognize her! What's her name? Can she see us?"
"This is Kurosaki Karin, Ichigo's younger sibling."
"Nice to meet 'cha," Karin supplied.
"You too! I'm Matsumoto Rangiku, Hitsugaya-taicho's fukutaicho."
"Wow," Karin turned back to Hitsugaya. "Toshiro, you're actually cool!" she patted him on the head, running her fingers thorugh his bangs. "And you're still just an elementary student!" She started rubbing his head, as if he were a puppy.
Her words and actions combined with her captain's reaction set Rangiku off into a poorly stifled fit of laughter.
"Elementary student?" he seethed, Rangiku laughing loudly in the background.
"Eh, what's wrong?" Karin paused. She seemed to not have realized she was insulting him. That made it a bit better. But only a bit.
So he exploded in her face, " I AM NOT A LITTLE KID!!!!"
But he held back. Just a bit.