I'm back guys! It's been absolutely forever, but the story bug finally bit me again, so here I am. I've missed you all a lot. It feels good to be back.
This new story is going to be a little different than a typical HitsuKarin, so I hope you're up for it. Most importantly I think is that I've messed with the characters ages a lot, but I hope I'll make it clear how old everybody is to reduce confusion. I also am going to mix characters who aren't usually mixed together in this one, just because I thought it would be fun to write with a different cast of characters than I usually do. I'll give you a heads up right now, that I also gave some of the characters OOC traits, again because I thought it would be fun to play with some different habits. The essence of the characters shouldn't change though, so I hope you find them acceptable. Of course, Hitsugaya and Karin will still be Hitsugaya and Karin, so have no fear on that point.
My AU: It's feudal Japan (because I just can't write a Bleach fic that isn't in Japan), but there's nothing spectacular about it. No magic or anything. Just samurai roaming the streets and everyone in kimono's type of Japan. Shogun era.
And yes, "Journey to the East" is a play on the famous epic, "Journey to the West." Maybe this title is a bit presumptuous, but I want to capture the fact that this story is about the journey and the adventure.
Without further ado, please enjoy my new story!
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. I only own my own characters and ideas.
Prologue
To my dearest, darlingest daughter Karin,
As your father I am so proud that you have reached your sixteenth birthday. Finally you are a true woman. It pains me beyond measure that I cannot be with you to celebrate this joyous occasion, but you know the daimyo, he can be quite demanding at times when work piles up. But I hope you will hold this letter close to your heart until I can hold you in my arms again.
My precious child, you have finally reached an age where staying in Karakura, small town as it is, is no longer conducive to a proper education. I have taught you many things, but you know little of the world in which you live. Therefore, it is time, my muffin-love, that you set out on a journey. You have exactly one year in which to travel. You are free to use that time as you wish, but in return, you must bring back three things: a weapon more powerful than lightning, a treasure more valuable than gold, and the man who will be your partner for the rest of your days. Please bring Hanatarou with you, as well as any money and provisions you feel you may require. Good luck and happy travels.
Lots of love and kisses!
XOXOXOXOXO
Daddy
The letter was subsequently burned, but Karin's fate was sealed.
oooooooooooooooooooo
Anyone with any good sense in them would be inside on a night like this. The worst storm of the summer was showing no signs of relenting. Droplets as large as chestnuts rained down from the heavens with a force that could kill a small animal. A crazed wind howled, threatening to blow the roof off every house in the city. The tiles on the poorly kept buildings were certainly clinking more than usual. Several trees had already succumbed. The streets had been reduced to nothing more than muddy rivers, hiding the worn cobblestones underneath the filth. All the fires and lanterns had been extinguished, and that, coupled with the wall of water present on this pitch black evening, made it difficult to see anything outside of a two foot radius. In this deadly storm, a solitary figure ran through the streets.
The brave soul in question was a boy, no older than twelve, with that awkward, shrunken look that boys his age develop as their bodies attempt puberty while their minds desperately try to keep up. His inky hair was plastered to the back of his neck, saving it from its usual state of mild unkemptness. The wind picked up and he pulled his rain soaked kimono closer to him as he increased his pace slightly, desperate to be out of the storm. He tried not to think about his wet feet, and how mud and who knows what else had saturated his tabi socks and sandals. He raced past row after row of dilapidated tea houses and bars, the sound of drunken laughter and high pitched samisens just barely audible through the rain. His stomach rumbled as the smell of fish and pickled vegetables from one particular house mingled with the usual scent of trash, damp straw, and sake. The only saving grace was that the storm had appeared to have scared off even the bravest of bandits; the various teams of thugs and pickpockets that typically prowled these streets seemed to have called it a night and instead sought refuge in a bottle of sake or the arms of a cheap whore.
At long last, the boy reached his destination; a particularly woebegone bar at the end of a narrow alley. Grateful for the opportunity to finally be out of the rain, the boy took a deep breath and entered. His ears were suddenly accosted by the raucous laughter of drunken men and the off key song of one particularly scruffy man as he bellowed his heart out to the jeers and hollers of his fellow bacchanalians. The boy wrung the water out of his hair as best he could, then headed towards the bar, ignoring the disgruntled glare of the barman as he trailed a puddle of water across the floor. He sat down next to a person buried in a long black traveling cloak with the hood pulled up firmly, obscuring the wearer's face.
"I finally managed to get us a room," the boy told the traveling cloak. "It wasn't easy in this storm, every inn was completely full, but I found one…oi, how much have drank?" he asked, gesturing to the empty sake bottles littering the table. The cloak shrugged.
"I dunno. I lost count after ten or eleven." The boy heaved a deep sigh.
"Look, I know better than anyone that you can hold your alcohol, but you really should think about your health a little. Your father put me in charge of your wellbeing…"
"You really think that man cares? He put sake in my baby bottle." The hood fell off revealing a young woman with raven colored hair and eyes that burned with an intense fire that said quite clearly, "Don't mess with me." She could have been attractive if she had bothered, but the unruly state of her hair and the fresh cut on her forehead were clear indications that appearance was the last thing this woman cared about. Her nose wasn't exactly straight, evidence of being broken more than once, and her usually pale cheeks were flushed a rich, apple color, courtesy of the sake she had been pounding for the last few hours. She picked up the bottle in front of her and took a swig.
"Besides," she continued, wiping her mouth with the back of her sleeve, "it's his fault I'm in this creepy town in the middle of nowhere, so I highly doubt he cares what happens to me while I'm here. And since when have you had anything to do with my wellbeing Nezumi-chan?" The boy sighed.
"I do wish you would stop calling me that, Ojosama," he pleaded. The girl smirked playfully.
"I'll call you Hanataro when you grow a backbone. Or when you drop the 'ojosama' crap and start calling me Karin. Whichever comes first." Hanataro blushed.
"I couldn't possibly…"
"Then it's Nezumi-chan. 'Kay?" Hanataro sighed again. They sat in silence for a while as Karin sipped her sake.
"Oi," Karin called to the bartender, "can I have another?"
"You're going to drink more?" Hanataro moaned, but Karin ignored him.
"Hey, nee-chan," said an overgrown goat of a man with hairy, sausage-like arms. "Let me get that for ya'." The loss of Karin's hood had revealed to the clientele that the traveler who had been drinking them all to shame for the last few hours was in fact, the only woman present. This had led to a rather rapid gathering of the intoxicated buffoons who had formed a semicircle around Karin and Hanataro, preventing them from leaving.
"No thanks," Karin replied nonchalantly. "You're not exactly my type." The man's face turned a deep shade of magenta.
"Why you little brat. I've got half a mind to teach ya' a lesson fer turnin' me down." He cracked his knuckled menacingly. Hanataro's eyes darted nervously from one man to the next as ten men slowly began to close the gap. Karin yawned.
"Ano, Ojosama…" Hanatarou began anxiously, but Karin brushed him off and rested her chin on her hand.
"I'm not in the mood tonight," she replied, fiddling lazily with an empty bottle of sake. "Nezumi-chan, you take care of them." Hanataro looked startled.
"Me? But…" He trailed off as it became clear that Karin had no intention of budging. He took one more look at the gang that was nearly upon them and sighed. He hopped of his seat and turned to face the crowd, several of whom were reaching for the swords at their hips.
"If you back down right now, I won't have to hurt you," Hanataro said, trying and failing to sound braver than he looked. The gorillas exchanged glances, then began to guffaw heartily.
"Oh really," one managed to eke out between chuckles. "And just what is a runt like you going to…" But he never finished his sentence. In the blink of an eye, all ten men collapsed to the ground simultaneously, with hair-thin needles sticking out of their necks. The bar fell silent. You could have heard a pin drop.
"Don't worry," Hanataro reassured the bar. "They're not dead. Just asleep." He turned to tug on Karin's sleeve.
"Ojosama, I think we should get out of here."
"Fine," Karin complied reluctantly. She placed several coins on the table in front of the flabbergasted bartender and followed Hanataro out into the monsoon.
Within seconds they were soaked to the skin.
"How long did you walk around in this?" Karin asked, stunned by the intensity of the gale. "You're going to be so sick tomorrow."
"I should be ok," Hanataro replied. "It's really warm despite the rain." They began to run, eager to reach the inn. They turned a corner onto what they thought was another deserted street and Hanataro barreled headfirst into a man twice the size of the one who had just offered to buy Karin's drink. He and six companions were just leaving a teahouse, and the smell of sake on their clothes was enough to make even Karin gag.
"Well well well, what do we have here?" the man sneered, looking from Hanataro to Karin. "Never imagined we'd be so lucky. Hey guys, check out tonight's prey. Some sickly kid and gal, all alone on this dark street. Whaddya say, wanna give us some cash, or would you rather have a bit of fun first?" Hanataro balked, and slowly began to reach inside his kimono for his needles, but Karin stopped him.
"It's my turn," she stated with authority. Hanataro scrambled out of the way, leaving Karin surrounded by a group of bullies over twice her size. She tossed back her traveling cloak to reveal twin katanas strapped firmly to her left hip. She placed an unflinching hand on either hilt and readied herself to attack.
"Oh my, what pretty swords you've got there nee-san," the man jeered. "Now if only you knew how to use them." A broad smirk slowly spread across Karin's face.
"Who said I don't?" she threatened, and before the man had time to defend himself, Karin had drawn her blades and rendered him unconscious.
"Why you!" another man cried, descending on her with anger. Their swords met once before he too was laid bare. Karin swiftly took two more out with simultaneous hard jabs to the stomachs with the hilts, then swung around and dealt a finishing blow to the back of the neck of the next man with the flat of the blade. The remaining two blubbered like babies, and turned heel and ran under Karin's deadly glare. Karin sheathed her katanas with a satisfied clink.
"Let's go Nezumi-chan," she called. "I'm getting wet."
Yes, Hanataro gets to be bad-a** in this fic. I know it's totally OOC for him, but in a way I think it kind of fits. It's an entirely non-violent style of fighting, which I think fits his personality quite well. He's still a nervous, awkward, scrawny kid, so he really hasn't changed all that much.
I promise we'll meet Hitsugaya in the next chapter. This was just kind of a set up, meet Karin and Hanataro type of chapter. I know Karin drinks a lot, and this will be Karin's OOC trait, but a Karin who fights with twin swords and can hold her liquor feels to me like a grown up version of the Karin we all know and love, so I still feel like it's her soul.
Nezumi means "mouse" in Japanese, which is a nickname that Karin gave Hanatarou because she thinks he's weak and likes to tease him.
Ojosama means "young mistress" and is a formal term of respect for a young woman. I use it to indicate the fact that Hanataro is kind of like a servant/underling for Karin, which I will explain more in the next chapter.
Please let me know what you think as I know this story is a bit different. Thanks guys :)