This one-shot was written for lockofcurls who requested…well I can't tell you that 'cause it would ruin the story (heeheehee). Oh, and in case you don't get it, Karin's in college at the beginning of the story.

It was high. Really high. Karin looked up at the bridge and sighed. She had never fully appreciated just how tall it was. She had always taken it for granted.

"Come on," a guy behind her prompted. "We all did it! You've got to too!" Karin scoffed, and wondered vaguely how she ended up in this situation. Oh yeah, she wanted to play soccer. And oh yeah, Karakura University didn't have a women's soccer team so she had to try out for the men's team. And oh yeah, she had made it! So what the heck was she doing at the base of the bridge?

"Why am I doing this again?" she asked for the hundredth time. The boys behind her snickered.

"It's called 'initiation,'" one of them explained. "If you want to play on the team you've got to climb up the side of the bridge and back down again. Without rope." Karin sighed and looked up again at the towering structure above her. This just seemed so stupid! But she really wanted to play soccer.

"What's the matter?" one of the boys taunted. "Chicken?" That did it! No one called Kurosaki Karin a chicken. Rolling up her sleeves she marched right up the bridge and started climbing.

It really wasn't all that hard. She was strong and had much more endurance than most people her age. She didn't even feel tired until she was about halfway up. But she had been tired before and pushed through it. It didn't start to get difficult until she was near the top. The network of steel was sparser here, and there were fewer things to grab on to. She started to slow in her ascent.

"Oi," called a voice below her. "You're slacking!"

"Shut up!" Karin screamed, whipping her head around to look at them. Big mistake. They looked like ants, they were so far away. Karin had never been afraid of heights, but she was clinging precariously to the side of a bridge. Suddenly, maybe it was because she had turned her head so quickly, Karin was struck by an overwhelming sense of vertigo. She reached above her for the next bar to hoist herself up, but because she was so dizzy she misjudged the distance and slipped off the beam.

The boys on the ground were thoroughly annoyed. They had had a good laugh when a girl showed up to tryouts. But then she had actually been good and the coach had selected her. As a starter! The team had barged into the coach's office, whining and complaining about having a girl on the team, but the coach had turned them all away. He had a championship to win, and this girl could definitely lead them there. But the boys were none too thrilled. So they had made up this stupid initiation ritual, convinced that no one in their right mind would climb up the side of the bridge. Now that they were being proven wrong, they were busy devising other schemes to get Karin kicked off the team. Which meant that they almost didn't see her fall. Almost.

Karin was still dizzy. Her eyes were shut tight against the world which was spinning around her.

"Ow, my head," she whined, grabbing it and shaking it from side to side. "I'm such an idiot." She opened her eyes. She was back on the ground. The guys from the team were standing a little bit away, crowding around something Karin couldn't see.

"What are we going to do?" one of them asked, and Karin could hear the panic in his voice.

"I don't know!" said another, who was slightly hysterical.

"I'll call for help," said a third, and he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, dialing furiously.

"Oi, morons!" Karin called. "I'm over here! Don't you care that I just fell off the bridge?" But they didn't seem to hear her. Karin was getting really frustrated now.

"Oi!" she shouted, but to no avail. Karin crossed her arms, and they brushed against something on her chest. Something hard. She looked down and saw the soul chain sticking out of her chest. She looked back up and peaked through the crowd of boys. It was the oddest thing, to see herself lying on the ground, bloody and broken.

"Damn it!" Karin swore. "I'm dead! Those stupid boys killed me! Well, I hope they're happy." It was surprising how nonplused Karin was about being dead. She didn't really mind either way. She had only two thoughts. One, that Yuzu was going to cry a lot, and two, that Toushiro was going to kill her.

She heard the sirens and groaned. She recognized them. Of all the clinics in Karakura, they had to call hers. Well, she thought with a shrug, it wasn't so bad. Her family would have to find out sooner or later.

Ichigo jumped out of the ambulance and ran towards the boys. He had taken over the clinic officially a year ago. Karin laughed at the scene the team was making as they tried to come up with a legitimate excuse for having a bloody dead girl in their midst.

"We were walking along the river and suddenly, she was just climbing the bridge!" one said. "She's not right in the head, she does stupid things sometimes."

"We tried to stop her," another chimed in, "but she wouldn't listen to us and she slipped and fell off!" Karin was mildly impressed at their lie.

"Let me see her," Ichigo said professionally. The boys parted. The look on Ichigo's face went from serious, to shocked, to furious. Karin rather felt like she was watching a puppet show.

"Get out of here," he said darkly and the boys gaped at him.

"What…"

"Get out of here before I kill each and every one of you," he said. He looked at them with murderous eyes. They didn't need to be told twice. They turned on their heels and scampered away like beaten dogs.

"Karin," Ichigo said, shaking his head and turning towards her for the first time, "you're such an idiot."

"I know that Ichi-nii, you don't have to tell me," she replied, coming up to him.

"You know, Toushiro's going to kill you," he commented, smirking slightly.

"He can't kill me. I'm already dead," she pointed out. Ichigo looked back at her mangled body.

"Well, I suppose we should do something about this. I don't think Yuzu could handle seeing your body in this state." He pulled out his phone and dialed.

"Inoue," he said. "I need you to come to the bridge. Karin's gone and killed herself and I need you to do something about the state of her body." The way he spoke so casually it sounded like he was simply asking her how her day was. Karin kicked him in the back.

"Ow!" he said turning around. "What was that for?"

"Don't you even care that I'm dead?" she asked angrily. Ichigo shrugged.

"I mean, yeah, of course I do, but it's not like I'll never see you again. Besides, you know you'll be happier in Soul Society." Karin tried to retort, but she couldn't really. He was right and she knew it.

"Karin-chan!" Inoue said gleefully, bounding over to Ichigo and Karin. "It's nice to see you!" Karin stared at her like she was from outer space.

"What do you mean, 'it's nice to see me?'" she asked incredulously. "I'm dead!"

"Yes, I know," Inoue said with a sigh, looking at Karin's body. "Toushiro is going to kill you." Karin groaned.

"Why does everyone have to point that out?" she asked in exasperation.

"Anyway, I guess I should do something about your body, right?" Inoue said with a smile.

"Yeah, I guess so," Karin replied. Inoue touched her hairpins and created an amber barrier around Karin's body, healing her wounds.

"At least Yuzu won't be so traumatized this way," Karin thought. When Inoue finished, she turned to Karin,

"Karin-chan, when you become a shinigami, come and visit sometimes! OK?" she asked brightly. Karin nodded.

"So, Karin," Ichigo said, "do you want me to do the soul burial now, or do you want to wait a bit?" Karin considered this.

"I think I want to go see Ururu-chan first," she said. "I'll see you later Ichi-nii." Ichigo waved at her, then lifted her uninjured body into the ambulance.

Karin headed towards the Urahara shop. Ururu was in front, sweeping. She looked up when she heard her friend approach.

"Ah, Karin-chan!" Ururu said joyfully. "How are…?" But Ururu saw the chain on Karin's chest and answered her own question.

"Oh, Karin-chan," she said sympathetically, "Toushiro-kun's…"

"Going to kill me, I know," Karin interrupted. "I don't need to hear it anymore." Ururu giggled. They chatted for a while, then Ururu looked back into the shop.

"He's not here yet, but he should be here soon," Ururu said. "Urahara-san's already opened the gate for him." Karin sighed and looked at her watch.

"I know. He's supposed to be here now. I can't wait for the fireworks," she said sarcastically.

The door to the shop slid open to revel a certain white haired taicho. He had grown quite a bit in the past several years and now towered over even Ichigo. Ururu looked from Hitsugaya to Karin nervously.

"Ano, I just remembered something I have to do!" she squeaked and dashed inside. Karin braced herself.

"Hi Toushiro," she said as calmly as she could. "You're right on time, as always." He took in the sight of Karin, with a chain coming out of her chest, and gaped at her.

"Karin, what on earth did you do to get yourself killed?" he asked in exasperation. Karin blushed slightly.

"You don't want to know," she mumbled. He approached her and drew Hyourinmaru.

"Just come by my office when you get to Soul Society. I've got something for you," he said as he pressed the hilt of his sword to her forehead.

oooooooooooooooooo

Karin paused outside the door to the 10th squad office. She wasn't sure what she would find inside, but the fact that Hitsugaya had performed the soul burial without shouting at her was a good sign. She took a deep breath and slid the door open.

Hitsugaya looked up as she entered and smirked at her.

"Welcome to Soul Society," he said amused.

"Are you mad?" she asked tentatively. Hitsugaya looked at her sarcastically.

"Mad?" he said innocently. "Why would I be mad? Just because my girlfriend up and killed herself?"

"I did not kill myself!" she retorted. Hitsugaya smiled ever so slightly. He came out from behind his desk and approached her.

"Would it sound awful if I told you I was waiting for you to die?" he asked.

"Huh?" Karin said, slightly concerned and thoroughly confused. This was definitely not the reaction she was expecting. She thought it would involve more screaming and a lot more ice. She didn't know quite how to react to this. "What exactly are you saying Toushiro?" Hitsugaya smiled.

"Well," he explained. "Until you died, I couldn't give you this." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring. "Karin, will you marry me?"

Karin was momentarily stunned, then she threw her arms around him and kissed him. When they broke apart, she was beaming.

"I take that as a yes?" Hitsugaya chided. Karin chuckled.

"And everyone thought you were going to kill me," she commented. "Boy, are they going to be surprised." All in all, Karin thought, dying was turning out to be way better than she could have imagined.

Now that you've read it, I'll tell you that lockofcurls requested something simple with no fighting, where Karin dies and Hitsugaya takes her to Soul Society, memory intact. Also, they should be older. I think I did pretty well with those restrictions! What do YOU think? Please review. Thanks!